The Battle Rages On Trivia Quiz

Answer:

Most of the battles selected for this quiz that have seen the active engagement of one or more branches of the US Armed Forces occurred during some of the highest-profile conflicts in which the nation has been involved from its inception to the present day.

The Battle of Saratoga of 7 October 1777, during the American Revolutionary War, saw a decisive victory of the American Army over the British in upstate New York. British general John Burgoyne, who had marched south from Québec, won a first engagement on 19 September, but eventually found himself surrounded by the Americans, and was forced to surrender his entire army on 17 October.

Also known as Battle of Baltimore, the Battle of Fort McHenry (12-15 September, 1814) was a turning point in the War of 1812 that pitted American and British forces against each other less than two decades after the end of the Revolutionary War. The American Army successfully fended off British attempts to invade Baltimore, in spite of the heavy British bombardment to which the fort was subjected, and killed the commander of the invading forces. The poem written by Francis Scott Key to commemorate the event later became the lyrics to the US national anthem.

Named after a hill outside Mexico City, the location of the Mexican military academy (and former royal palace), the Battle of Chapultepec was fought between a US and a Mexican force on 13 September 1847 during the Mexican-American War. The strategically-placed hill was defended by fewer than 1,000 men, some of them barely in their teens. The battle, which lasted no longer than 90 minutes, ended with the victory of the US forces; the line in the Marines' Hymn, "From the halls of Montezuma...", refers to this battle and the subsequent occupation of Mexico City.

Known as the bloodiest day in US history, the Battle of Antietam was fought on 17 September 1862 near Sharpsburg, Maryland, between the Union's Army of the Potomac and the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia. Though the Union Army, led by General George B. McClellan, won the day, they also sustained heavy losses. As a whole, there were 22,727 casualties in a single day - a figure that included over 3,600 dead. The battle, however, was a major turning point of the war in favour of the Union.

Associated with future US President Theodore Roosevelt, the Battle of San Juan Hill was one of the decisive engagements of the Spanish-American War. Roosevelt was the commander of the Rough Riders, the only one of three volunteer regiments raised specifically for the war that actually saw combat. The battle was fought on 1 July 1898 near Santiago de Cuba between an American and a Spanish force. The Rough Riders' contribution was essential to the US victory: Roosevelt was awarded a posthumous Medal of Honor in 2001 for his actions during the battle.

The last major German offensive on the Western Front, the Second Battle of the Marne (15-18 July, 1918) took place in France, near Paris - where another battle had been fought in 1914. The role of the American Expeditionary Force, in particular the Marines and the 3rd Infantry Division, "The Rock of the Marne", was decisive in thwarting the German advance. However, the American forces paid a very heavy price, sustaining 12,000 casualties out of a total of 168,000 Allied casualties.

Often mentioned as the largest naval battle in history, and definitely the largest of WWII, the Battle of Leyte Gulf was fought in the waters near the Philippine islands of Luzon, Leyte and Samar on 23-26 October 1944. Over 200,000 personnel were involved in the battle, which pitted the combined American, Australian and Filipino forces against the Imperial Japanese Navy. The battle also saw the first use of kamikaze attacks from Japanese aircraft - which, however, were not enough for Japan to win the day. Though the US lost at least 12 warships, Japan lost over twice as many, and never recovered from those losses.

The Battle of Inchon (10-19 September 1950) saw the involvement of the US as part of the United Nations Command, led by General Douglas MacArthur, against North Korea in the Korean War. An amphibious invasion with the participation of about 75,000 troops, the battle marked the beginning of North Korea's withdrawal from South Korea. A few days later, the South Korean capital of Seoul was recaptured, and the offensive into North Korea began.

Conducted in the area around the Khe Sanh Combat Base in the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam), the Battle of Khe Sanh lasted almost six months, from 21 January to 9 July 1968. Two regiments of the US Marines defended the base - supported by elements of the US Army and US Air Force, plus a small contingent of South Vietnamese troops - against three divisions of the North Vietnamese People's Army. The engagement ended in a draw of sorts, with both sides claiming victory. Total casualties exceeded 12,000.

Codenamed Operation Phantom Fury, the Second Battle of Fallujah was fought between 7 November and 23 December 2004 by a coalition that included the US, the UK, and the Iraqi Interim Government against the Iraqi insurgency. The main battle within the city of Fallujah - one of the fiercest and bloodiest since the end of the Vietnam War - was led by the US Army and US Marine Corps. The First Battle of Fallujah had taken place a few months earlier, in response to the killing of four US contractors. Though the coalition won the day, the battle was criticized for a number of reasons, such as the use of white phosphorus and depleted uranium, and the high count of civilian casualties (about 800).

Of the six battles listed as wrong answers, three were fought when the US did not yet exist as a nation: Cajamarca in 1532 (Spanish conquest of Peru), Culloden in 1746 (Jacobite rising), and the Plains of Abraham in 1759 (French and Indian War). The Battle of Borodino was fought in 1812 (Napoleonic Wars), the Battle of Sedan in 1870 (Franco-Prussian War), and the Battle of Tsushima in 1905 (Russo-Japanese War).