War Movie Geography Trivia Quiz

Answer: Korea

Heartbreak Ridge is found in Korea, North Korea near Chorwon just north of the 38th parallel to be specific, and took place during the Korean War. The Battle of Wendengli, aka the Battle of Heartbreak Ridge, lasted about a month in September and October of 1951. This battle and location serve as the motivating force behind the fictional character portrayed by Clint Eastwood in the movie "Heartbreak Ridge".

"Heartbreak Ridge" tells the fictional story of Gunnery Sergeant Thomas Highway, a tough as nails career Marine, played by Eastwood. The movie also stars Mario Van Peebles as one of the Recon squad members. Highway is haunted by what happened in the Korean War, a place where he won the Congressional Medal of Honor. He takes a group of undisciplined soldiers and turns them into a top-notch Recon team. They get the chance to prove their mettle when the Invasion of Grenada happens.

Answer: Iwo Jima

Mount Suribachi dominates the island of Iwo Jima, one of the Japanese Volcano Islands and site of one of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific Theater during WWII. Mount Suribachi is also the site of the famous flag raising as iconically photographed by Joe Rosenthal.

"Sands of Iwo Jima" is a fictional story about Marine Sergeant Stryker, played by Wayne. He trains his men hard and they resent him for it. They don't realize that the harder he trains them, the more likely they are to survive the combat they will face. At Tarawa the men begin to appreciate all that Stryker has done for them. The movie ends on Iwo Jima where Stryker is killed by a sniper and the men finally understand all that he has done in preparing them to survive modern warfare.

Answer: The Ottoman Empire

At the time of the Gallipoli Campaign, Turkey was controlled by the Ottoman Empire, a member of the Central Powers along with Germany, Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria. The campaign was an attempt to open up a supply route, for the Allies, to Russia to help keep them fighting on the Eastern Front. The battle was the first in which ANZAC units participated on a full-scale and was seen as the beginning of the birth of the national identities of Australia and New Zealand.

The 1981 movie "Gallipoli", directed by Peter Weir and starring Mel Gibson and Mark Lee, is not based on any particular historic person but does faithfully represent the horrors faced by the combatants in the campaign. The movie follows the story of Frank (Gibson) and Archy (Lee) as they enlist and eventually end up at Gallipoli.

Answer: Vietnam

Dong Ap Bia was named Hill 937 by the military because it is 937 meters high. It lies at the western end of the A Shau Valley in South Vietnam, within a couple of miles of the Laotian border. The A Shau Valley was a major route for the Ho Chi Minh trail. The battle fought there May 10-20, 1969 inspired the movie "Hamburger Hill".

"Hamburger Hill" stars Dylan McDermott, Steven Weber, Courtney B. Vance, Don Cheadle, and Michael Boatman. It tells the story of the men who fought to take Hill 937 in 1969. The movie not only deals with the issues that the soldiers face in combat, but also all of the turmoil going on back in the States and how it affects them. The terrain of Hill 937 was brutal and the mountain itself becomes a big part of the story.

Answer: Midway

The term midway, meaning a location at a fair or carnival where the amusement rides and concessions are located, first came about at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The Australian equivalent of sideshow alley could possibly work here except there is no war movie with such a name.

The Battle of Midway is considered to be the major turning point of the war in the Pacific. Midway Atoll is stuck right in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and as such played a strategic role in how the war in the Pacific would be fought. At that time Midway served as an important stop for both flights and Navy ships.

The 1976 movie "Midway" accurately portrays the historic events that encompassed the Battle of Midway. The film has an all-star cast including Henry Fonda, Charlton Heston, James Coburn, Glenn Ford, Hal Holbrook, Toshirô Mifune, Robert Mitchum, Cliff Robertson, Robert Wagner, James Shigeta, Pat Morita, and Robert Ito. In the movie, the vast expanse of the ocean and how it affected the events of the battle almost becomes another character. Crucial decisions are influenced by the hide and seek nature of warfare on such a grand scale.

