In which year did the First World War begin?
Answer : 1914
The war broke out in the summer of 1914, weeks after the assassination at Sarajevo; 1939 is the start of the Second World War instead.
Questions and answers: World Wars
Revise World Wars: here is a selection of questions of every level, with the answer and an explanation. To test yourself without seeing the answers, play the quizzes.
Play the World Wars quizzesVery easy
In which year did the Second World War end?
Answer : 1945
The war ended in Europe on 8 May 1945 with Germany's surrender, and in Asia after Japan surrendered in August-September 1945.
Who led Nazi Germany?
Answer : Adolf Hitler
Hitler became Chancellor in 1933 and Führer in 1934; Wilhelm II was the Kaiser of the First World War and Honecker led East Germany.
In which year did the First World War end?
Answer : 1918
Fighting stopped with the armistice that took effect at 11 a.m. on 11 November 1918, a date still commemorated each year in Britain and France.
Which country was attacked at Pearl Harbor in 1941?
Answer : United States
The surprise attack of 7 December 1941 hit the US fleet in Hawaii; it was launched by Japan, and it brought the United States into the war.
Who was British Prime Minister for most of the Second World War?
Answer : Winston Churchill
Churchill became Prime Minister in May 1940, replacing Chamberlain, and stayed until the summer of 1945, when Attlee won the general election.
In which region of France did the landings of 6 June 1944 take place?
Answer : Normandy
On D-Day, 6 June 1944, the Allies landed on five Normandy beaches: Utah, Omaha, Gold, Juno and Sword.
Which Japanese cities were hit by atomic bombs in 1945?
Answer : Hiroshima and Nagasaki
Atomic bombs fell on Hiroshima on 6 August and on Nagasaki on 9 August 1945, hastening Japan's surrender.
Easy
In which city was Archduke Franz Ferdinand assassinated in 1914?
Answer : Sarajevo
The shooting on 28 June 1914, by the Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip, set off the July Crisis that led to the outbreak of war.
Which 1919 treaty imposed terms on Germany after the First World War?
Answer : Treaty of Versailles
Signed on 28 June 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors, it made Germany accept responsibility for the war and imposed reparations and territorial losses.
The Battle of Britain (1940) was fought mainly...
Answer : in the air
From July to October 1940 the Royal Air Force beat back the Luftwaffe, which stopped Hitler from preparing an invasion of Britain.
In which year did Germany invade Poland, starting the war in Europe?
Answer : 1939
The invasion of 1 September 1939 led Britain and France to declare war on Germany on 3 September.
Which marshal headed the Vichy regime?
Answer : Philippe Pétain
A hero of Verdun, Pétain became head of the French State in July 1940 and set up his government in the spa town of Vichy after the defeat.
In which city did Anne Frank hide with her family?
Answer : Amsterdam
Anne Frank hid from July 1942 to August 1944 in the Secret Annex behind her father's business premises, before being arrested and deported.
Which country did Germany attack in June 1941, breaking the 1939 pact?
Answer : Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa, launched on 22 June 1941, tore up the Nazi-Soviet Pact and opened the Eastern Front, the deadliest theatre of the war.
Who was US President at the time of Pearl Harbor?
Answer : Franklin D. Roosevelt
Roosevelt, in office since 1933, called 7 December 1941 a date which will live in infamy and asked Congress to declare war on Japan.
Medium
Which battle of 1942-1943 was the turning point on the Eastern Front?
Answer : Stalingrad
Paulus's German Sixth Army was encircled at Stalingrad and surrendered in February 1943, a major defeat and a turning point of the war.
Which code name designates the Allied landing in Normandy?
Answer : Overlord
Overlord was the overall plan for Normandy; Barbarossa targeted the USSR, Torch North Africa and Market Garden the Netherlands.
Which September 1914 battle stopped the German advance towards Paris?
Answer : Battle of the Marne
In early September 1914 Franco-British forces counterattacked on the Marne and saved Paris, ending the opening war of movement.
Which 1942 naval battle, won by the US Navy, turned the tide in the Pacific?
Answer : Midway
In June 1942 American aircraft sank four Japanese carriers near Midway atoll, shifting the naval balance in the Pacific for good.
In which forest was the 11 November 1918 armistice signed?
