World War I Trivia

1. Which German military leader was nicknamed "The Last Hussar"?

From Quiz World War One

Answer: August von Mackensen

August Mackensen, was a German field marshal. He commanded with extreme success during the First World War and introduced stormtrooper tactics that was used during the Kaiserschlacht (Spring Offensive, 21 March-18 July 1918) for the first major breakthrough on the Western Front.

From Quiz World War I Trivia - Mainly American

Answer: Devens

Completed in only two months time, Devens was more than just a camp of pitched tents. In addition to barracks, dining halls, a post office, recreation centers, and a fire house, a fully functional hospital was on-site to support the men's medical needs.

From Quiz World War I

Answer: Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The Archduke was born third in the line of succession to the throne of the Austro Hungarian Empire. However, the Emperor's son Prince Rudolph took his own life in a suicide pact with his mistress, and soon afterwards Franz Ferdinand's own father died and this left him as the heir to the throne. However, it was not to be because Bosnian Serb Nationalists set up a plan to assassinate him. On the morning of June 28th 1914 he and his wife Sophie were on a visit to Sarajevo. A grenade was thrown into the car but it just rolled off, the couple continued and had a meal, but on the way back 18 year old Gavrilo Princip who had been with the Nationalist who threw the grenade shot them both point blank from a 1.5m distance.

From Quiz Unusual Facts from WWI

Answer: genders

They were grouped as "genders" and this was determined on the armament they carried. The male tanks had Naval 6 pounder cannons attached and the female tanks normally carried two machine guns.

From Quiz Dark Cloud Over the World

Answer: Liège

The Belgians held up the German advance with their ring of forts and slowed them down just long enough for the Allies to eventually stop them at the Marne. The German plan was based on several assumptions which turned out to be false. One of the most important of these was the belief that there would be little resistance from Belgium.

From Quiz The High Seas Fleet (1907-1918)

Answer: SMS Nassau

Nassau was quickly made obsolete upon the creation of the superdreadnought several years after her conception. Following the war, she was given to Japan as a gift. The Japanese, finding no use in an outdated dreadnought, sold her to British scrappers.

From Quiz A to J - General Quiz on WWI - #1

Answer: Armistice

The Armistice came into effect at 11 o'clock on the 11th day and 11th month of the year - November. The Germans who negotiated the armistice were politicians, and the most senior army officer was a major-general. None of the senior of commanders negotiated directly or publicly and this set the stage for the 'stab-in-the-back' legend, despite the fact that Hindenburg was issuing order by phone to the German team.

From Quiz Events of World War I

Answer: The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo

In actual fact, all of the above events were causes leading up to the outbreak of WWI, but it was the actual shooting of Franz Ferdinand (heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne) and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, by Gavrilo Princip, who was part of a group believing that Serbia had a right to annexe other Balkan states on the grounds of ethnicity. Serbia had become larger after the Balkan Wars and was still looking to increase its lands, at the expense of Bulgaria and the Turkish Empire.

From Quiz Royalty of The Great War

Answer: Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany

As millions of German casualties piled up on the war fronts, the British blockade caused hundreds of thousands of starvation deaths at home. Ideas of pacifism and revolution swept through the civilian population and the military. The Kaiser was forced to abdicate after his army refused to defend him any longer, and Germany became a democracy for a time.

From Quiz Naval Actions of World War I

Answer: Scapa Flow

Rather than hand over the fleet to the British, the Germans scuttled their remaining ships in Scapa Flow - a decision that was immensely popular with the German public.

From Quiz The Great War

Answer: Young Bosnia

Young Bosnia was the Bosnian version of 'National Defense', a precursor to the more aggressive Black Hand society.

From Quiz Trench Life: WWI

Answer: a work detail

Soldiers who were at rest were not on sentry duty. There was always something that needed doing. That included filling sand bags, repairing the trench, or digging a shelter. Men at rest were on a work detail.

From Quiz Weapons used in Trench Warfare

Answer: a mortar

Minenwerfer were short range mortars used by the Germans in order to clear targets that heavy artillery could not hit accurately.

From Quiz WW1: Trench Life

Answer: 4 days

Soldiers were supposed to spend four days in front line trenches, four days in support trenches, eight days in reserve trenches and two weeks resting.

From Quiz August 1914

Answer: 7

Germany based seven armies on the border with France and Belgium, totalling 1,360,000 men. The First Army, under General von Kluck, would have to march the hardest and longest of all the armies once the war began.

