Sites of Conflict and Combat Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Korean Demilitarized Zone

The Korean Demilitarized Zone roughly followed the northern 38th parallel, which was the dividing line between North and South Korea at the end of World War II. As fighting between the two sides came to an end in 1953, both armies moved their troops back by 2 km.

The zone stretched for 240 km from one side of the Korean Peninsula to the other. Although there was an agreed limit on the number of military personnel and types of weapons allowed in the zone, there have still been conflicts and a number of deaths there since its creation.

Answer: William the Conqueror

Duke William of Normandy arrived in England with an army ready to take the English throne. King Harold met him on a battlefield on 14th October 1066. The two armies were evenly matched and fought for most of the day, until King Harold died and his remaining army dispersed. The Duke assumed the English throne and was crowned William I on Christmas Day 1066. He later became known as William the Conqueror.

Although it's often called the 'Battle of Hastings', the fighting took place about 12 miles from the town. After he'd won, William built an abbey on the site of the battle as a memorial to those who had lost their lives. English Heritage acquired the building in the late 20th century and opened the site to visitors.

Answer: Greece and Persia

King Xerxes I of Persia was advancing through the Greek states with an enormous army. A comparatively small number of Greek armies came together with Leonidas as their leader. They gathered at the mountain pass of Thermopylae in order to block the Persian army's way. At first, the Greek forces were succeeding, but after three days they were betrayed. A local showed the Persian army a different way around the mountain and the Greeks were outflanked. While many Greek soldiers fled, a small number of them remained and continued to fight until they were defeated.

The Centre for Historical Information in Thermopylae was built near the ancient site to educate visitors about the history of the area. A monument to Leonidas was also constructed in 1955 to celebrate the bravery of the king and his troops.

Answer: French colonial rulers

The area now known as Vietnam was under French rule during part of the 19th century as part of the Indochinese Union that was created. Hoa Lo Prison was built and opened in the final decades of the century. At times it was overcrowded, with sometimes up to 2000 prisoners in a building designed to accommodate hundreds. It was often used to hold political prisoners like Vietnamese revolutionaries and the museum that opened on the site in the 1990s contained the guillotine used for executions at the time.

During the war between Vietnam and America, Hoa Lo Prison was used for American prisoners of war. One of the most famous POWs held there was John McCain. After returning home from the war, he became a public figure. He was elected to the US House of Representatives in 1982 and the Senate in 1986.

Answer: World War I

The British 29th Division and the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in April 1915. The Allied plan was to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking Constantinople (now Istanbul) and force Ottoman Turkey out of the war. The Allied Forces anticipated a quick victory, but they underestimated the Ottoman soldiers.

The Allies were unable to advance further into Turkey and trench warfare - an icon of the First World War - took hold. There was a further eight months of stalemate until the Allied Forces decided to evacuate.

Answer: South Africa

Isandhlwana is a hill in South Africa. In 1878, the British Empire was expanding and the British high commissioner for South Africa had his eye on Zululand. The Zulu king, Cetshwayo, was given an ultimatum: disband the Zulu army. After he refused, British forces began an invasion and Cetshwayo attempted to defend his kingdom. With larger numbers and superior weapons, the British Empire appeared to have the upper hand.

On January 22nd 1879, Lord Chelmsford led a large proportion of his army away, leaving roughly 2,000 soldiers unprotected at Isandlwana. Over 20,000 Zulu soldiers stormed the camp and massacred the men - a crushing blow for the British Empire.

Answer: Sarajevo

As Yugoslavia broke up in the early 1990s, Bosnia and Herzegovina struggled to come together as a unified country. The different ethnic groups in the area became divided, leading to a civil war. Bosnian Serb Nationalists were backed by neighbouring Serbia. They were well-armed and placed the capital city, Sarajevo, under siege in April 1992.

The city was surrounded by hills. Bosnian Serb troops took up positions in the hills with snipers and other weapons trained on the city below. Civilians tried to go about their daily lives, but over 5,000 of them were killed during the siege.

Answer: Hernan Cortes

The Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan was built on islands in the centre of Lake Texcoco. In 1521, Hernan Cortes surrounded the city, blocking the causeways that led to it, as well as the aqueduct that provided fresh water. After months under siege, Tenochtitlan fell and New Mexico was built on its foundations.

Not only did the Spanish (and their indigenous allies) have superior weapons, the Europeans brought smallpox with them. With no previous exposure, the disease decimated the city's population before the siege even began.

Answer: Military evacuation

As German forces advanced westward, they invaded Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and northern France. British, French, and Belgian troops retreated back towards the coast. Operation Dynamo was the plan to evacuate the British Expeditionary Force who had traveled to mainland Europe in order to support the French army.

The port at Dunkirk had been destroyed by Luftwaffe raids, so the breakwater was used to evacuate the soldiers. It took over a week to evacuate all of the soldiers who had made it to the beach.

By the end of the evacuation, 198,000 British and 140,000 French and Belgian troops were rescued.

Answer: Pennsylvania

The Battle of Gettysburg is considered to be a defining moment in the American Civil War. The battle gave the North the upper hand moving forward through the war. The site became a national military park in 1895 and contains over 1,600 Civil War monuments and markers.

In November 1863, Abraham Lincoln delivered the Gettysburg Address there, dedicating the Soldiers' National Cemetery to the memory of those who had lost their lives.