Battle Scenes Trivia Quiz

Answer: Guadalcanal

The 1998 movie was nominated for seven Academy Awards but failed to win any. A black and white movie was released in 1964, following James Jones' 1962 novel, about the Battle of Guadalcanal. That long and costly jungle campaign in 1942, early in America's Pacific War, tested fighters on both sides, highlighting the "thin red line that divides the sane from the mad... the living from the dead," as Jones wrote.

Answer: Ia Drang

Based on the 1992 book "We Were Soldiers Once... and Young" by Hal Moore and Joe Galloway, who were at the Battle of Ia Drang Valley in November 1965. Mel Gibson played Lt. Col. Hal Moore and Barry Pepper played journalist Joe Galloway. Actor Sam Elliott played the gruff Sergeant Major Plumley, a veteran of WW2, Korea and Vietnam.

The movie tells the story of the first major battle between U.S. and Vietnamese forces as the war ramped up.

Answer: Gulf War

George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube played the "three kings" of the movie title, soldiers freelancing through Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War. This theme of soldiers looting gold from conquered lands also appeared in the 1970 war comedy "Kelly's Heroes" starring Clint Eastwood. Set in the desert, "Three Kings" has an unusual "look" of washed-out colors and deep blacks, achieved by shooting the movie with "Ektachrome" slide transparency film and washing it in a "bleach bypass" process involving silver halide.

Answer: Okinawa

This movie tells the story of Army medic Desmond Doss, a conscientious objector (CO) who refused to carry arms but insisted on serving, as did other CO's. Mel Gibson directed the movie, and said he based some of the battle scenes on stories told him by his dad, a veteran of Okinawa. Okinawa is considered home territory of Japan, causing the Japanese to fight particularly strong in defense there, as they had also protected their home territory of Iwo Jima.

The fighting on the highland of the Maeda Ridge was particularly ferocious, leading to the Americans naming that place Hacksaw Ridge. Doss won the Medal of Honor for bravery under fire. Desmond Doss died in 2006, before this movie was made, but he did cooperate in the filming of the 2004 movie "The Conscientious Objector" directed by Terry Benedict.

Answer: Operation Market Garden

The three-hour movie starred Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Ryan O'Neal as, respectively, U.K., Polish and U.S. generals. These three had key roles in an all-star cast and crew that boasted 14 previous Academy Award winners, although this movie gleaned no Oscars.

The movies shows the failures of Intelligence and high command that, despite the skill and bravery of the individual soldiers and units, led to the characterization of Market Garden as going a "bridge too far".

Answer: Hill 192, Vietnam

This film tells the story of the real-life "Incident at Hill 192" that occurred in November 1966 where a U.S. platoon kidnapped, raped and murdered a Vietnamese girl. Michael J. Fox plays a soldier who witnesses and reports the crimes, based on the actual Private Robert Storeby. Sean Penn plays the platoon sergeant, based on the actual Sgt. David Gervase who was convicted of murder, along with other members of the unit.

The movie was filmed in Thailand; a pivotal scene near a river bridge was shot at Kanchanaburi, the real-life location portrayed in the 1957 movie "Bridge on the River Kwai".

Answer: Stalingrad

This movie is based on a 1972 non-fiction work titled "Enemy at the Gates: The Battle for Stalingrad" that covered the 1942-1943 battle in one of the USSR's largest cities at the time. Central to the movie is Jude Law, playing a fictionalized version of the actual Soviet sniper Vasily Zaytsev, who was credited with over 250 kills during the months-long winter battle.

A moderate success in the U.S., the film was roundly criticized in both Germany and Russia for inaccuracies and for portrayals of both belligerents.

Answer: Korea

James Michener wrote the novel that the movie was based on after spending time on board the aircraft carrier USS Essex, operating off the coast of Korea. Rather unusual for the period, the movie's hero, played by William Holden, is a reluctant warrior and displays doubts about the war and fear for the dangers of the missions to destroy the bridges at Toko-Ri.

The movie won one Oscar, for special effects. This is also one of five movies released in 1954 starring Grace Kelly, a busy year just two years before she gave up Hollywood to become Princess Grace of Monaco.

Answer: Ypres

The sole Australian entry in this quiz, this movie tells the story of real-life Australian soldier Oliver Woodward who excavated tunnels under German lines at the Battle of Ypres, Belgium in WWI. The movie won a number of Australian film awards. Woodward was a mine engineer before the war, and the tunnels he dug were packed with explosives and detonated under enemy lines, collapsing trenches and other fortifications.

Answer: Napoleonic Wars

Peter Weir was nominated for a Best Director Oscar, but lost to Peter Jackson with "LOTR: The Return of the King". "Master and Commander" did take two Oscars: for Cinematography and Sound Editing. The heroic Captain Aubrey, played by Russell Crowe, is featured in a series of 20 books written over a period of 30 years by English author Patrick O'Brian.

The movie blends story lines and characters from more than one of these books.