A-Z Greatest Battles of History Quiz

Answer: Agincourt

The English invading forces met the French in Agincourt, France. Henry V bravely led his men of 6,000 to victory against the French and their 30,000 soldiers. The English had few casualties while the French suffered heavy losses from the battle. The numbers and proportions of this battle have been argued over, you may agree with either side. Note that the place where the battle was fought is in fact Azincourt, with a zed.

Answer: Battle of Britain

The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) planned an air attack on Britain. Its main target was the British Air Force (RAF) and Britain's air defenses. The German air force (with some help from the Italian air force) outnumbered the RAF. This was the first major campaign between only air forces. The Germans were unsuccessful in achieving their goal of bringing down Britain's defenses.

Answer: Chapultepec

This battle was an important part of the Mexican-American War. It took place on September 12 and 13, 1847. It helped the U.S. troops get closer to the capital of Mexico City. The U.S. army was led by General Winfield Scott and the Mexican army was led by Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna.

When Chapultepec castle was captured, the army was in a position to take the capital. The U.S. won the war and the Mexican had to give up California and other lands in the area.

Answer: Dumlupinar

The Turks were fighting for their independence in their Revolution. One of the major battles near the end of the war was between the Turks and Greek near Kutahya, Turkey in the battle of Dumlupinar. The Greeks were defeated and chased after the battle. The Turks achieved their independence under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, a man seen as a great hero in turkey today.

Answer: Ebro

The Spanish Civil War tore Spain apart just before the start of World War II. It was fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Spanish Nationalists (backed by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany) and the Spanish Republicans (backed by the Soviet Union). The ongoing battles across the Ebro River lasted for nearly four months and ultimately ended in Republican defeat.

The Nationals went on to win the war.

Answer: Flanders

In late 1914, German troops launched an attack on the British-held town of Ypres. This became known as the Battle of Flanders or the Battle of Ypres. The British and French forces combined to destroy the inexperienced German troops. This battle caused the deaths of 25,000 young German volunteers.

The Germans called this the "Massacre of the Innocents". The British were also helped by their colony of India.

Answer: Gettysburg

The Battle of Gettysburg was a crucial victory for the Union because up until then the Union had lost many battles in the East. The North was led by General Meade and the South was led by General Lee. The battle began on July 1st and ended on July 3rd.

It was the bloodiest battle fought in the Civil War. Both sides lost a total of 50,000 casualties. The victory was sweet for the North because the South failed at another attempt at invading the North.

Answer: Hue

The Battle of Hue was fought between the allied forces of South Vietnam and the U.S. against North Vietnam. North Vietnam, lost a total of 8,100 troops and the allies only lost 660 troops. This was a success for South Vietnam but ultimately they lost the Vietnam War, and Vietnam was taken over by the North Vietnamese Communists.

Answer: Ilipa

In the Battle of Ilipa, the Roman General Scipio and his army met up with the Carthaginians near Iliapa in Iberia in modern day Spain. The Romans defeated the bigger army of the Mago Barca and Hasdrubal Gisco. The entire Carthaginian army was depleted as the Romans took control of Spain and had it until the empire ended. This battle was a huge victory in early Roman history.

Answer: Jankov

The Battle of Jankov was between the Holy Roman Empire and Sweden. Both sides had an equal number of troops at 1,500. A series of skirmishes took place when the Swedes and Imperials met near Jankov. The end result was a defeat for the Holy Roman Empire. The Bavarian cavalry was destroyed, which was a big loss for the Imperials.

Answer: Kadesh

This was a battle between the Egyptians and rival Hittites. It was one of the first chariot battles. The outcome is unclear but most people say the Egyptians won the battle. The Pharoh Ramsses had a major campaign on the Eastern Mediterranean coast. The Egyptians were close to loss but they pushed Muwatalli and his Hittites back.

Answer: Little Bighorn

The Sioux Indians were furious at the Americans for not honoring their treaty, so they decided to attack. George Custer was sent with the 7th cavalry regiment to combat the Indians. The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians under Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse charged at Custer's men. The U.S. cavalry was trapped and all men were killed. However, Sitting Bull did have to surrender in 1881.

Answer: Manzikert

The Byzantines, led by Emperor Romanus IV sent an army east from Constantinople to fight the Seljuk Turks in Anatolia. The Byzantines camped out in a town called Manzikert and started to advance a little west of the town, when they were being attacked.

The Byzantines were trapped and they were constantly attacked by Turk archers. The Turks won a major victory and conquered all of Armenia and most of Anatolia.