From Quiz The Battle of Beersheba

Answer: Turkish forces capture the Suez Canal (April)

The stalemate on the Western front moved Allied forces to re-shape its strategies on other fronts. Thus, 1917 saw a turning point on the Middle Eastern front. The fall of Baghdad was a major blow to the Turks who together with the Germans established a new force, the Yildirim ('Lightning' in Turkish) Army commanded by Erich von Falkenhayn ("the Blood-Miller of Verdun"), whose purpose was to re-capture Baghdad and stabilize the region. But, they had double trouble to deal with. Losses caused by the Arab Revolt led by Lawrence of Arabia, and even more importantly the shift of the Palestine front from Allied defence to Allied attack (two Turkish offensives on the Suez Canal in 1915-1916 failed miserably). Allied forces, possibly inspired by Lord Kitchener's saying "Are you defending the Canal or is the Canal defending you?", changed their strategy and started to apply offensive pressure on Turkish strongholds north of the Canal.

From Quiz The Russian Soldier: 1914-17

Answer: the Mosin-Nagant

The Tsar's soldiers used the 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifle. The five shot, bolt action 7.62X54mm Mosin was a sturdy weapon that saw service beyond the Second World War.

From Quiz Tommy Atkins: 1914-18

Answer: flooding

Without doubt, flooding was the biggest problem. You could not dig more than three feet in some places without striking water. This made life in the trenches miserable.

From Quiz The Poilu: 1914-18

Answer: it contained too many Germans

The Legion Etrangere contained a large number of German nationals. This was a cause for concern when France went to war with Germany. This problem was solved by posting the Germans to Syria and various outposts in North Africa. Nonetheless, many still insisted their allegiance was to the Legion and still saw service on the Western Front.

From Quiz Forgotten Soldiers ...The Austro-Hungarians

Answer: the Maennlicher rifle

The Austro-Hungarian soldier was armed with the M95 8mm Maennlicher rifle. It was was a straight pull bolt action rifle and was a reliable and durable weapon.

From Quiz Grenades!

Answer: bomber

The soldier who carried the grenades, primed them and armed them was called a bomber. He wore a specialist patch that he earned after attending a course on grenades.

From Quiz Gas!

Answer: chlorine gas

The German army used chlorine gas at Second Ypres. The first to feel the effects of the weapon were the 45th Algerian Infantry Division who fled and left a huge gap in the line. However, the Germans failed to fully take advantage of this opportunity.

From Quiz Soldiers like Others ... 3

Answer: his pay book

His pay book was his most valuable document in his possession. It identified him by name, service number, date of birth and regiment. Most importantly,it had to be presented upon demand to rear echelon security. Your pay book was valid ID. The soldier also needed it in order to be paid.

From Quiz Soldiers like other Soldiers ... 2

Answer: the Lee Enfield rifle

Tommy Atkins used the SMLE rifle, better known as the Short Magazine Lee Enfield. The .303 10 shot Lee Enfield saw service beyond WWII. It was an extremely durable and reliable rifle.

From Quiz Soldiers like other Soldiers

Answer: Lebel rifle

The French infantryman used the 8mm Lebel rifle. When first produced in 1886, it was considered one of the finest infantry weapons available. However,it was unsuitable for trench warfare because reloading was too slow.

From Quiz Key Players of World War I

Answer: Austria-Hungary, Germany, and Italy

Upon the outbreak of war Italy remained neutral, despite its alliance, and in 1915 joined the war against the Central Powers.

From Quiz Causes of WWI

Answer: HMS Dreadnought

The arms naval race was principally between Britain and Germany. The land race, however, was between all the key European powers: Britain, France, Russia, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and the Ottoman Empire. Each power wanted to have the biggest and most skilled army.

From Quiz Weapons of the Great War

Answer: bayonet

Originally developed in Bayonne in France in the early 17th century, the bayonet was used throughout the Great War by all sides. It was issued in World War 2 and continues to be used.

From Quiz The Battle of the Somme

Answer: Picardy

Though Flanders is perhaps a more evocative name when recalling the trench warfare of the Great War, the river Somme flows through the heart of Picardy, between Flanders and Paris. The surprisingly compact battlefield is in the north of the region and consists of a gently rolling upland plain used mainly for agricultural purposes.

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Last Updated Dec 21 2024 5:44 AM

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