European Conflicts Trivia Quiz

This series of fights took place between January and May 1944 and is sometimes called the Battle of Rome. Monte Cassino was a Benedictine abbey dating from the sixth century and the Allies believed it was being held by German forces as an observation post. They decided that the abbey needed to be captured with the first assault taking place on 17 January and the final assault and capture of what remained of the abbey being on 17 May, when the Germans fell further back. The capture of the abbey was led by troops from Poland and their war cemetery can be seen in the grounds of the abbey, which was destroyed by bombing and rebuilt after the war ended.

Troops involved in the fighting included British, American, New Zealand and Indian forces as well as those from Poland who claimed the final victory.

This battle took place during the Spanish Civil War, when Franco's Nationalist forces took on the ruling Second Spanish Republic. The Battle of the Ebro lasted for nearly four months, from July to November 1938, and resulted in a victory for the Nationalists.

The battle is named for the Ebro River, located in northeastern Spain and became the largest battle of the Civil War. The war eventually ended in April 1939 with Franco taking power until his death in 1975.

The invasion of Normandy had begun in June 1944 and Allied forces had moved into northern France and Belgium in the months following. The forward line stretched for about six hundred miles (a thousand kilometres) through France and as far as neutral Switzerland. The Germans saw an opportunity to mount a counter offensive by driving a wedge (the 'bulge') into the lines.

They chose to attack through the Ardennes, a forested area of Belgium, gambling that the Allies would not expect an attack through this type of terrain. The incursion began in December 1944 and lasted until January 1945, cutting off the American 101st Airborne Division at Bastogne. The British, under Montgomery, also responded quickly and the American resistance at Bastogne, under General McAuliffe, became the stuff of legend. The Allies repelled the attack, although it disrupted their original plans, and the battle also made the Germans realise that they were fighting in a lost cause. The end of the war was starting to come into sight.

The German invasion of the Greek island of Crete began on 20 May 1941 when large numbers of paratroopers were dropped. Germany had already conquered mainland Greece but Crete was still in British hands and should have been well defended as many troops had been evacuated there following the fall of Greece. Initially, the Germans were repulsed, with heavy losses, but when Germany captured an airfield in Maleme, they were able to bring in reinforcements.

The misjudgement by the Allies, who were expecting a seaborne invasion, in failing to defend the airfields proved disastrous and the island was lost by the beginning of June. Many thousands of Allied troops were evacuated by sea, with the island remaining under German control until the spring of 1945. The Cretan resistance to the occupation was legendary, with well over 100,000 members in the movement.

Possibly the lowest point of World War II for Britain occurred early on, when the speed of the German invasion trapped their most experienced troops in the port of Dunkirk, in northern France. The loss of these men would have struck a blow which might have been fatal to the outcome of the war.

An incredible effort to rescue as many troops as possible took place between late May and early June 1940 as small boats of all description made the perilous journey across the English Channel. The boats were used to ferry rescued troops from the beaches and transfer them to Royal Naval vessels which had to stay well offshore. Over 300,000 troops were rescued, which included French soldiers and those of other nations which had been invaded. What could have been a disaster became a beacon of hope, although Churchill himself felt compelled to remind everyone that this could not be described a victory, miraculous though it was.

Malta's location in the Mediterranean Sea made it of prime importance to both the Allies and the Axis powers in World War II. Ships had to pass the island nation to reach North Africa. It first came under attack from Italy in June 1940 and that began a siege which lasted until November 1942 when Germany's focus had to move to mainland Africa.

During the siege, the island was bombed regularly and supplies of food were in short supply. A convoy was delivered in August 1942 in the nick of time to prevent the risk of surrender, and Malta continued to be a base for British forces, including the RAF. Later in the war, the British were able to go on the offensive. Malta was, famously, awarded the George Cross to reflect the bravery of the Maltese people.

The German invasion of Denmark was undertaken on the pretext that Germany was saving the country from attack by Britain and France. The event took place on 9 April 1940 and resistance, such as it was, lasted only six hours before the Danish government capitulated, fearing that Copenhagen would be bombed.

Aalborg, near the northern tip of the Jutland Peninsula, was home to airfields and became a primary target for the Germans. Paratroopers landed and captured the site easily, using it as a base for transferring troops to Norway almost immediately.

There were two parts to these battles, one at sea and the other on land with both taking place in 1940. Germany invaded Norway in March 1940 as a means of ensuring a supply of iron ore, needed for their war supplies, and as a pre-emptive strike to avoid Britain doing the same. Britain won the naval battles, fought in April, and the Allies were also victorious on land with the battle lasting until June.

Events elsewhere intervened, with the invasions of Belgium and France by Germany in May 1940 meaning that troops were needed elsewhere, not to mention the situation at Dunkirk. Allied troops were withdrawn, leaving the Germans in control until May 1945.

This legendary tank battle took place from 5 July 1943 until 23 August 1943 between the forces of the Soviet Union and Germany. Kursk is located in the European region of Russia and was, at the time, a salient which protruded into the German front line. Although the German troops were under strength, Hitler ordered the attack to go ahead. The Soviets had time to prepare and the ensuing battle involved around 6,000 tanks and 4,000 aircraft from both sides, and about two million troops.

The battle, which was a victory for the Soviet forces, still remains the largest tank battle ever fought and was the end of the Germans' offensive on the Eastern Front.

This is another battle which took place when Nazi Germany forces were sweeping their way through mainland Europe. The invasion of the Netherlands took place from 10-17 May 1940, with Rotterdam itself being attacked from the beginning. The city held out for five days, but when German bombers began attacking, the Dutch had no choice but to capitulate. Like other countries, the Netherlands remained under German occupation until the end of the war, although there was an active resistance movement.