Name that Battle Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Battle of Waterloo

At which the Frenchman, Napoleon was finally subdued by his English counterpart, Wellington and Britain's Prussian ally, Blücher.

Answer: Thermopylae

At the gates of Thermopylae a Greek army of "300" held off the Persian army of more than ten times that for many days.

Answer: The Battle of Agincourt

Agincourt, at which Henry V defeated the French forces and made a peace with France in the midst of the 100 years war. (Note that the place where the battle was fought is called "Azincourt" in modern French).

Answer: There is no evidence that the battle ever took place

The first report of this battle, which supposedly took place on 17 September 1788, appeared in a book in 1847. There are no primary sources whatsoever. Gross-Hoffinger's 1847 book claims that at this 'battle' the Austrian army, commanded by fools unparalled for bumbledom and stupidity, inadvertently fought against itself at night, leaving about 10,000 men dead (!).

The only record from before 1847 hints at poorly organized Austrian march at night to Caransebes (in modern Romania). Practically nobody seems to have noticed that Gross-Hoffinger was an ardent republican ... or have suggested that he turned a disorderly march into a ludicrous 'battle' in order to make fun of the Austrian monarchy.

Despite this, a few books on 'classic' military blunders include accounts of what went wrong in this apocryphal battle.

Answer: Antietam

This battle was crucial in stopping Lee from gaining Washington.

Answer: Koeniggraetz

Koenigraetz was part of the Austro-Prussian War, which was an essential pre-requisite for the establishment of the German Empire in 1871 during the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71). The Prussians defeated the Austrians and in effect expelled Austria from Germany.

The Austrians had superior weaponry but the Army of the Crown Prince showed up late for the battle causing unrest and pre-emptive strikes by the smaller Austrian regiments, which led to their downfall. Since 1857 the Prussian General Staff had been headed by Graf Helmuth Moltke (Senior).

He was, as far as is known, the first military planner to make his military machine "war-game", on a routine basis, against all likely enemies and study their resources in detail, right down to the capacity of their rail networks.

Answer: The Battle of the Somme

One of the most horrific battles of the First World War. It lasted from 1st July 1st until 28th November 28 1916. The number of casualties was staggering. The British suffered more than 420,000 casualties (dead, missing, wounded, taken prisoner). The French lost around 200,000 and the Germans lost around 500,000.

The furthest the Allied forces got in return for these horrendous losses was 12km!

Answer: Cannae

Hannibal's Carthaginians killed a staggering 50,000 Roman soldiers close to Roman soil, which caused great unrest for the Romans, as the war and their greatest enemy were now at their doorstep.

Answer: Troy

Troy was destroyed, and it is said that the descendants of the survivors went on to found Rome. The story of the Trojan war is told in Homer's Iliad and the Odyssey. Troy's hero, Hector, was killed by the Greek hero Achilles, which was a major turning point in the war.

Answer: Vimy Ridge

Vimy Ridge was one of Canada's greatest military achievements.