World War 2 Mixture 3 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hawker Hurricane

The Supermarine Spitfire will be the plane remembered by 'the common man' as the savior of Britain in World War 2. However, during the famous Battle of Britain, when Britain held off endless waves of incoming bombers, the rugged Hawker Hurricane had the most kills.

The Hawker Hurricane had the tiny edge in numerical superiority over the Spitfire, as the Hurricane entered production earlier. Also, while the more maneuverable and more agile Spitfire engaged the German Messerschmitts, the Hawker Hurricane would pounce on the bombers.

The total estimated kill count pointed to the Hurricanes as the top killers. Even so, it was obvious, even to those not flying the plane, and especially to those fighting the planes, that the Supermarine Spitfire was a much better fighter overall.

The Boulton-Paul Defiant was an unusual fighter-sized plane with a ball turret. The idea seemed good at the time, but the few Defiants that entered combat suffered from many basic problems. The Hawker Typhoon was a strike plane that was used later in the war.

Answer: Caen

One of the many D-day objectives for the British were to secure Caen. The landings went fairly well, considering the number of things that had to go well. The problem was pushing inland, with the 21st Panzer Division mobilizing with elements of the 12th SS Panzer Division.

The Canadians reached their own D-day objectives, only a little bit later than expected. They pushed, at the limit, 7 miles inland to the Caen-Bayeaux road, where they were in position to strike at Caen. However, by nightfall, not enough reinforcements had arrived to take Caen or the other objective, Carpiquet Airfield, and the Canadians withdrew.

The British advance had bogged down, which resulted in the Canadian withdrawal. Instead, the fully mobilized Panzer divisions occupied Caen and made it a fortress city, giving it up months later, only when the city had been flattened. Bayeaux was another un-attained D-day objective, but the eventual capture came at a much lower price than Caen. Carentan was a crossroads town linking the American Omaha and Utah beaches, and was an attained D-day objective for the 101st and 82nd Airborne Divisions. Cherbourg was a port city on the tip of the Cotentin Peninsula.

While Operation Overlord was in planning, Allied leaders agreed to land troops at Cherbourg in a diversionary attack if Russia ever seemed in grave danger of losing (a.k.a. Stalin dying or Moscow captured). Of course, no such landing was ever required, and Cherbourg was definitely too far away from the Normandy beaches to be a D-day objective.

Answer: Communists

When the Japanese first invaded China in 1937, the Nationalists and Communists were already fighting one another in a vicious Civil War. Chiang Kai-Shek was the recognized leader of China, fighting the guerrilla forces led by Mao Zedong. Although both leaders fought the Japanese occupation, only one considered it the real enemy.

The Communists fought hard, possibly earning the respect of many Chinese citizens, who later supported the cause after the war. Once the war began in earnest around the world, American and British troops came to help in Chinese to a small extent. Chiang became somewhat complacent, and turned to plan how to defeat Mao Zedong after the war.

The American liaison, Lieutenant General Joseph P. Stilwell, who already disliked Chiang, was irritated by his seeming lack of priorities.

Answer: M4 Sherman Firefly

The British had expressed a desire for a tank mounting a 17 pdr gun, when the current British tanks were showing a distinct shortcoming in tank combat. The British also did not have the huge production edge the Americans possessed. As a result, the British sought to produce a more powerful tank.

As the designs came in, the British decided to choose the versatile M4 Sherman to mount the 17 pdr. Small changes such as counterweights were added, and the result was one of the best Sherman variants. The Sherman Firefly possessed to mobility of the Sherman, and the range, power, and penetration of the excellent 17 pdr.

The weakness was still the Sherman armor, however, as no improvements were made to the thin armor. The M4 Sherman Jumbo was a variant with added armor protection, but the heavier armor reduced the all-important mobility.

The M4 Sherman was also improved by the Americans to fight German armor. They fitted a 76 mm gun that was considerably more effective than the current 75 mm, but still nowhere close to the 17 pdr mounted by the Firefly.

The Sherman Crab was a "Sherman funny" outfitted with an odd flailing device that was actually quite effective in detonating mines without damage.

