War Movie Taglines Trivia Quiz

Answer: Dunkirk (2017)

Directed by Christopher Nolan, the film is about the evacuation of Allied troops trapped at Dunkirk in France.

During the Battle of France in 1940, the Allied forces retreated to Dunkirk after being surrounded by the German force. Royal Navy Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) was responsible for the evacuation of the Allied troops. Many civilians volunteered and offered their sailboats for the rescue. Despite the overwhelming difficulties they faced against the superior German naval and air force, they successfully evacuated more than 300,000 men to England.

Answer: Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

The air attack by the Japanese naval force, headed by Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (So Yamamura) was meticulously planned. The Empire of Japan's plan was to cripple the American naval force based in Pearl Harbor to gain an advantage before the start of the Pacific War.

Although American intelligence had intercepted the Japanese communications, they still refused to believe that Empire of Japan would dare to carry a direct attack on American soils.

At the end of the film while the Japanese were celebrating the victory, Yamamoto gave a stern warning by stating "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve."

Answer: Midway (1976)

In May 1941 after the Doolittle bombing in Tokyo, the Empire of Japan, fearing future air raids, was planning to expand its territory in the Pacific. They sent their naval force with the mission to occupy the Midway Island to prevent further American air strikes on Japan. The intelligence from both sides was trying to intercept each other's messages to gain an advantage. The U.S. intelligence managed to partially cracked the Japanese encryption code, which put them into an advantageous position.

The battle ended with 4 Japanese fleet carriers sunk while the American naval force lost one carrier. Two American carriers, USS Enterprise and USS Hornet, survived the battle with no damages. The utter defeat of the Japanese naval force completely changed the tide of the Pacific War.

Answer: A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Directed by Richard Attenborough, the film is based on "Operation Market Garden" written by Cornelius Ryan.

The film had a star-studded cast featuring: Dick Bogarde (Lt. Gen. Federick "Boy" Browning), Sean Connery (Maj. Gen. Roy Urquhart), Michael Caine (Lt. Col. J.O.E. Vandeleur), Anthony Hopkins (Lt. Col John Frost), Ryan O'Neal (Brig. Gen. James Gavin), Robert Redford (Maj. Julian Cook), James Caan (Staff Sgt. Eddie Dohun) and Gene Hackman (Maj. Gen. Stanislaw Sosabowski).

A large number of Allied paratroopers were landed behind enemy lines in the Netherlands, trying to secure the bridges in order to break the German lines, in order to speed up the invasion of Germany. However, they went a bridge too far off their plan.

Answer: 1917 (2019)

Directed by Sam Mendes, the film is about an event in April 1917 at the Western Front during WWI.

Two young British soldiers, William Schofield (George McKay) and Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman), were sent by General Erinmore (Colin Firth) on a mission after their communication lines were cut. They had to inform Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch), commander of 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment in time to call off their attack on the next morning to save the lives of 1600 men.

The British aerial reconnaissance discovered that the Germans had made a strategic withdrawal to a new position. The Germans were planning to trap the British troops where they could use their artillery to wipe up their enemies.

Answer: Greyhound (2020)

Directed by Aaron Schneider, the film is based on a book "The Good Shepherd" written by C.S. Forrester.

In February 1942 shortly after the U.S. entered WWII, an inexperienced American commander, Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks), was assigned to lead an Allied fleet of 37 ships across the North Atlantic. Krause was the captain of USS Keeling with a radio call sign named "Greyhound". German submarine wolf packs were lying in wait for them.

Answer: All Quiet on the Western Front (2022)

The film is based on a 1929 novel of the same name by Erich Maria Remarque. The 2022 film is the third version, with the two earlier versions released in 1930 and 1979.

In 1917, German teenager Paul (Felix Kammerer) and his friends Albert (Aaron Hilmer) and Franz (Moritz Klaus) were inspired by a patriotic school speech to enlist in the German army. After they were deployed to a frontline in Northern France, their spirits were quickly dampened when they saw the harsh realities of war.

Answer: USS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)

Five days after delivering parts of the atomic bomb destined for Hiroshima, USS Indianapolis, commanded by Capt. Charles McVay (Nicolas Cage), was sunk by a Japanese submarine in the Philippine Sea, resulting in nearly 900 crewmen being stranded in the sea. While the survivors were waiting for rescue, they had to endure hunger and thirst in the shark-infested water.

Answer: Windtalkers (2002)

During the Pacific War in WWII, the U.S. Army used Navajo as a code for communication to prevent the enemy from understanding the messages they intercepted. The Navajo soldiers were assigned to unit with the responsibility to communicate with other units using the code. Although the Navajo code talkers would later prove to be effective, they initially had to endure racial abuses from some white soldiers.

U.S. Marine Joe Enders (Nicolas Cage) was assigned to protect one of the code talkers named Ben Yahzee (Adam Beach). The invasion of Saipan in the Mariana Islands was Yahzee's first battle experience. They learned to respect each other in spite of the differences they had in the beginning.

Answer: Red Tails (2012)

Based on a book written by John B. Holway, the film is about a crew of black pilots who were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama, to prepare for the air operations in Europe.

In Europe, they faced a white military bureaucracy that could not trust them and kept them grounded. The all-black pilot unit known as the "Red Tails", eventually proved themselves in Europe to earn the Presidential Unit Citation.