Generals in Politics: 2 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Napoleon Bonaparte

Napoleon became a Brigadier General after he reorganised the Army and led it to victory after victory during the Revolutionary wars. After being thwarted by the British in his great Egyptian adventure he abandoned his army in Syria and returned to France. As First Consul he became a dictator and in an act of breathtaking arrogance, seized the crown from the Pope's hands, and crowned himself Emperor Napoleon I of France. He went on to conquer most of Europe but once again in 1812 he abandoned his army after the disastrous invasion of Russia. He was finally defeated by a grand coalition at Waterloo in 1815 and spent his last years in exile on the remote South Atlantic island of St Helena.
Robespierre was an instigator of the Reign of Terror of 1792/93, but was later himself destroyed by it.
Citizen Capet was the revolutionary name given to Louis XVI before he too was sent to the guillotine in 1793.
Otto von Bismarck was the Iron Chancellor who unified Germany in the 19th Century.

Answer: Jean Bedel Bokassa

Emperor Bokassa was the first and only emperor of the Central African Empire. It was reported that $20 million was spent on the coronation which included a golden throne which was about 1/3 of the annual revenue of this impovrished African nation. Invitations were sent to many world leaders but none of them showed up for the coronation.
David Dacko who, with French support, overthrew Bokassa in 1979 was the same leader whom he had ousted back in 1966.
Joseph Mobutu presided over a kleptocracy that was supposed to be governing the Congo (Zaire) from 1965-97
Jerry Rawlings led a coup in Ghana in 1979 and was Head of State from 1981-2001.

Answer: Ariel Sharon

Ariel Sharon was felled by a stroke in early 2006 after five eventful years as Prime Minister. He became a national figure during the 1973 Yom Kippur war when he led a tank unit across the Suez canal, cutting off the Egyptian Third Army, before a ceasefire halted military activity but left Israel in a good bargaining position. He was Defence minister at the time of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon but the subsequent massacre at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps dented his reputation somewhat. As Prime Minister his controversial visit to the Temple Mount was attributed by some as the spark for the 2nd Intifada which rages to the present time.
Moshe Dayan, with his trademark eyepatch, led the army during the 1967 Six Day War.
Yiztak Rabin was another IDF commander who became Prime Minister but was assasinated in 1999.
David Ben Gurion was the first Israeli Prime Minister.

Answer: Wojciech Jaruzelski

Jaruzelski, with his trademark dark glasses, epitomised unbending Communist orthodoxy in the long running confrontation with the Solidarity reform movement led by Lech Walensa during the 1980's in Poland. In WWII he joined Soviet Polish units and participated in the conquest of Berlin.

He later became a member the Communist party Central Committee and gained a reputation as a hardliner. He was involved in the manoevering to replace the long standing leader Gomulka with Edward Gierek before taking over the Presidency himself to take on the challenge presented by Solidarity. Josef Pilsudski was the first leader of the newly independent Poland after WWI and gained fame when he turned back the Red Army from the gates of Warsaw in 1920, when Poland was at war with the Soviet Union.

Answer: Phillippe Petain

From being the "Savior of Verdun" in 1916 to being sentenced to death for high treason in 1945 few figures have had such a spectacular fall from grace as Phillippe Petain. He led the remnants of the French government from the provincial town of Vichy in order to save all of the country from occupation but became an open collaborator after the British destroyed the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir (Oran) and Dakar. After the Torch landings in North Africa, he was merely a figurehead leader. His death sentence was commuted by Charles de Gaulle.
Andre Maginot was the officer responsible for the fortifications that bore his name that were supposed to thwart a German invasion.
Charles de Gaulle was leader of the Free French Forces.
Francois Darlan was an admiral in the French navy and another leading collaborationist.

Answer: Jan Christian Smuts

Jan Christian Smuts was a thorn in the side of the British when he led the forces opposing the invasion of Transvaal. Despite this, he along with fellow general Louis Botha, fully participated in the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. He was a leading protagonist of a moderate peace at Versailles after WWI and became Prime Minister of South Africa shortly thereafter. He bought South Africa into the Allied camp during WWII against fierce opposition from Afrikaner nationalists and this played an important role in the Axis defeat in North Africa. His government was defeated by the nationalists in the 1948 election. He was among the key draughtsmen of the UN Charter.
Paul Kruger, "Oom Paul", was president of the Transvaal Republic.
Cecil Rhodes was a leading British colonial politician and proponent of British expansion in Africa in the late 19th century.

Answer: Sitiveni Rambuka

Sitiveni Rambuka overthrew the the newly elected Indian dominated government of Timoci (pronounced Timothy) Bavandra because he thought ethnic Fijian interests would be threatened. Fiji was expelled from the Commonwealth because of this unconstitutional move and Rambuka went on to declare a Republic. A new constitution allowed Fiji to be readmitted to the Commonwealth but Rambuka was impliceted in the 2000 coup led ethnic extremist George Speight though nothing was ever proven.
Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was Fiji's first Prime Minister and elder statesman.

