20th-Century History in the 1940s Quiz

Answer: Winter War ended

The Winter War fought between USSR and Finland began with the Russians invading Finland on November 30, 1939. The war ended on March 13, 1940 with the Moscow Peace Treaty. USSR was expelled from the League of Nations, as the attack was considered illegal. Despite having a superior force, USSR suffered 5 times more casualties than Finland, with more than 300,000 casualties.

Shanghai fell to the Japanese invaders on November 1937. Singapore fell to Japan on February 1942. The USSR invasion of Manchuria was from August 9-20, 1945.

Answer: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

The sculpture design by Gutzon Borglum started in 1927 was completed in 1941. The sculpture at South Dakota features the 60-ft (18-m) heads of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. The park is about 2 sq. mi (5.17 sq. km) and stands at 5,725 ft (1,745-m) in height.

Answer: June

The naval battle in the Pacific Ocean took place from June 4 to 7. The Japanese naval force lost all four aircraft carriers against one from the American naval force. Six months after the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese Imperial Army had lost the initiative in the Pacific War.

Answer: Tehran

Tehran Conference codenamed Eureka was held from November 28 to December 1, 1943. The conference between Franklin Roosevelt, Winston Churchill and Joseph Stalin was to commit to open a second front against Nazi Germany. A separate protocol was signed to recognize the independence of Iran.

Answer: Colossus

Colossus was a code breaker developed by the British. It was the world's first programmable electronic computer using switches and plug, not by a stored program. The computer was designed by General Post Office research telephone operator Tommy Flowers.

The Mark 1 version was completed in December 1943 and became operational by early 1944 at Bletchley Park. In 1944, an improved version of Mark II using shift registers improving the processing speed by five times was used just in time for Normandy landings

Answer: October

The UN was officially founded on October 24, 1945, upon ratification of the Charter by the 5 permanent members of the Security Council: US, UK, France, Soviet Union (now Russia) and China. The first meeting was attended by 51 nations in January 1946. New York was selected by the General Assembly as the UN headquarter on September 1948.

Answer: Indochina

The First Indochina War aka Anti-French Resistance War was fought between the French army and Ho Chi Minh's Viet Minh forces began on December 19, 1946. The fighting spread to Cambodia and Laos. The French army was decisively defeated on July 20, 1954 at Dien Bien Phu in northwest Vietnam.

Answer: Pakistan

After a long struggle for independence led by Mahatma Gandhi, India became independent on 15th August 1947. Pakistan achieved independence a day earlier. Although Gandhi had achieved his aim, he was disappointed that the country was split into two, mainly due to the difference in religious beliefs, Islam and Hinduism. Bangladesh, formerly East Pakistan, seceded from Pakistan and became independent in 1971.

Answer: Mahatma Gandhi

On January 30, 1948, Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated by Hindu fanatic, Nathuram Godse, in the compound of Birla House, a large mansion in New Delhi. Godse was unhappy that Gandhi gave too much away to the Muslims during the Partition of India in 1947. Godse and his main collaborator Narayan Apte were hanged on November 8, 1949.

Answer: Independence of Indonesia

Indonesia declared independent on August 17, 1945. The founding of the People's Republic of China was officially declared by Mao Zedong on October 1, 1949. Chiang Kaishek's Nationalist government retreated to Taiwan after they were defeated in the Chinese Civil War. NATO was created on April 4, 1949. Berlin Blockade which started on June 24, 1948 ended on May 12, 1949.