Answer: Nanjing

Right before World War II started, Japan attacked China's capital city of Nanjing. Afterwards, the Nanjing massacre occurred. This was a huge victory for Japan because it showed its power and strength. The Chinese were forced to move their capital to Wuhan. Japan would enter World War II as huge power and China was weak, especially because of their government.

Answer: Osaka

The Japanese Feudal Wars were basically Japanese civil wars between the feudal lords of Japan. The Tokugawa Shogunate was the one to win by the Siege of Osaka. Tokugawa ended his rival, Toyotomi's, clan and took control of Japan by eliminating Osaka Castle. This siege made him ruler and established more than two centuries of Tokugawa Shogunate rule in Japan.

Answer: First Panipat

In the Battle of Panipat in 1526, Zahir al-Din Muhammad Babur and the Mughals attacked Ibrahim Lodhi and the Delhi Sultanate and won a decisive victory despite being outnumbered. This win gave the Mughals control of Northern India. The Mughals were originally from Afghan areas.

They were later defeated by the British, who took over India. They ruled India for nearly 200 year and left a lasting legacy in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Answer: Quebec (1759)

The British, led by General James Wolfe, made a surprise attack on the French near Quebec at night in the Seven Years' War in 1759. The British scored a major victory that was a major deciding factor in who won the War. The British did win the war. Ironically, the French lost their North American colonies because of the British, and less than a decade later the British would lose their North American colonies with the help of the French.

This battle is also called the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

Answer: Ramillies

During the Battle of Ramillies, the British were being led by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough. He was considered a brilliant general as he exploited the French army's weakness. The French lost the battle in what is now Belgium and it was a key victory for Britain. The War of Spanish Succession ended in the Treaty of Utrecht which ceded Spanish Netherlands to Austria.

Answer: Saratoga

In the Battle of Saratoga, "Gentleman Johnny" Burgoyne and his British army came down from Canada to face General Horatio Gates' army. Dan Morgan inflicted heavy losses on the British before Benedict Arnold attacked with his soldiers. Arnold doesn't seem to get enough credit for what happened that day. In 1777, the way things were going, the Americans needed a big win.

Answer: Tannenberg

The Battle of Tannenberg was a crucial battle in World War I. It took place from August 22 to August 29, 1914. The Germans, led by Paul von Hindenburg trapped and then crushed the Russian troops. The Russian suffered a devastating blow. The Russian casualties reached up to 140,000 as opposed to Germany with 20,000 casualties. Over 100,000 Russian were taken prisoner and the Russian commander, Alexander Samsonov, shot himself.

Answer: Ulm

In 1805, the Third Coalition made up of the British, Austrians, Russians and Swedes were launching an offensive against Napoleon's Grand Armée. Austrian leader Mack von Lieberich led his men to the Danube River, near Ulm. Napoleon arrived there and defeated the Austrians by trapping them on October 20, 1805. Austrian commande Mack was imprisoned by the French. Napoleon had 150,000 men compared to Mack's 45,000 men.

Answer: Vienna

The siege of Vienna was the Ottomans' second attempt at taking the Austrian capital. The Ottomans, led by the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa, attacked Vienna on September 1, 1683. Vienna was defended by a relatively small garrison. The forces were in distress until a relief army led by Polish King Jan Sobieski arrived to aid the Austrians.

The siege attempt failed and the Ottoman Empire began its long decline.

Answer: Warsaw

Although there have been many battles of Warsaw, this is probably less known than the World War battles. This battle was between the Swedes (Charles X) and Brandenburg (Fredrick William) and the Polish-Lithuanian(Jan II Casimir of Poland). There were many cavalrymen in the battle.

The battle would take place near Warsaw for 3 days from July 28 to July 30, 1656 and ended in a Swedish-Brandenburg victory.

Answer: Yarmuk

The Rashidun Caliphate attacked the Byzantine controlled areas of Syria and Palestine. The Byzantines countered-attacked. The Arabs decided to attack the Byzantines on the Yarmuk River. The Arabs, with great momentum under General Khalid al Walid, defeated the Byzantines and took control of the land of Palestine which is still predominantly Muslim.

Answer: Second Zurich

In the second battle of Zurich, General André Masséna led the French army to recapture the city of Zurich. The French army had 75,000 men who defeated the Austrian/Russian forces. This loss caused the Russians to withdraw from the second coalition. The French had won a crucial victory and go on to win many more.