None Shall Pass Trivia Quiz

Answer: "Nuts!"

During the Battle of the Bulge, the town of Bastogne was held by elements of 101st Airborne Division and the 10th Armoured Brigade, protecting a vital road junction in the area.

By the 21st of December, 1944, the American forces were cut off as the German forces under Lt. General Heinrich Freiherr von Lüttwitz surrounded Bastogne. When von Lüttwitz requested McAuliffe and his men surrender, McAuliffe's initial reply was going to be "tough to beat". However, he made his famous reply "Nuts!". This phrase then had to be explained to both the Germans. On the 26th of December, 1944, a spearhead of General Patton's 4th Armoured Division broke the siege, opening up a route to Bastogne.

Answer: John Paul Jones

In 1779, John Paul Jones was given the command of the Bonhomme Richard, a 42 gun former merchant ship given as a gift the America. When leading a force of 7 ships as a diversionary force to a larger French and Spanish invasion fleet, Jones and his men came across a large convoy of British ships, protected by HMS Serapis and the Countess of Scarborough.

During the battle off Flamborough Head, the Bonhmme Richard and Serapis became locked together. When taunted by the British sailors, Jones' made his famous reply, "I have not yet begun to fight". With his ship badly damaged, and in danger of sinking, Jones and his men ended up forcing Captain Pearson (commander of the Serapis) to surrender. Despite the best efforts of the Bonhomme Richard's crew, the ship finally sank a couple of days later.

This incident was not the first time Jones had become a thorn in the side of the British. During a raid on the Cumbrian port of Whitehaven in 1778, Jones and his men attempted to sink a large fleet of British merchant ships. Although successful in spiking the harbour cannons, this raid failed when bad weather meant Jones and his men could not set fire to the merchant ships. The raid though, did force the British to withdraw many ships back to home waters to prevent further attacks.

Answer: King Leonidas

During the second Persian invasion of Greece in 480 BC, a force of approximately 7,000 men from the Greek city-states was led by the Spartan, King Leonidas. The decision was made to block the Persian forces at the pass of Thermopylae and at sea in the Straits of Artemisium. However, when the Greek forces were out-flanked by the Persians, King Leonidas led a rearguard action to delay Xerxes' men with a force made up of 300 Spartans, plus around 1,000 Thebans, Thespians and other soldiers who decided to remain. Their actions halted the Persian advance for seven days before they were finally defeated. The defeat also led to the Greek naval forces also retreating, before they finally overcame the Persian at the Battle of Salamis.

Leonidas was the third son of King Anaxandridas II of Sparta. As he was not heir apparent to the throne, Leonidas was forced to attend the Agoge, a public school Spartan boys were obliged to attend to gain citizenship. After his elder brother Cleomenes I was forced from power - and his other brother Dorieus was killed, Leonidas became king of Sparta in 490 BC.

Answer: Malta

Situated in the Mediterranean Sea, Malta was a strategic island held by British forces that was vital for the control of shipping routes between Italy and the North African Coast. As long as Britain held control of Malta, the Axis campaign in North African could be hampered by cutting off vital supplies to the German and Italian forces. As a result, Malta came under bombardment from the German and Italian air force, as well as a naval blocked to cut of supplies to the island.

The situation in Malta became so desperate that in August of 1942, the Allies sent a heavily protected convoy under the code name of Operation Pedestal to bring vital supplies to the island. Of the fourteen merchant ships that set sail, only five reached Malta - the last being the tanker SS Ohio bringing vital supplies of fuel.

On the 15th of April, 1942, King George the VI awarded the Malta the George Cross medal for withstanding the Axis forces, the medal being depicted as part of Malta's national flag.

Answer: 11

After the British Army was heavily defeated at the Battle of Isandlwana - in the Anglo Zulu war - an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 strong force 1879 under the leadership of Prince Dabulamanzi kaMpande attacked the outpost at Rorke's Drift on the 22nd of January, 1879. Defending the mission station were just over 150 men under the command of Lieutenants John Chard and Gonville Bromhead.

Fierce fighting took place as the Zulu tribesmen tried to break into the mission compound, succeeding on the second day. However they were eventually repelled by Chard and Bromhead's men. On the third day, though, the situation became desperate for those holding Rorke's Drift as out of an estimated 20,000 rounds of ammunition that they had at the start of the assault, less than a thousand remained.

On the third day men searched at dawn for survivors as well as trying to retrieve the guns and ammunition the Zulus had taken at Isandlwana. When the Zulu warriors appeared again they did not attack and quickly left the scene of the battle.

For their bravery, 11 men - including Chard and Bromhead - were awarded the Victoria Cross, along with four Distinguished Conduct Medals to four other men. A fifth was cancelled when the submission was cancelled due to the soldier being charged with being AWOL and for theft.

The Victoria Cross itself was first introduced in 1856, in the Crimean War. It was believed the medal itself was made from Russian cannons captured during the Crimean War but metallurgical tests show the metal alloy to be Chinese in origin. It is however possible these cannons themselves were captured by the Russians from the Chinese. The medal itself is Britain's highest medal for gallantry, and bears the simple inscription "For Valour".

The very first medal was laid by Queen Victoria under the foundation stone of the Netley Military Hospital in 1856. This was recovered when the hospital was demolished. The medal is now displayed in the Army Services Museum at Mytchett, near Aldershot.

Answer: Monte Cassino

As the Allied Forces made a slow advance through Italy during 1943-44 they were forced to take a route leading to the Liri Valley. Guarding the south entrance to the valley was the town of Cassino, overlooked by the abbey of Monte Cassino. Since the abbey was of historical importance, Field Marshal Albert Kesselring decided not to include the abbey in his fortifications, despite the abbey giving an excellent view over the battlefield. As such, Kesselring informed both the Allies and the Vatican of his decision.

