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ANZACs in WWII Trivia Quiz

Don't believe what Hollywood has shown us. The USA wasn't the only armed force on the Allies side and the Yanks didn't win the war by themselves.

A multiple-choice quiz by Brumbie. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
Brumbie

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
234,045

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Very Difficult

Avg Score
4 / 10

Plays
2406

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. 13th December 1939. British Commodore Harwood had a squadron of warships hunting the German ship Graf Spee off South America.
Which of his ships was from the Royal New Zealand Navy? Hint

Cumberland

Ajax

Achilles

Exeter

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. 6th July 1941. Australian Lieutenant Roden Cutler with the 2/5th Field Regiment was wounded and later awarded the Victoria Cross whilst serving in Syria. Which enemy was he facing? Hint

German

Vichy French

Italian

Turkish

3. 17th July 1940. In the Cape Spada Action, four British Destroyers reported that they had sighted two Italian Cruisers and were being chased. HMAS Sydney with a British destroyer HMS Havoc raced to help from 40 miles away. Which ship was sunk in the following battle? Hint

Sydney

Bartolomeo Collenoni

Havoc

Giovanni Della Bande Nere

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. 20th May 1941. Who was the commander of the ANZAC, British and Greek defenders of Crete? Hint

Bernard Freyberg

Thomas Blamey

Leslie Morshead

Bernard Law Montgomery

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. 19th November 1941. Which warship was sunk with the loss of all hands by the German raider Kormoran? Hint

HMS Repulse

HMAS Perth

HMAS Sydney

HMAS Canberra

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. 1941. A machine gun was produced in Australia that was to rival the British Sten and The American Thompson for reliability. This weapon went into service the Army in 5 wars from WWII to Vietnam. Who designed the original prototype? Hint

Evelyn Owen

Oswald Owen

Eric Owen

Peter Owen

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. 26th September 1943. Z special force mounted a very spectacular raid on Singapore Harbour and sunk 40,000 tonnes of Japanese shipping using only 3 canoes to attach mines to the ships. What was the name of the operation? Hint

Operation Jaywick

Operation Singapore

Operation Rimau

Operation Hitback

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. I was a British Special Operation Executive (SOE) agent - born in New Zealand in 1912, raised in Sydney Australia; married Henri Fiocca 1939 in France; known as the White Mouse by the Germans. Who am I? Hint

Vivian Wake

Vivian Bulwinkle

Nancy Wake

Nancy Bulwinkle

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. How many Australian and New Zealand service people died during WWII?
Hint

41.591

30,785

61,005

51,625

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. 2nd September 1945. Who signed the Japanese surrender document on behalf of Australia on board USS Missouri? Hint

Prime Minister Curtin

Prime Minister Churchill

General MacArthur

General Blamey

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. 13th December 1939. British Commodore Harwood had a squadron of warships hunting the German ship Graf Spee off South America. Which of his ships was from the Royal New Zealand Navy?

Answer: Achilles

This is known as the Battle off the River Plate. The Graf Spee was scuttled after the Captain was tricked into believing the British had a much large force waiting for him.

2. 6th July 1941. Australian Lieutenant Roden Cutler with the 2/5th Field Regiment was wounded and later awarded the Victoria Cross whilst serving in Syria. Which enemy was he facing?

Answer: Vichy French

Sir Roden Cutler went on to become Govenor of New South Wales.

Answer: Bartolomeo Collenoni

The Sydney raced into the battle at more than 35 knots and finished the fight with a hole in one funnel.

4. 20th May 1941. Who was the commander of the ANZAC, British and Greek defenders of Crete?

Answer: Bernard Freyberg

The German casualties were so high that this was the last battle in which the Germans used paratroops as mass airborne troops.

5. 19th November 1941. Which warship was sunk with the loss of all hands by the German raider Kormoran?

Answer: HMAS Sydney

The German sailors onboard the Kormoran abandoned ship, as she was crippled by Sydney's shells .. 318 survivors from the 399 onboard were were picked up on the West Australian coast on 30th November 1941.

Answer: Evelyn Owen

This gun could be completely submerged in mud then fired without being cleaned.

Answer: Operation Jaywick

Operation Rimau was an other attack on Singapore in 1944. All Z force men were killed or captured then executed after the mission failed.

Answer: Nancy Wake

Henri Fiocca was killed by the Germans.

9. How many Australian and New Zealand service people died during WWII?

Answer: 51,625

These figures are from the book "Australians at War".

10. 2nd September 1945. Who signed the Japanese surrender document on behalf of Australia on board USS Missouri?

Answer: General Blamey

John Curtin died on 5th July 1945.

Source: Author Brumbie

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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