The answers:
1) Apart from the 6th Army, a big chunk of another German army was encircled at Stalingrad in the winter of 1942-1943. Which one was it, and who was the commander?
A: the 4th panzer Army commanded by Hermaan Hoth
2) When the city of Tobruk in Lybia was sieged in 1941, what was the predominant nationality of the defenders of the city?
A: Australian
3) During the chase of the German battleship "Bismarck" across the Atlantic, a relatively small air strike caused damage to the Bismarck that would leave her with no chance to evade the British pursuers. What was damaged, and how did it affect her?
A: The rudder was hit, she could only sail in a circle
4) What was the calibre of the main gun of the following tanks:
Germany: PzKfw V "Panther" A: 76mm
Germany: PzKfw VI "Tiger" A: 88mm
US: M4 Sherman (two correct answers) A: short-barrelled 75mm; long-barrelled 76mm
USSR: T-34 (two correct answers) A: 76mm, 85mm
GB: Matilda II (since this gun is British, it is usually published by shell weight, i.e. "99 pounder", I'll consider that answer correct as well) 2-pounder
bonus points for the next two, I had to look these up myself:
Italy: M13/40 A: 47mm
Japan: Type 97 "Chi-Ha" A: 57mm
5) Prior to the gas chambers in the concentration camps, the Nazi's used a different way of killing jews with poisonous gas. Which was it?
The exhaust of trucks was led back to the passenger compartment, then they would drive
6) During most of the war, the allies had a method of decrypting the German "Enigma" encoding machine, which allowed them to read many important German messages. What was the name of the lead scientist of the decryption project, and what was the name of the location where the decryption team was housed?
A: Alan Turing at Bletchley Park
7) In december 1941, two British capital ships were sunk by Japanese aeroplanes off the coast of Malaya. What were the names of these ships?
A: Prince of Wales and Repulse
In 1942, a high-ranking SS-member, by many considered to be the second SS'er after Himmler, was assasinated by Czech resistance fighters in Prague. What was his name? And what was the name of the town that was razed by the Germans as a revenge?
A: Reinhard Heydrich. Actually two villages were razed, Lidice and Lezaky
9) The Junkers Ju-52 was the main transport aircraft of the Luftwaffe throughout the war. What was her nickname in the German army?
A: Auntie Ju or Iron Annie
10) What was the crew size of a US B-17 "Flying Fortress" heavy bomber?
A: 10 people
11) The Soviet air force built over 36,000 units of an effective tactical ground attack plane. What was its name?
A: Il-2 Sturmovik
12) In the summer of 1944, the Soviet army launched a major offensive, leading to the (re-)conquest of large areas in Belorus, Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland, bringing them to the gates of Warsaw. What was the code name of the operation?
A: Operation Bagration
13) In the final stage of the war in 1945, the below allied armies were active on the Western front:
Canadian 1st -A: Crerar
British 2nd -A: Dempsey
US 1st -A: Hodges
US 9th -A: Simpson
US 3rd -A: Patton
US 7th -A: Patch
French 1st -A: de Lattre de Tassigny
Name their commanders.
14) In which war year did the the German submarines sink the largest tonnage of Allied shipping?
A: 1942
15) In 1942, the British RAF managed to get a concentrated force of over 1,000 bombers together for an attack on Germany for the first time. Which city was the target?
A: Cologne
16) After conquering half of Poland in 1939, the Soviet NKVD (secret police) executed over 20,000 Polish officers and civil leaders who they had captured. What was the name of the nearby village where the executions took place?
A: Katyn
17) What was the name of the B-29 bomber that dropped the first nuclear bomb on Hiroshima?
A: Enola Gay
1
In 1938, a conference was held in Munich between French, British, and German leaders to attempt to maintain peace. What was the main subject of the conference, and what were the names of the main participants on the three sides?
A: the Sudetenland crisis. Participants were Hitler, Chamberlain, Daladier and (blush, forgot him myself!) Mussolini
19) In June 1942, a major naval battle took place near a small island in the Pacific. It was a major American victory, as four of the crucial Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk, and is generally considered to be the turning point in the Pacific war. What was the name of the island?
A: Midway island
20) The D-day landings of June 6th 1944 were conducted on five separate beaches. What were the code names of these beaches?
A: Juno, Sword, Gold, Omaha, Utah
And the results:
Tribunate - 15.64 points - hat off, outstanding!
RBoi200 - 11.5 points
vietcong2005 - 9.72 points
GrandEmpire - 8.3 points
Karl von Krass - 7.71 points
Comrade Genz - 1 point
Full results are here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1D9qFjLjZIq_HH8RMp_yNy-FgW9fLKsrViFKniYdQghE/edit?usp=sharing
Edit - don't need to make 110 questions GrandEmpire, looking forward to something from you!
