SparkNotes: World War II (1939

1. Which event is generally considered to be the first belligerent act of World War II?

(A) Germany’s attack on Russia

(B) Germany’s attack on Britain

(C) Germany’s attack on Poland

(D) Germany’s occupation of Austria

2. Which two countries were the first to declare war on Germany?

(A) Italy and Greece

(B) Britain and France

(C) Norway and Denmark

(D) The United States and the USSR

3. Against which country did the Soviet Union instigate an armed conflict in late 1939?

(A) Finland

(B) Yugoslavia

(C) Czechoslovakia

(D) Hungary

4. What were the first two western European countries that Germany invaded?

(A) France and Belgium

(B) Norway and Denmark

(C) Switzerland and Liechtenstein

(D) Austria and the Netherlands

5. Which best describes Germany’s standard invasion strategy at the beginning of World War II?

(A) Attack with a combination of speed and overwhelming force

(B) Intimidate the enemy by first amassing a large force along the enemy’s border

(C) Begin with acts of sabotage behind enemy lines

(D) Draw out battles for as long as possible to wear the enemy out

6. What major mistake did the Allies make in preparing to defend against Germany’s attack on France?

(A) They failed to anticipate that the attack would take place

(B) They expected an attack by ground forces rather than a naval assault

(C) They misinterpreted where the main invasion would take place

(D) They failed to set up minefields along the border with Germany

7. What happened at Dunkirk in May 1940?

(A) British forces retreated across the English Channel

(B) The French army lost a major battle

(C) American forces invaded France

(D) German forces were defeated in a large naval battle

8. Where was the French surrender to Germany signed?

(A) In Paris

(B) In Berlin

(C) In a railway car

(D) On a boat

9. Why did the British Royal Navy attack French warships at Mers-el-Kebir?

(A) The French crews had sworn allegiance to Germany

(B) France was at war with Britain

(C) The French crews refused to surrender their ships when the British requested

(D) They were manned by Germans

10. What was Germany’s initial strategy for conquering Britain?

(A) First establish air superiority, then send in ground forces

(B) First destroy the British navy, then send in ground forces

(C) First send in ground forces, then attack the country with aircraft

(D) Immobilize London with poison gas attacks

11. What was the “London Blitz”?

(A) Germany’s plan for a blitzkrieg on London

(B) A term used for Germany’s bombing campaign on London

(C) A series of German missile attacks late in the war

(D) Code name for a secret British radar system

12. Overall, the Battle of Britain is considered to be

(A) A victory for Germany

(B) A victory for Britain

(C) A victory for neither

(D) A minor conflict

13. What was Italy’s primary role in the war?

(A) It helped Germany in accomplishing its main objectives

(B) It was helpful to Britain

(C) It caused problems for Japan

(D) It distracted Germany from accomplishing its main objectives

14. What was Hitler’s primary justification for invading Russia?

(A) Stalin was preparing to attack Germany

(B) Germany needed more space for its population

(C) Hitler believed that a war on two fronts would be to his advantage

(D) He desired revenge for the execution of Tsar Nicholas II

15. What was the code name given to Germany’s plan to invade the USSR?

(A) Operation Sea Lion

(B) Operation Barbarossa

(C) Operation Wolfenstein

(D) Operation Crossbow

16. What happened to the Soviet air force during the opening days of the German invasion?

(A) Up to 2,000 Soviet aircraft were destroyed while still on the ground.

(B) Soviet pilots scored easy victories against inexperienced German pilots

(C) It was evacuated to Siberia

(D) The Soviet air force engaged in huge dogfights involving thousands of planes on each side

17. Which of the following was not a part of the Soviet defense plan against Germany?

(A) Well-organized partisan resistance

(B) A strict policy of destroying any usable resources before retreating

(C) The Soviets sought to lure German armies into forests, which they would then set on fire

(D) Major factories were disassembled and moved east

18. On which region of the Soviet Union did Hitler place the highest priority?

(A) Ukraine and southern Russia

(B) Leningrad and northern Russia

(C) Moscow and central Russia

(D) Siberia

19. Via what route did Russians manage to send some supplies to Leningrad during the German siege of the city?

(A) A German supply line across the Black Sea

(B) An underground railroad

(C) A supply route across Lake Ladoga

(D) An airlift

20. Which country was the site of most of the Nazi extermination camps?

(A) The USSR

(B) Czechoslovakia

(C) Poland

(D) Hungary

21. How did the Western Allies respond to Germany’s invasion of Russia?

(A) They sent supplies and intelligence information to the USSR

(B) They were largely indifferent to the situation in Russia

(C) They sent large numbers of troops to fight in Russia

(D) They attacked German naval forces from the Black Sea

22. What Japanese action created tension with the United States?

(A) Its seizure of territory in China

(B) Its seizure of territory in Russia

(C) Its seizure of territory in Korea

(D) Its decision to block American shipping routes

23. What U.S. action created tension with Japan?

(A) Its blockade of Japanese ports

(B) Its freezing of Japanese assets

(C) Its establishment of a trade embargo against Japan

(D) Its default on Japanese loans

24. Who was the Japanese admiral behind the Pearl Harbor attack?

(A) Hirohito

(B) Myamoto

(C) Yamamoto

(D) Matsuhito

25. Which of the following was not true about the Pearl Harbor attack?

(A) U.S. officials knew the day before that Japan was planning a major attack

(B) There was concern among U.S. military leaders that Peal Harbor was vulnerable to attack

