D-Day Trivia

1. D-Day was part of a large scale operation. What was the code-name of this operation?

From Quiz D-Day

Answer: Overlord

Operation Overlord was the code-name for the invasion of Europe. Operation Neptune would be the code-name for the amphibious landings.

From Quiz D-Day: Extreme Basics

Answer: Normandy, Northern France

'The Invasion of Normandy' is another name for it. It was the largest amphibious invasion in the history of the world.

From Quiz D-Day Quiz

Answer: 5th June

The original day for the invasion was set as the 5th of June. There were only a few possible days when the invasion could go ahead due to tides on the landing beaches and daylight hours. If the invasion had not gone ahead on the 5th, 6th or 7th of June then the invasion would have been delayed an extra two weeks.

From Quiz Pegasus Bridge

Answer: Major John Howard

Major John Howard was played by the actor Richard Todd in the film 'The Longest Day'. He was in fact one of the reinforcements from the 7th Battalion.

From Quiz Bloody Omaha Beach

Answer: To link the American landings at Utah Beach to the west with the British-Canadian Landings at Gold Beach, Juno Beach and Sword Beach to the east

One of the first necessities of the Allied invasion plan was to have a united beachhead as soon as possible. However, there were certain strategic towns, cities and areas that also needed to be captured. The Allies would have to invade a broad area to capture as many strategic points as possible and reduce the impact of a German counterattack. But it would have to be planned meticulously and executed perfectly to also have the essential requirement of a united beachhead. A deep-water port was essential for advancing on Paris, and Cherbourg, at the end of the Cotentin Peninsula, was that deep-water port. The Americans landed at Utah Beach on the east edge of the Cotentin. They would turn right and head up the peninsula, straight for Cherbourg. The British and Canadians would land on the beaches north of Caen, which also had to be captured for an advance on Paris. If no-one landed in-between them, Rommel's panzers could pour into the gap, splitting the Allied armies in two and hitting them hard in the flank. Due to a coastline of unclimbable cliffs, the only landing place available in between Utah beach and the British Landings was Omaha Beach. Field Marshal Rommel knew this, as he had guessed the Allies plan. And so Omaha's defences were improved at a great cost of life to the invading-Allies. NOTE: The Airborne and Glider troops also helped unite the beachhead and secure the flanks of the Invasion sector.

From Quiz D-Day Quiz

Answer: OK, let's go.

At Southwick House, when Eisenhower finished listening to Staggs' weather report, Eisenhower paced the room, then stuck out his chin at all the commanders and asked them what they thought. Finally, he said, "OK, let's go" and cheers rang through Southwick House as the commanders ran to their command posts. Within 30 seconds the mess hall was empty except for Eisenhower.

From Quiz D-Day 6th June 1944

Answer: Nevada

Gold, Sword and Juno beaches were for the Canadian and Britsh Commonwealth to invade and Utah and Omaha were for the Americans.

From Quiz D-Day and The Battle of Normandy

Answer: Operation Neptune

"D-Day" refers to the day on which the operation began. Likewise, "H-Hour" refers to the start time. Regarding the other options: Operation Overlord refers to the large-scale operation of establishing a military presence in Normandy; hence, Neptune is the first phase of Overlord. Operation Archangel is a phrase I took off from the movie "Apocalypse Now", and Operation Barbarossa was the German invasion of the Soviet Union.

From Quiz Lead up to H-Hour D-Day: 6.6.44

Answer: Lieutenant-General Frederick Morgan

Although Morgan was the head of the initial planning, he knew that the final leader would have to be American. This was due to the fact that the American troops would make up 75% of the ground forces.

From Quiz D-Day: Behind the Scenes

Answer: Neptune&neptune&Operation Neptune&operation neptune

This was the entire naval phase of the invasion, performing the transport of troops across the Channel, naval bombardments of the coast, logistical support with supplies, air support from carriers, and the general protection of landing troops. The Commander of the naval operation was Admiral Sir Bertram Ramsay.

From Quiz D-Day: A 60th Anniversary Quiz

Answer: He was celebrating his wife's birthday in Germany

Because the weather in the English Channel appeared to be too severe to launch an invasion, Rommel felt it would be safe to leave the front for several days to see his wife. Although he was concluded to be complicit in the attempt on Hitler's life, and subsequently commited suicide with poison because of this, these events did not happen until later.

From Quiz D-Day: The Sea Armada

Answer: Neptune

The Roman god of the sea (Poseidon is the Greek equivalent). The famous female figure "Britannia", like Neptune, is always shown holding a trident to signify British sea power. "Husky" was the code name for the invasion of Sicily, and "Dragoon" was the code word for the invasion of southern France through the Mediterranean following the Normandy invasion.

