World War II Trivia

Yesterday, December 7, marked the 81st anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. To honor those who lost there lives there and World War II in general, I present the following trivia challenge.

Questions

1. 1. Which country had the most fatalities, both military and civilian, in World War II?
2. 2. What was the bloodiest battle in World War II?
3. 3. What was the name of the B-29 Bomber that dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan?
4. 4. What were the names of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
5. 5. What was the name of the secret project to develop said atomic bombs?
6. 6. What side was Spain on in World War II?
7. 7. Besides Germany and Italy, what other five European countries were officially on the Axis side?
8. 8. What was the largest battleship in World War II?
9. 9. What battle involved the most tanks in World War II?
10. 10. How many zones was Germany initially divided into after they lost the war?
11. 11. What was the last major battle of World War II?
12. 12. What slogan appeared at the entrance of Auschwitz?
13. 13. What system of patches did Germany use at concentration camps to identify why prisoners were there?
14. 14. What was the name of the mathematician who lead the effort to crack the German secret code and what was the code called?
15. 15. Where was the first atomic bomb tested?
16. 16. What TWO states did Japan bomb in World War II?
17. 17. The Third Reich, meaning third empire, was a term often used to describe Germany between 1933 and 1945. What were considered the first two Reichs?
18. 18. What was the name of the pact between Germany, Japan, and Italy?
19. 19. Not counting FDR, which future presidents served in the military during World War II?
20. 20. What was the first and most well-known Japanese “war relocation center” in the United States?

 

Answers

1. 1. The Soviet Union, with 24 million fatalities. By comparison, the United States is ranked 18th at 418,500. Source: statistica.com
2. 2. The Battle of Stalingrad, with an estimated two million fatalities. Source: Wikipedia.
3. 3. The Enola Gay.
4. 4. Fat Man and Little Boy.
5. 5. The Manhattan Project.
6. 6. Spain was officially neutral, but assisted German in various ways, including sending troops, known as the Blue Division, to assist Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union. Source: Wikipedia.
7. 7. Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia. Source: United States Holocaust Museum
8. 8. Japan’s Yamato. Source: Useful Trivia
9. 9. The Battle of Kursk, which involved as many as 6,000 tanks. Source: Useful Trivia
10. 10. Four – The US, English, French, and Soviet zones. The first three would later merge together to form west Germany.
11. 11. The Battle of Okinawa. Source: Useful Trivia.
12. 12. Arbeit macht frei, which translates to “Work sets you free.” Source: Wikipedia
13. 13. Colored triangles. For a list of the various categories, see the Wikipedia page on Nazi concentration camp badges.
14. 14. Alan Turing and the Engima code. Source: Imperial War Museums
15. 15. The Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range in New Mexico. The first test was performed on July 16, 1945. I am proud to own a piece of trinitite, which is a glassy residue created from sand as a result of atomic testing. Source: Wikipedia
16. 16. Japan and Oregon. Everyone knows about Pearl Harbor, but Japan also dropped incendiary bombs on Oregon, by both plane and balloons, hoping to start forest fires. Source: Oregon Secretary of State
17. 17. The Holy Roman Empire and the Germine Empire (1871-1918). Source: Wikipedia
18. 18. The Tripartite Pact. Source: Useful Trivia
19. 19. Eisenhower (Army), Kennedy (Navy), Johnson (Navy), Nixon (Navy), Ford (Navy), Reagan (Army), George H.W. Bush (Navy). In other words, every president from Eisenhower to George H.W. Bush served during the war, except Carter (who also was in the Navy, but after the war). Source: Desert Sun
20. 20. Manzanar, located between Lone Pine and Independence, California. Source: Wikipedia

 

Written by: Michael Shackleford