This, however, did not stop the allies attacking the abbey on reports of German soldiers occupying the abbey, possibly using it as an observation post. After the abbey was bombed, the German forces did occupy the abbey, leading to a long and protracted attempt by the Allies to take the abbey that lasted from January 1944 to the May of that year.

As a result the Allies suffered an estimated 55,000 casualties, while the Germans lost around 20,000 men either killed or wounded in the defence of the abbey.

Answer: The film was an adaptation of the real siege of Rochester Castle

Released in 2011, "Ironclad" depicted the siege of Rochester Castle by King John during the First Barons' war of 1215. However, the film contains some historical accuracies about the siege there was a number of errors in the film.
When seen for the first time by those defending Rochester Castle, the castle was alone, guarding a stone bridge. The city of Rochester existed as a walled city along with a cathedral at the time of King John's siege and the bridge across the River Medway was largely wooden at the time of the siege. In addition, he number of defenders depicted in the film was also less than the actual amount that held out against King John's men. Finally, at the end of the film, King John was shown as being driven away by the French Army, when in fact he was successful in taking the castle.

The actual siege of Rochester Castle took place in October, 1215, lasting two months. Initially, King John was successful in breaching the outer walls of Rochester Castle, but the defenders retreated to the keep which proved a tougher prospect to attack. As a result King John ordered that one of the towers be undermined and the supports set alight causing the tower to collapse (something the film actually got right).

When King John's men eventually entered the keep, the defenders put up strong resistance, retreating to another part of the keep. However, the situation worsened for the defenders as lack of food forced the knights to eat their own horses. The weakest were allowed to leave the castle, but suffered at the hands of King John, who reportedly had their hands and feet amputated.

Eventually in late November, the siege was broken and John's men succeeded in capturing the castle. Initially, King John wanted all the defenders of the castle killed, but after some persuasion he only executed a crossbow man. The rest of the besiegers were imprisoned, some in Corfe Castle in Dorset.

It wasn't until 1216 that Prince Louis of France took the castle for the barons, but by then the castle was in a ruinous state due to the siege, with many no longer putting their faith in castles for defence. However, by then Henry III had succeed his father, and the barons gave their support to the young king, forcing Louis to relinquish Rochester Castle. It wasn't until the reign of Edward III - in the 14th century - that the castle was finally repaired.

Answer: Leningrad

As The German forces advanced through Russia during 1941, the city of Leningrad (now known as St Petersburg) was cut off and placed under siege. The original German plan was to destroy Leningrad, and give the territory to the north of the city to the Finns - who themselves were also involved in a conflict against Russia. As the winter of 1941 set in Leningrad was effectively cut off, from the south and east, whilst the Finns blocked the northern routes to the city.

The only means of supplying the city if arms and food was by crossing Lake Lagoda to the east of the city and a small corridor of land that still remained in Russian hands. In the summer months, this was done via boats ferrying supplies to the city. In the winter months, trucks were able to make a perilous crossing of the ice covered lake. This was by no means safe, as along with the constant bombardment from German forces, there was also the risk these trucks could fall through the ice. Despite these supplies, starvation was rife, with reports that gangs were resorting to cannibalism during the siege when even the rats, pets and birds had been eaten. It is also reported that the meagre supplies of bread, contained as must as 50% to 60% sawdust.

Eventually the siege was lifted as the Soviet Army pushed back the German and Finnish forces. The cost though to the city was high, with many buildings destroyed or badly damaged and treasures looted. The list of casualties was even greater, with an estimated 1.5 million soldiers and civilians dying. Although nearly 1.4 million people were evacuated from the city, many of these died either through starvation or via bombardment.

Answer: The Tet Offensive

Situated in a key position close to the North Vietnamese and Laos border, Khe Sanh was an important base for the American forces during the Vietnam war. Held by elements of the US Marine Corp, US 1st Calvary, the US 7th Airforce and a contingent from the South Vietnamese army, the defenders held out against three divisions of the North Vietnamese army who cut off the base from being supplied by land. The only way to keep the base supplied in the early days of the siege was via transport aircraft. Such was the risk of being shot down that pilots developed what is now known as the Khe Sanh approach. This involves making a steep approach to an airfield, pulling up to land at the last possible moment to either land or drop supplies via parachute.

The initial attack began on the 21st of January 1968. By late March 1968, American forces were able to make a breakthrough by land. After Khe Sanh was relieved for the first time, it was decided to close the camp. However, during this process the camp came under attack again, and it was not until early July that the US Marines managed to retrieve anything worth salvaging, finally closing the base. The defeat at Khe Sanh was the first time that America had abandoned a major combat base during the Vietnam war, and it allowed the North Vietnamese army to press further southwards.

Answer: Dover Castle

Situated upon Dover cliffs, to the eastern side of the town, stands Dover Castle, a key fortress in the defence of England, which gave clear views of shipping in the Straits of Dover, as well the French port of Calais.

During the First Barons' War - against King John - Prince Louis of France was taunted by his father for not trying to capture Dover Castle despite Louis have taken control of most of Kent. As Such, in the July of 1216, the forces of Prince Louis began their siege of Dover Castle. Controlling the castle was it's constable, Hugh de Burgh, leading a garrison of well supported men. After successfully breaching the outer walls, Louis' men were repelled by de Burgh's - who quickly blocked up the breach.

Despite efforts to undermine the walls and towers guarding the castle, the besiegers were thwarted by the defenders efforts, who themselves dug tunnels to intercept the French forces. With some of his men diverted to counter a guerrilla action by Kentish archers, Louis was forced into signing a truce and retreating by the October of that year.

After the death of King John, most of the barons were convinced to fight for John's son Henry III, and in 1217, Louis relinquished any remaining English territory he controlled.