From Quiz D-Day: Prelude to Invasion

Answer: He declared war on the United States of America

He didn't have to do it. The Axis "Pact of Steel" was defensive only. Japan, for example, did not declare war on the Soviet Union after Germany invaded. In all likelihood the U.S. would have joined in the war against Germany but not necessarily at that time. Although Roosevelt and Churchill agreed that the defeat of the Nazis was the first priority, there were many proponents in the U.S. of a "Pacific First" strategy, including the U.S. Navy and General MacArthur. Had Hitler not declared war, the U.S. would have concentrated its initial war effort against the Japanese.

From Quiz The D-Day Invasion

Answer: First U.S. Army Group

The First U.S. Army group was a great tactic used to keep the Germans thinking that the invasion would occur in Calais.

From Quiz D-Day

Answer: June 6, 1944

One June 6, 1944 the Allied Forces began a massive invasion of the European continent. This was the largest-ever amphibious invasion undertaken during war-time.

From Quiz D-Day

Answer: Dwight Eisenhower

He was supreme commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces, which consisted mainly of U.S., British and Canadian forces, together with some Poles and Free French. Montgomery was, however, commander-in-chief of ground forces.

From Quiz D-Day: Extreme Basics

Answer: Dwight D. Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower was in charge of planning. He did not, however, actually fight on the beaches. The ground forces were under the command of Field Marshal Montgomery.

From Quiz D-Day Quiz

Answer: Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude was successful in fooling the Germans into thinking that an invasion would be made elsewhere. Despite German forces being present in Normandy on D-Day, the number were not nearly as great as they would have been had the Germans known the precise location of the landing.

From Quiz Pegasus Bridge

Answer: Tarrant Rushton

Tarrant Rushton played a huge part in SOE operaions as well as being used in the build up to D-Day.

From Quiz Omaha Beach

Answer: 1

Company A was part of the first wave. H-Hour was 06.30. By 06.40 only Lt. E. Ray Nance had survived the onslaught out of the officers, and he had already been hit in the heel and the belly. The following day, only eight of them were ready for duty.

From Quiz D-Day Quiz

Answer: Operation Fortitude

Operation Fortitude involved flying more planes above the area that the Germans belived the invasion was going to come from, using 'turned' German spies to send false information to the Germans, creating fake armies and making them train at places in Britain resembling the 'assembly area', sending messages through radio further reinforcing the belief of the fake armies, etc.

From Quiz D-Day 6th June 1944

Answer: The Atlantic Wall

The Atlantic wall was made up of thousands of large concrete pillboxes set up along the coast of France. Many of the concrete pillboxes were made from material from the beaches and were easily demolished when bombed.

From Quiz The Normandy Invasion

Answer: Day of Days

"Band of Brothers" is a very realistic depiction of World War Two. This miniseries concerns Easy Company which was a regiment of elite soldiers in the 101st Airborne Divison. Their mission was to land in between Omaha and Utah beaches and destroy a garrison and take Carantan which was the town between the two beaches. Soon after the allies recaptured Paris, they launched Operation Market Garden, which was the unsuccessful attempt to hit Germany by going through Holland. The failure of Market Garden was the reason that the allies were forced to march through Belgium and fight the Battle of the Bulge.

From Quiz D-Day and The Battle of Normandy

Answer: Bad weather and rough seas

Stormy seas in the English channel made a seaborne invasion too risky on June 5. Even on the actual day, conditions were rough. But Eisenhower wanted a full moon and high tides to land the soldiers. To put it off any longer would have meant waiting for the next full moon. Landing in marginal weather helped catch the Germans off-guard as they didn't expect an invasion in such conditions. The German commander, Erwin Rommel, had even left the coast to attend his wife's birthday party.

From Quiz Lead up to H-Hour D-Day: 6.6.44

Answer: Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander

He made and named the post for himself and named it COSSAC for short. He was later succeeded by Lieutenant-General Walter Bedell Smith, when Eisenhower became Supreme Allied Commander; Morgan became Smith's deputy.

From Quiz D-Day: Behind the Scenes

Answer: General Alanbrooke

You may not have heard of him, but he was the Chief of the [British] Imperial General Staff.

From Quiz D-Day: The Battle of Normandy

Answer: Pas de Calais

The fictitious First U.S. Army Group was to be led by General George Patton (the Germans believed that Patton would lead the attack and Eisenhower exploited this). Fake radio messages were broadcast, mock up buildings and landing sites representing those in Pas de Calais had been made for the benefit of Luftwaffe scout planes.

From Quiz D-Day: Prelude to Invasion

Answer: Gerd von Rundstedt

The 68-year-old field marshal was an able commander and was resentful of the insertion of Rommel into his theater of operations, particularly in light of their differences in defensive strategies. Von Rundstedt, contrary to Rommel, believed neither in fixed fortifications nor that the Allies could be stopped at, or close to, the invasion beaches. He wanted to hold the major forces, including the panzer units, well behind the beaches out of range of naval guns and then use them to counterattack. Rommel wanted to mass the forces close to the beaches away from allied air attacks and smash the invasion at the beaches on the first day. It's ironic that Rommel, one of the leading practitioners of "blitzkrieg," became a proponent of a static defensive strategy.

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Last Updated Nov 16 2024 5:47 AM

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