Answer : Forest of Compiègne
The armistice was signed in a railway carriage in the Compiègne forest; Hitler forced France to sign in the same place in June 1940.
From which city did General de Gaulle broadcast his appeal of 18 June 1940?
Answer : London
Speaking from the BBC in London on 18 June 1940, de Gaulle urged the French to keep fighting, a day after Pétain asked for an armistice.
Which country was part of the Triple Alliance in 1914?
Answer : Austria-Hungary
The Triple Alliance linked Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy; Russia, France and Britain formed the opposing Triple Entente.
In which wooded region was the Battle of the Bulge (1944-1945) fought?
Answer : Ardennes
The last big German offensive in the West, launched in December 1944 through the Ardennes, created a bulge in the American lines.
Hard
What was the main aim of the German Schlieffen Plan?
Answer : Defeat France quickly before turning on Russia
The plan was to sweep through Belgium and crush France within weeks, so as to avoid fighting on two fronts at once.
In which 1916 battle did the British first use tanks?
Answer : Battle of the Somme
The first British tanks, the Mark I, went into action in September 1916 at Flers-Courcelette, during the Somme campaign.
In which year was the Battle of Kursk fought?
Answer : 1943
In July 1943 the last big German offensive in the East failed at Kursk, the largest tank battle in history, and the Red Army took the initiative.
What was the main subject of the Wannsee Conference in January 1942?
Answer : The organisation of the "Final Solution" against the Jews of Europe
Held on 20 January 1942 under Heydrich, the conference coordinated the deportation and murder of the Jews, though it did not itself decide on genocide.
Which 1920 treaty with the Ottoman Empire was replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne?
Answer : Treaty of Sèvres
Signed in 1920 but never enforced, the Treaty of Sèvres carved up the Ottoman Empire; Atatürk had it replaced by the Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
Which March 1918 treaty took Soviet Russia out of the war?
Answer : Brest-Litovsk
Signed on 3 March 1918, it gave Germany vast territories, but it also let the Germans move their troops to the Western Front.
Which Japanese admiral planned the attack on Pearl Harbor?
Answer : Isoroku Yamamoto
Yamamoto, commander of the Combined Fleet, planned the raid of 7 December 1941; Tojo was Prime Minister and Togo won at Tsushima in 1905.
Operation Market Garden (1944) aimed to seize bridges in which country?
Answer : Netherlands
Launched in September 1944, the operation aimed at bridges at Eindhoven, Nijmegen and Arnhem, but the failure at Arnhem delayed the end of the war.
Expert
Which German general, with Ludendorff as chief of staff, won Tannenberg in 1914?
Answer : Paul von Hindenburg
Winner of Tannenberg in August 1914 with Ludendorff as his chief of staff, Hindenburg became a national hero and Reich President in 1925.
Which 1917 French offensive under Nivelle led to widespread mutinies?
Answer : Chemin des Dames
This April 1917 offensive ended in bloody failure; Nivelle was replaced by Pétain, who restored discipline and improved the soldiers' conditions.
Where was Rommel's Afrika Korps beaten by Montgomery in late 1942?
Answer : El Alamein
At the second Battle of El Alamein in Egypt, Montgomery pushed Rommel back in October-November 1942; Churchill called it the end of the beginning.
In which region was the Yalta Conference held in February 1945?
Answer : Crimea
The Yalta Conference brought Stalin, Roosevelt and Churchill together at the Livadia Palace, near the Black Sea, to plan the postwar world.
Which three countries signed the Tripartite Pact in September 1940?
Answer : Germany, Italy, Japan
Signed in Berlin on 27 September 1940, it created the Axis alliance; Hungary, Romania and Slovakia joined soon afterwards.
Which strait did the 1915 Gallipoli campaign try to force?
Answer : Dardanelles
In 1915 the Allies tried to force this strait, the route to Constantinople, to relieve Russia, but the campaign failed.
Who were mainly the victims of the 1940 Katyn massacre?
Answer : Polish officers
About 22,000 Polish officers and notables were shot by the NKVD in spring 1940; Moscow only admitted responsibility in 1990.
Where did the Allies land in Operation Torch in November 1942?
Answer : In French North Africa
On 8 November 1942 the Allies landed in Morocco and Algeria, then under Vichy control, at Casablanca, Oran and Algiers.