Hello History Buffs and Trivia Titans! Are you ready to embark on a journey back in time? We’re about to dive into some World War II trivia. Whether you’re a general of knowledge or a private of puns, this quiz is bound to bring out the historian in you. So get your thinking “tanks” ready—let’s begin!
1. When did World War II start?
2. Who were the main Axis Powers in World War II?
3. Which event triggered the United States’ entry into World War II?
4. What was the name of the top secret project that developed the atomic bomb?
5. Which European city was divided after World War II and became a symbol of Cold War divisions?
6. Which country was first invaded by Germany to start World War II?
7. What was the largest concentration camp established by the Germans during World War II?
8. Who was the British Prime Minister for most of World War II?
9. Which battle is considered the turning point of the war on the Eastern Front?
10. Who was the U.S. president at the end of World War II?
11. What is the estimated total number of casualties in World War II?
12. Name the operation which marked the start of the D-Day invasion?
13. What was the major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during the winter of 1944?
14. Who commanded the Afrika Korps for the Axis Powers?
15. Which two Japanese cities were destroyed by atomic bombs?
16. What was the Holocaust?
17. What was the name of Adolf Hitler’s manifesto?
18. What was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, launched in June 1944?
19. What was the “final solution” in Nazi terminology?
20. What is “Blitzkrieg”?
21. Which country was known as the ‘Arsenal of Democracy’ during World War II?
22. What was the operational code name for the Invasion of Soviet Union by Nazi Germany?
23. What was the first concentration camp established by the Nazi regime?
24. What was the largest ghetto established by the Nazis during World War II?
25. Who was the commander of Allied forces in the Pacific during World War II?
26. Who was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War II?
27. What was the German air force called?
28. What was the name of the series of trials for war crimes committed by the Axis Powers?
29. Which German general was known as the Desert Fox?
30. Which event is commemorated on V-E Day?
31. Which conference among the Allied Powers towards the end of World War II shaped the post-war world?
32. What was the name of the Japanese suicide pilots?
33. What was the name of the bridge in Japan where the first atomic bomb was dropped?
34. What was Mussolini’s political movement in Italy known as?
35. What was Hitler’s plan for the systematic genocide of the Jews known as?
36. Which infamous SS officer was known as ‘The Angel of Death’?
37. Which infamous prison in Paris was used to hold prisoners from the French Resistance?
38. Which battle was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II?
39. What was the death toll at the Nazi concentration camp, Auschwitz?
40. Which English city suffered severe bombing during ‘The Blitz’?
41. What was the name of the operation to retake the Philippines from Japanese control?
42. What term was used to describe the Allied strategy of World War II in the Pacific?
43. What was the name of the U.S. naval base that Japan attacked, bringing the U.S. into World War II?
44. What was the name of the Allied invasion of North Africa?
45. Who was the Japanese emperor during World War II?
46. Who was the prime minister of Japan during most of World War II?
47. What was the codename for the German plan to invade the United Kingdom during the Battle of Britain?
48. What was the name of the agreement that established the United Nations?
49. Which battle marked the end of Germany’s ability to resist the Allies?
50. What was the code name for the German invasion of the USSR?
51. What was the purpose of the G.I. Bill in the United States?
52. What were the codenames for the two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?
53. What river did the remnants of the German army cross in a desperate attempt to escape the Red Army’s trap near Berlin at the end of the war?
54. Who succeeded Franklin D. Roosevelt as U.S. President during World War II?
55. What was the name of the diplomatic policy of making political or material concessions to an aggressive power to avoid conflict?
56. Who was known as the ‘Desert Fox’?
57. What was the largest amphibious invasion in history?
58. Where was the major conference near the end of World War II where the leaders of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union discussed the future of Europe?
59. Who commanded the 3rd US Army in Europe?
60. What was the significance of the Battle of Midway?
61. Who was the head of the SS (Schutzstaffel) in Nazi Germany?
62. Who coined the phrase ‘Iron Curtain’ in the context of post-World War II Europe?
63. What was the name of the French resistance movement during World War II?
64. Which treaty ended World War II?
65. Who was the British general who led the Eighth Army in the Western Desert during the Second World War?
66. Who defied Hitler’s orders to retreat during the Battle of Stalingrad, which eventually led to the German army’s defeat?
67. What was the name of the committee set up by Roosevelt in 1941 to aid Britain?
68. What was the main Japanese war goal in World War II?
69. Which non-European country officially became a co-belligerent of the Allies in 1945?
70. What was the name of the series of border conflicts fought between the Soviet Union and Japan before and during World War II?
