All Quiet on the Western Front . . . Quiz

Answer: Baghdad

The main purpose of this part of the global war, as far as Britain was concerned, was to protect their interests in Abadan, and to support Persia and Kuwait, their allies. Although little oil was actually used at this time, transport was evolving in that direction and Britain did not want to lose their connections in this area.

Answer: Isonzo

Isonzo was actually inside Austria's borders, and saw bloody battle after bloody battle for three years. Italy, which had originally had friendship treaties with Germany and Austria-Hungary, did not declare war on their enemies because she saw them as fighting an offensive war rather than defensive. The Treaty of London brought her into the war on the Allies' side.

Answer: Talaat Pasha, Turkish Minister of Interior

The Armenians were the first victims of systematic genocide in the 20th century.

Talaat Pasha's communications included:
25 March 1915: 'The duty of everyone is to effect on the broadest lines possible the realization of the noble project of wiping out of existence the well-known elements who for centuries have been the barrier to the empire's progress in civilization.'
3 September 1915: 'We advise that you include the woman and children also in the orders which have been previously prescribed as to be applied to the males of the intended persons. Select employees of confidence for these duties.'
16 September 1915: 'You have already been advised that the Government, by order of the Djemiet, has decided to destroy completely all the indicated persons living in Turkey...Their existence must come to an end, however tragic the means may be; and no regard must be paid to either age or sex, or to conscientious scruples.'
15 January 1916: '...the Government will view the feeding of such children or any effort to prolong their lives as an act completely opposite to its purpose, since it regards the survival of these children as detrimental.'
('Source Records of the Great War' Vol. III)

Answer: 7

Given that only 633 Victoria Crosses were awarded for heroism during WWI, to have seven given for five days' battle was quite an achievement! All in all, the Anzacs tallied very well for VCs, having twelve awarded for the Gallipoli landings in 1915. They breed them hardy in the outback!

Answer: Pancho Villa

Woodrow Wilson kept the USA out of the war for as long as he possibly could, even though the number of citizens wanting involvement increased yearly. When he finally gave in to demand conscription was introduced immediately, and enlistment was decided by ballot.

Answer: 1,000

The United States also lost ships to U-boats; it was a matter of national concern that the submarines would stalk ships in the Gulf of Mexico, where they accounted for thousands of tons of seafaring vessels. One of the U-boats sunk in this area and has been investigated by deep-sea divers in recent years.

Answer: New Zealanders

Ships at that time were run by steam, and that meant tons and tons of coal. Having home ports around the globe ensured coaling stations (it took approximately a ton of coal for a mile of full steam) and thus a more efficient fighting force. It was considered vital in the first months of the war to capture as many of Germany's islands as possible, and this was done with quick, and relatively bloodless, efficiency.

Answer: 1

The British soldier was accidentally shot in the Kiaochow campaign; they apologised and said that Germans and British looked alike! A slight change to the British uniform and the allies went on to take the besieged colony after two months. The Japanese were instrumental in saving 2,500 lives when a British troopship was torpedoed and took a number of the German colonised islands in the Pacific.

Answer: Giant

This biplane, of which only eighteen were ever made, was only 1m short of the WWII B29 Superfortress; none were shot down by British action, but a number were damaged. It is said that the introduction of the Giant was the deciding factor in the formation of the RAF in April 1918.

Answer: General Post Office

By the end of the Easter Rebellion some 500 British soldiers had been killed, over 1,000 Irish civilians lost their lives and nearly 3,000 rebels were arrested and sent to Britain for imprisonment. David Lloyd George attempted an Irish Convention to discuss the situation and reach some compromise, but as Sinn Fein refused to attend it failed miserably and soon Ireland erupted into civil war which was to last generations and cost lives on both sides of the Irish Sea.

Answer: They surrendered to the British forces on 25 October 1918, just before the end of the war.

The story of German East Africa in WWI is worth reading; this force claimed no desertions, and no defeats. Von Lettow-Vorbeck was in command throughout the war, surrendering only on 25 November 1918, two weeks after the Armistice. He returned to the fatherland as a great hero, but his right-wing views clashed with the army, forcing his resignation in 1920.

He was not right-wing enough, however, for he opposed Hitler in the Reichstag. He died in 1964.

Answer: 6

1,198 people died that day, drowned inside the ship, blown up or died of cold in the water. Because of the serious list of the liner, half the lifeboats could not be lowered into the water, and the other half could not be filled with people; only six were used.

The liner was carrying munitions at the time - a fact withheld from the British public at the time. However, even if in some technical legal sense the ship was a 'legitimate target', the sinking was a massive propaganda blunder: she was transporting people who had no connection at all with the war.

Answer: Falkland Islands

The Royal Navy had a nasty shock to the system in the first years of the war, learning the hard way that their equipment and methods were not as good as they had imagined; the German fleet virtually ran rings around them. With the advent of U-boats as well, Britain could no longer claim to rule the waves and it was not a nice pill to swallow.

Answer: Rasputin

Rasputin was an 'enigma wrapped up in a riddle'. He was certainly able to cure the heir to the throne, having written from Siberia to reassure the Tsarina when she frantically contacted him on one occasion, but he was also a womanising drunkard who was almost universally hated (except by women!). Before he died he predicted that the Royal family would fall if he was killed by members of that family, and that proved true.

His death was weird, in that he was heavily poisoned, shot a dozen times and kicked mercilessly, but actually died by drowning.

Answer: the Turks

Promises were made during WWI which were to come back to haunt the British in the years following WWII particularly - the Jews had been promised a homeland in the country which had been theirs in Biblical times, the Arabs had been promised control in the area and the French had been promised the area which was to become Syria.

I knew the rudiments of these facts and figures before writing this quiz, and would like to recommend the website www.firstworldwar.com to anyone who wishes to check facts and to read primary sources from this era. It was not my only source of information, but it certainly was the most comprehensive website I have ever seen on this subject.