(C) The Japanese painted their aircraft to look like American planes

(D) Prior to the attack, Japanese spies had verified which U.S. battleships would be in port

26. What was unique about the Doolittle Raid?

(A) The bombers were launched from an aircraft carrier

(B) It was the first raid to employ jet aircraft

(C) The bombers flew to Japan all the way from Hawaii

(D) The bombers were unmanned

27. Which battle is considered to be the turning point for the war in the Pacific?

(A) The Battle of the Coral Sea

(B) The Battle of Guadalcanal

(C) The Battle of Iwo Jima

(D) The Battle of Midway

28. The Battle of the Coral Sea was a unique naval battle in that

(A) It was fought entirely with submarines

(B) It was fought during a typhoon

(C) It was fought entirely with carrier-based aircraft

(D) It was fought primarily at night

29. During the Battle of Midway, Japan lost

(A) Most of its battleships

(B) Most of its aircraft carriers

(C) Admiral Yamamoto

(D) Most of its Pacific Fleet

30. The Battle of Stalingrad was

(A) A clear-cut example of a blitzkrieg

(B) An easy victory for Germany

(C) One of the deadliest battles in human history

(D) Primarily a tank battle

31. Who met at Casablanca?

(A) Roosevelt and Churchill

(B) Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin

(C) Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin, and Hitler

(D) Truman and Churchill

32. What was the focus of the Tehran Conference?

(A) The Allied invasion of France

(B) The war in the Pacific

(C) The Battle of Stalingrad

(D) The division of Germany after the war

33. What was the significance of Guadalcanal to Japan?

(A) The island was sacred to the Shinto religion

(B) The island offered a good position for attacking the Philippines

(C) The island was known to have oil reserves beneath it

(D) The island was in an ideal position for controlling the Solomon Islands

34. Why was the Japanese capture of Rangoon such a bitter loss for the Allies?

(A) They were worried about Rangoon historical sites

(B) As a major seaport, it was an excellent supply point

(C) Winston Churchill was born there

(D) The location was perfect for launching air strikes against Japan

35. Which statement best characterizes the series of battles in the Pacific following the Battle of Guadalcanal?

(A) With each battle, the Allies became increasingly disheartened until they finally gave up

(B) With each battle, the Japanese surrendered in large numbers

(C) With each battle, the Japanese soldiers increasingly fought to the death

(D) With each battle, civilian inhabitants of the islands joined the Allies in battle

36. What was the significance of Mt. Suribachi?

(A) It was the site of the bloodiest fighting on Okinawa

(B) It was the Japanese defense headquarters outside Tokyo

(C) It was the location where Japan was defeated in New Guinea

(D) It was the site of a major battle on Iwo Jima

37. Which country instigated the conflict in North Africa?

(A) Germany

(B) Italy

(C) Britain

(D) The United States

38. Why did Allied forces invade Italy after it had already surrendered?

(A) German forces were still fighting in the country

(B) Italy refused to meet all of the Allied demands

(C) There was strong anti-Allied resistance among Italian partisans

(D) The Allies felt that Italy needed to be punished

39. What was Monte Cassino?

(A) A place where Allied soldiers celebrated after the fall of Rome

(B) The place where Italy’s surrender was signed

(C) A large monastery in central Italy where the Germans defended Rome from Allied forces

(D) The site where Mussolini was killed

40. The Battle of Kursk is best described as

(A) Trench warfare

(B) An aerial battle

(C) Hand-to-hand combat

(D) A tank battle

41. After the Battle of Kursk, German forces

(A) Advanced deeper into southern Russia

(B) Finally entered Moscow

(C) Began a lengthy retreat back to Germany

(D) Held their position until the end of the war

42. What was the code name for the Allied invasion of Europe?

(A) Operation Barbarossa

(B) Operation Watchtower

(C) Operation Overlord

(D) Operation Bagration

43. The Allied invasion of Europe was primarily directed at

(A) The German coast

(B) The Italian coast

(C) The Danish coast

(D) The French coast

44. What was the location of the second major Allied assault into Europe in 1945?

(A) The Italian coast

(B) Greece

(C) The French Mediterranean coast

(D) The German North Sea coast

45. Why was the Luftwaffe so ineffective during the last part of the war?

(A) Germany was experiencing a severe oil shortage

(B) Germany was running out of pilots

(C) Most of Germany’s airplanes had already been destroyed

(D) The Allies had developed a way to interfere with German navigation equipment

46. Where did the Battle of the Bulge take place?

(A) The Ardennes Forest

(B) In northern Italy, near Milan

(C) Normandy

(D) In northern Germany, near Hamburg

47. What were the V1 and V2?

(A) Italian army battalions

(B) German missiles

(C) The two atomic bombs dropped on Japan

(D) Nightclubs in Berlin

48. Which Allied country’s forces arrived in Berlin first?

(A) The United States

(B) Britain

(C) France

(D) The USSR

49. In the last six months of the war, what was the U.S. strategy for winning the conflict with Japan?

(A) Negotiate with Japan for a conditional surrender

(B) Insert ground forces on the Japanese home islands

(C) Break the Japanese will with massive bombing raids on Japanese cities

(D) Place all of Japan under a naval blockade until the country surrendered

50. At what conference did the Allies set the terms for the Japanese surrender?

(A) The Yalta Conference

(B) The Casablanca Conference

(C) The Tehran Conference

(D) The Potsdam Conference

World War II (1939–1945)

Quiz