Answer: Field Marshal Erich von Manstein

Friedrich Paulus and his forces entered and virtually captured Stalingrad from the Russians, but in doing so he fell right into the trap set by Marshal Georgiy Zhukov. The Russian leader surrounded Paulus's entire army, and cut off all supply and food in the cold winter. Thousands of troops died from hunger, cold, or disease, and the Russians continued to tighten the noose. Field Marshal von Manstein led an attempt to reach Paulus. Manstein's Panzer Armies were stopped a little less than 40 miles away from Paulus. If Paulus had taken the initiative to push from his side, it is highly probable that a large portion of his army could have been saved.

However, Hitler's absolute refusal to allow him to do so resulted in his demise. As it happened, Paulus surrendered, a day after Hitler promoted him to Field Marshal.

Answer: General Douglas MacArthur

General MacArthur was a key leader in World War 2, one of the few generals to fight in the relatively 'second priority' in the Pacific. Due to the this priority compared to the European war, both British and American assets in the Pacific received less funding, supplies, and men. Only a few excellent leaders fought in the Pacific, and many were Japanese generals. Douglas MacArthur was one excellent leader, and Chester Nimitz was another. If MacArthur hadn't been present during the initial Phillippine invasion, he probably would have been sent to the West, along with many of the Army's best generals. To push back the Japanese from their island holdings in the Pacific, MacArthur island-hopped in the south, from Guadalcanal to Papua New Guinea and eventually back to the Phillippines. Nimitz and Marine General Holland "Howlin Mad" Smith worked the central and northern Pacific islands. Both pushes resulted in a two-pronged assault that crushed the Japanese.

Answer: Shoot around corners

In urban warfare, when a soldier peeked around a corner, he would get shot at by the opposing side. Although it was the same situation for the enemies, still, no one liked to get shot at. As a result, the German engineers developed a very unusual weapon.

This weapon attachment, called the Krummlauf, was an extension of the firearm barrel so that the bullet could travel around the corner at an angle without the soldier having to show himself. The Americans captured and tested these weapons, which were not very reliable, and they even developed a working, but much less effective version that shot at almost 90 degrees. Eventually, the small numbers of the Krummlauf that were produced were fitted to the MP44s.

Answer: Bicycles

In one of the more interesting marches of the 20th century, General Yamashita led a forced march of his troops for over 100 miles, and then equipped the soldiers with their own personal bicycles, which they used in the tight jungle roads to flank and pursue the battered and retreating British.

The Malayan Peninsula fell within weeks, and the essential fortified port city of Singapore fell soon after.

Answer: Tirpitz

The German surface ships were, as a whole, excellent ships, with thick armor and powerful guns. The Graf Spee was a pocket battleship, an early terror to the British ships. However, a group of Royal Navy cruisers located and engaged it off the coast of Montevidio in Uruguay.

The captain scuttled the ship to avoid it from being captured. The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, two sister battleships, went into battle together, raiding many convoys. These light battleships wreaked havoc among lighter fleets, and had the speed to keep up with smaller ships, but were at a loss in firepower, which was why the Scharnhorst was sunk at the Battle of North Cape.

The Gneisenau was used as a blockship after the war. The Bismarck was one of the most well-known battleships.

It was powerful and well-armored, as well as well-crewed. In the Battle of the Denmark Strait, it and the cruiser Prinz Eugen sank the battlecruiser H.M.S. Hood and disabled the battleship H.M.S. Prince of Wales. The Bismarck was only sunk after the Royal Navy pursued it relentlessly and trapped it with a huge fleet including multiple battleships and carriers.

The answer to the question, however, is the Tirpitz. Although the Bismarck and the Tirpitz were sister ships, the Tirpitz was 1,200 tonnes heavier. Although she never fired a shot at the enemy, she kept British ships tied down to keep watch over her, and she often scattered enemy convoys.

Answer: M48 and M1

The M48, and later the M60, were both named after George Patton. The M1 was named after a lesser-known tank colonel, Creighton Abrams, who was promoted to general after World War 2. The M2 IFV is named after Omar Bradley, and the M4 is named after William Sherman.

The M8 was never completed, but was about to enter production named after Korean war general Matthew Ridgway. The M551 was named after Philip Sheridan, and the M3 was named after both Ulysses Grant and Robert Lee.