Key Battles of World War II Quiz | World War II

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. It is often said that this battle was the key turning point in the Soviet Union's war with Germany, dooming the Nazis due to tremendous irreplaceable casualties.

Answer: Battle of Stalingrad

With an estimated two million casualties, the Battle of Stalingrad was one of the bloodiest in history. The fatal error of wasting so many soldiers due to Hitler's belief in Aryan supremacy was one that many historians have said was what cost Hitler the war with the Soviets. Germany could not recuperate their losses whilst the Soviets continued to fight on despite the equally heavy losses due its large population.

2. This battle was said to have "broken the back" of the Axis offensive into British Egypt leading to the Allied occupation of Italian North Africa.

Answer: Second Battle of El Alamein

While the First Battle of El Alamein was important in stalling the Italian advance into Egypt, it was the Second Battle of Alamein that severely damaged the Axis armies in North Africa. This allowed the Allies to chase them all the way to Tunisia, which ended with the capture of hundreds of thousands of Axis soldiers including the famed Afrika Korps.

3. This naval engagement is said to have been the most important naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II. Japan had attempted to strike a quick, decisive blow against the American Navy yet were decisively defeated due to overly aggressive Japanese plans and American code breakers.

Answer: Battle of Midway

During the Battle of Midway, Japan had hoped to destroy the American carrier fleet and force a quick surrender from the United States. However, this battle ended with the destruction of all four Japanese carriers that took part in the battle despite Japan's numerical advantage in capital ships.

4. This famous air battle is significant because it is believed to be what had saved the Allies from falling to the Axis early on in the war before Germany invaded the Soviet Union.

Answer: Battle of Britain

The Battle of Britain was perhaps the most important series of engagements involving aerial combat in history. While the Luftwaffe (the German Air Force) had attempted to destroy Britain's infrastructure and gain air superiority over the British Isles, the Royal Air Force had managed to defeat them as well destroy many German aircraft. This air battle is also said to have prevented the German invasion of Britain (Operation Sea Lion) which required naval and aerial supremacy over the English Channel.

5. This long and bloody siege was very costly in terms of casualties and structural destruction. The city had experienced the largest loss of life in the modern era due to nearly three years of heavy conflict.

Answer: Siege of Leningrad

The Siege of Leningrad (now renamed back to St. Petersburg) reduced most of the city to rubble. Much of the city's infrastructure and its cultural landmarks were destroyed in the siege. It got worse when man made famine took place due to Nazi attempts to starve the city into surrendering. However, as the German offensive into the Soviet Union started breaking apart the siege was finally lifted in 1944 when the Soviets pushed the Germans back.

6. This was the largest amphibious invasion in history. While contemporary scholars still debate the actual usefulness of this invasion it was nonetheless a proverbial "nail in the coffin" for Nazi Germany.

Answer: Operation Overlord

Operation Overlord, commonly referred to as the D-Day Invasion, was the largest amphibious landing in history. It was the beginning of the liberation of France and was the prelude to the Allied offensive into Western Germany. However, the Soviet Union had been asking the other Allied Powers to open a second front in Europe a couple of years before and when Operation Overlord took place the Soviets had already began retaking their occupied lands advancing into Eastern and Central Europe.

7. This battle was particularly bloody considering the relatively small islands it was fought on. It is also known for a disturbing number of civilian deaths, largely due to suicide instead of the actual fighting.

Answer: Battle of Okinawa

While there are many instances in World War 2 where many civilians died during battles, the Battle of Okinawa is infamous for mass suicides. The Japanese military urged the civilians to commit suicide in order to "avoid harsh treatment from the Americans". Japanese propaganda had pictured the Americans as monsters and the soldiers "warned" the civilians that the Americans would engage in mass killing, rape, and other war crimes. This however, was far from the truth as the citizens were treated humanely.

8. The bombing of this city still remains very controversial in modern history due to the indiscriminate nature of the bombing which led to thousands of civilian deaths. Proponents of the bombing argue its importance in further hindering German industry yet others find it excessive.

Answer: Bombing of Dresden

The Bombing of Dresden is one of the most controversial Allied actions in World War 2. While the industry of the city had been targeted there was massive death and destruction throughout the city. Some contemporary historians have even called this a "war crime" due to the high civilian casualties.

While there was no international law or agreement regarding aerial bombardment, the number of civilian casualties, when compared to the military importance of the bombing, is said to be disproportionate.

9. This battle was the largest engagement of tanks in history. It is also said to be the first example of a failure of the German Blitzkrieg tactic as the Soviets maintained their position despite relatively huge Soviet casualties compared to the Germans.

Answer: Battle of Kursk

The Battle of Kursk was a land engagement between German and Soviet forces that involved at least 8,000 tanks and nearly 5,000 aircraft. Besides the battle where the most tanks were destroyed it was also the battle where the most aircraft were destroyed in a single day. Even though the Soviets took heavy losses they managed to hold due to their use of increasingly fortified defenses that have been said to be greater than the Maginot Line, the line of fortifications that stalled any possibility of a German invasion of France until Germany invaded the Low Countries. With the Germans offensive defeated, the Soviets launched their own offensive and pushed the frontlines further west.

10. While technically not the end of the war, this battle basically signified the end of the war in Europe with the suicide of many German leaders including Hitler himself during the battle.

Answer: Battle of Berlin

The Battle of Berlin is said to have been Germany's last stand. While it was inevitable that Germany could not win the war with both the Soviets and Western Allied Forces "sandwiching" them, many of Germany's key leaders wished to fight to the last man.

In this battle hundreds of thousands of Germans tried to fend off the Red Army yet considering the state of Wehrmacht they had no hope of defeating the Soviets, only stalling the inevitable. Germany began conscripting many young males (teenagers and any young adults left) as part of the German defense. Yet in the end Germany surrendered and Hitler had committed suicide along with his newly married spouse and several of his underlings in an underground bunker before it was all over.

Source: Author Avalice

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Key Battles of World War II Trivia Quiz

The bloodiest war in history certainly had its pivotal battles that would have a huge impact on its outcome. Most of the battles are fairly well known so it shouldn't be too hard.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>