Answer: Burma-Thailand

The 1957 British war film, "The Bridge on the River Kwai", is based on the novel "The Bridge over the River Kwai" by Pierre Boulle and is a fictional account of events surrounding the building of the Burma Railway from Bangkok, Thailand to Rangoon, Burma. The Japanese use prisoners of war as forced labor to build the bridge. The film stars William Holden and Alec Guinness. The movie tells the story of British Lt. Colonel Nicholson (Guinness), commander of the POWs, and United States Navy Commander Shears (Holden), an escapee who returns to destroy the bridge.

The film and novel are loosely based on the building of a railway bridge over the Mae Klong in 1943, near the Thai town of Kanchanaburi. After the film came out, the Thai officials renamed part of the Mae Klong as Kwae Yai ('Big Kwae') to accommodate the tourists who came to see the bridge from the movie. The oppressive tropical heat and the jungle both play a vital role in the movie.

Answer: Korea

"The Bridges at Toko-Ri" is a movie based on the novel of the same name by James Michener. Although a fictional story, it is based on real bombing missions against bridges at Majon-ni and Changnim-Ni in North Korea, flown from the USS Valley Forge Aircraft Carrier during the Korean War. Michener had been a correspondent on the USS Valley Forge and USS Essex carriers during the war.

The movie revolves around US Navy Lt. Harry Brubaker, played by William Holden. Grace Kelly plays Holden's wife and Mickey Rooney plays Chief Petty Officer Mike Forney. During a visit with his wife in Tokyo while on leave, Brubaker exhibits the stress of combat and his wife worries for his safety. Her fears are justified as Brubaker gets killed after successfully bombing the bridges at Toko-Ri. The terrain and the difficulty of the mission play an essential role in the movie. Considering the bravery of the men in carrying out their duty, the movie ends with the question, "Where do we get such men?"

Answer: Rhine

As the US Army pushed into Germany during the early months of 1945, gaining a foothold across the Rhine became of paramount importance. The Germans had successfully used rivers in the past to slow the Allied advance across Europe after the D-Day landings. As the 9th Armored Division of the US 1st Army approached Remagen on March 7, 1945 they were surprised to find the Ludendorff Bridge still standing. They rushed the bridge and were able to capture it intact.

The 1969 movie "The Bridge at Remagen" is based on the book "The Bridge at Remagen: The Amazing Story of March 7, 1945" by Ken Hechler. The movie is a fictionalized account of the taking of the bridge. The bridge itself becomes a character in the movie. The movie stars George Segal as Lieutenant Hartman, commander of the company tasked with capturing the bridge, and Robert Vaughn, as Major Paul Krüger, the German officer tasked with destroying the bridge.

Answer: Pork Chop Hill

The Battle of Pork Chop Hill was actually two different battles fought in the spring and summer of 1953, while peace negotiations dragged on at Panmunjeom. The hill was named for its shape. The US won the first engagement but lost the second and was forced to withdraw from the militarily insignificant hill.

The 1959 movie "Pork Chop Hill" stars Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, George Peppard, Rip Torn, Martin Landau, and Robert Blake. The movie is based on military historian Brig. Gen. S. L. A. Marshall's book "Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, Korea, Spring 1953". Marshall was an eye witness to the action. Peck plays Lieutenant Joe Clemons, the commander of the company tasked with retaking the hill and then holding it against an overwhelming Chinese counter-attack.

Answer: Japanese Empire

Empire of the Sun refers to the Japanese Empire as it existed from 1868 to 1947. The more proper nomenclature is the Empire of Japan, which carries with it the significance of including Japan and its surrounding area geographically.

The 1987 movie "Empire of the Sun" is based on the 1984 book of the same name written by J. G. Ballard. The book is a semi-autobiographical account of Ballard's experiences as a boy in a POW camp in China during the Japanese occupation. The film's director is Steven Spielberg. It stars a young Christian Bale in the lead role and John Malkovich as Basie.