Answer: Mustafa Kemal

Mustafa Kemal, better known as Ataturk (Father Turk), was the founder of modern Turkey. He set up a democratic secular state in the heartland of the old Ottoman Empire.
Liman von Sanders led the German military mission to make the Ottoman army an effective fighting force and was the overall commander in Gallipoli.
Enver Pasha was a leader of the Young Turk Movement of 1908 and Minister of War during WWI. He was also heavily implicated in the genocide of the Armenians.
Ismail Pasha was the Ottoman Khedive (Viceroy)in Egypt whose debts gave the British the excuse to occupy the country.

Answer: Andrew Jackson

Andrew Jackson, "Old Hickory", was the seventh President and the first westerner to assume the office. Ironically, his victory at New Orleans came after a peace treaty had been signed ending the war of 1812. News travelled slowly in those times! He also defeated the Creek federation who were allied to Britain at that time and led an invasion of Florida when Spain became an ally of Britain.
Zachary Taylor gained fame in the Mexican American war and was briefly President before dying early in his first term.
Winfield Scott was commander of the US army from 1841-61 and led the American army into Mexico City in 1847.
Jefferson Davis was President of the Confederacy during the 1861-65 Civil War.

Answer: Carl Gustaf Mannerhiem

Carl Gustaf Mannerhiem served in the Russian army during the Russo-Japanese war and WWI. In the civil war that followed the Bolshevik Revolution he was a leader of the "White" forces and assured independence for Finland in 1919. During the inter war years a defensive barrier, bearing his name was built across the Karelian Isthmus facing Leningrad to deter Soviet aggression. He led a brilliant defence during the 1939-40 Winter War but overwhelming Soviet strength eventually prevailed and Finland had to concede the barrier in the settlement that followed. Finland later joined Hitler's crusade against the Soviet Union but the original settlement was confirmed at the end of WWII.
Alexander Kerensky was leader of the Provisional government that was overthrown by the Bolsheviks.
Alexsandr Kolchak was another White general who briefly held sway in Siberia during the Civil War.
Joseph Pilsudski defended Polish independence during the Civil War.

Answer: Muamar al Gadaffi

Muamar al Gadaffi holds no formal title but is undoubtedly the dictator of Lybia. He retains the rank of Colonel but this is at odds with his role as Commander in Chief, however, Gadaffi has always done things his own way. He established a socialist Islamic state whose principals are expounded in his "Green Book". Opponents abroard have been the targets of hit squads and his repeated attempts to become a great leader in the islamic world in the style of Nasser have been thwarted.
He has recently become a reformed character and is attempting to mend fences with the West.
Gaafer Nimiery staged a coup in Sudan about the same time as Gadaffi and the two referred to themselves as "brother colonels".
Said Barre was the long time dictator of Somalia before that country self destructed in the late 90's.
As for Saddam Hussein, he needs no notes.

Answer: Anwar al Sadat

Anwar al Sadat was a man of surprises. Regarded as a lightweight after spending so many years in the shadow of Nasser he inherited an uneviable situation with Israel in the wake of the Six Day War. With a stalemate along the Suez canal his first act was to expel Soviet advisors who were becomming overbearing and restricting his freedom of action. After a brilliant deception campaign he launched a surprise attack in conjunction with Syria in October 1973 that broke the deadlock. In the years that followed he delivered a diplomatic master stroke by offering to go Israel, a move which led to the Camp David peace settlement. His assasination in 1981 by disgruntled soldiers during a military parade was a tragedy.
Hosni Mubarak succeeded Sadat and contiues as Egyptian president.
Hafez al Assad was long time President of Syria and joined forces with Sadat in the 1973 assault on Israel.

Answer: Arthur Wellesley

Arthur Wellesley, better known as the Duke of Wellington, gained eternal fame as the victor of the battle of Waterloo which was shared with the Prussian general Gebhard Lebrecht von Blucher. As Prime Minister he resisted attempts to reform Parliament be he did not oppose the movement to grant emancipation to Catholics.
John Churchill was the first Duke of Marlborough and gained many victories in the War for Spanish Succession.
Joseph Bonaparte was Napoleon's brother and was installed on the Spanish throne.

Answer: Yahya Khan

Yahya Khan declared martial law on taking power to deal with the increasing unrest in East Pakistan where there growing moves to break away from the rest of Pakistan. There was a sense of being neglected by the central government and this was accentuated by an inadequate response to a devastating cyclone which had hit the region in 1970. Neighbouring India intervened in Dec 1971 and defeated Pakistan in a short war leading to the establishment of independent Bengaladesh led by Sheik Mujibar Rhaman. Yaha Khan was forced to resign and the presidency went to long time rival Zulfikar ali Bhutto. Ayub Khan was the military strongman who led Pakistan through most of the 60's.

Answer: Charles de Gaulle

Charles de Gaulle represented the continued resistance of France during the occupation and led the provisional government to restore the country after the war. He was recalled from retirement during the Algerian crisis to stabilise the political chaos in the Fourth Republic. As President he ensured that France became the leader of the European Community and partly withdrew from NATO to emphasise the independent view that France took on international relations.
Phillippe Petain was the war time leader of Vichy France.
Tassigny de Lattre was the military commander of De Gaulle's Free French movement
Francois Mitterand was the longest serving president of France 1981-95.