71. Which military strategy was employed by the Soviet Union to halt the German advance during the Battle of Moscow?
72. Who was the commander of the American Expeditionary Force in North Africa and Europe during World War II?
73. In which city was the German Instrument of Surrender signed?
74. What was the name of the German defensive line in Italy?
75. What was the main Allied strategy in the Pacific Theater?
76. What was the name of the U.S. military decoration awarded to soldiers who performed heroic deeds in combat?
77. What was the name of the Soviet counter-offensive that marked a turning point in the Eastern Front?
78. Who said, “I have returned,” upon landing in the Philippines in 1944?
79. Which battle is considered the greatest tank battle in history?
80. Who was the propagandist who was the minister for Public Enlightenment and Propaganda in Nazi Germany?
81. What was the name of the Japanese diplomatic note that led to the start of war with the United States?
82. Who was the highest-ranking American officer killed in World War II?
83. What types of camps were established by the Nazis to eliminate people quickly and efficiently?
84. What event marked the start of the Holocaust?
85. Which battle marked the first major defeat of Hitler’s military forces?
86. Which battle marked the first major U.S. victory against Japan in the Pacific?
87. Which country was first to declare war on Germany in World War II?
88. Who was the commander of the U.S. Third Army, known for his rapid armored advances?
89. Where did the signing of the Japanese Instrument of Surrender take place?
90. What was the name of the Nazi paramilitary organization that aided the SS in enforcing the racial policies of the Nazis?
91. Who commanded the British Eighth Army against Rommel’s Afrika Korps?
92. Which battle marked the final major offensive of the European Theatre for Germany?
93. What was the name of the naval battle that marked the end of the Japanese ability to project naval power in the Pacific?
94. Which country was the first to use jet aircraft in combat?
95. What was the first concentration camp liberated by the Allies?
96. What was the name of the long-serving British battleship that was sunk by the Japanese in December 1941?
97. Who was the U.S. Secretary of State during World War II?
98. What was the name of the strategy used by the Allies to deceive the Germans about the location of the D-Day invasion?
99. Who led the Free French Forces during World War II?
100. What was the codename given to the Allied invasion of Sicily?
101. What was the name of the German strategy that aimed to bring about the rapid defeat of the Allied armies in France?
102. How did Hitler die?
103. What was the name of the U.S. plan to aid European recovery after World War II?
104. What was the name of the German operation to capture Moscow?
105. During World War II, what was the nickname for U.S. soldiers?
106. What was the major World War II conference where the Atomic Bomb was first introduced to Stalin?
107. What was the name of the bomb-dropping plane that delivered “Little Boy” over Hiroshima?
108. Which significant World War II battle was fought entirely by air?
109. What was the network of fortified concrete and weapons installations built by the Germans along the coast of Western Europe?
110. What was the secret operation that led to the development of the Atomic Bomb?
111. Which World War II battle is considered the deadliest battle in human history?
112. Who was the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during World War II?
113. What was the name of Hitler’s mountain retreat in Bavaria?
114. Who was the chief of the Soviet security and police apparatus, the NKVD, during World War II?
115. What was the name of the British intelligence service during World War II?
116. What was the name of the U.S. battleship sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor with great loss of life?
117. Which Nazi leader was appointed by Hitler to be his successor shortly before Hitler’s suicide?
118. What were the Nisei regiments in the U.S. Army during World War II?
119. Which battle marked the successful test of the concept of vertical envelopment, where troops were transported by helicopter to points directly behind enemy lines?
120. Who was the commander of the German Afrika Korps?
121. What was the name of the Allied operation to liberate the Philippine capital city of Manila from Japanese control?
122. What was the name of the operation in which airborne forces landed in the Netherlands in 1944, with the goal of securing bridges over the Rhine River?
123. Who was named Supreme Allied Commander in the Mediterranean in 1944?
124. What was the official name for the alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II?
125. What was the codename for the German invasion of Denmark and Norway in 1940?
126. What was the name of the decoration awarded to Japanese pilots who successfully performed a kamikaze attack?
127. In which city was the second atomic bomb dropped?
128. Who was the Soviet marshal who led the successful defense of Leningrad during its lengthy siege by German and Finnish forces?
129. What was the primary role of the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during World War II?
130. What was the name of the operation to capture the bridge at Arnhem in the Netherlands, featured in the film “A Bridge Too Far”?
131. Who was the principal architect of the Holocaust and the Final Solution?
132. What was the codename of the German counter-offensive in the Ardennes forest in 1944, also known as the Battle of the Bulge?
133. What was the codename for the Allied bombing of Dresden in 1945?
134. Which Allied operation involved the strategic bombing of the Romanian oil fields?
135. Which general was the most senior British Army officer to be captured by the enemy during the war?
136. What was the name of the German operation to capture Moscow in 1941?
137. Who was the commander of the German U-boat force during World War II?
138. Who was the primary U.S. military commander in the Pacific Theater during World War II?
139. What was the main German tank used during World War II?
140. What American general was known as ‘Old Blood and Guts’?
141. What was the name of the U.S. Army group that operated in the Pacific Theater of World War II?
142. Who was the commander of the Allied forces in the Pacific Theater during World War II?
143. What was the name of the major World War II conference where it was agreed that Germany would be divided into four occupation zones?
144. Who was the U.S. general who led the Third Army during the Normandy Invasion?
145. What was the U.S. military campaign that defeated Japanese forces in the Bismarck Archipelago of New Guinea?
Final Words
Congratulations! You’ve made it through the trenches of trivia and emerged victorious. Whether you charged through like a ‘Sherman’ or blundered like a ‘Blitzkrieg,’ we hope you had fun. Looking for more frontlines to conquer? March on over to Trivia Bliss and check out our other quizzes, including trivia about World War I, famous battles, world leaders, easy world history questions, Germany, and a quiz all about the 1940s. There’s a world of knowledge waiting for you there. Remember, in the battle of trivia, knowledge is your greatest ally!
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