Special Sub-Topic: WW2 - At a Glance Click Here To Play: WW2 - At a Glance

Adolf Hitler's rise to power in Germany can be attributed to a series of intriguing events, one them being the Reichstag fire. In which year did this occur?

1933. It took place less than a month after Hitler became chancellor (and about two months after FDR was elected). The Nazis are widely suspected of having caused fire. The event spread panic and made it much easier for Hitler to extend government by decree and to ban the Communist Party from standing at the forthcoming general election.

In 1931, the Japanese invaded the long desired Chinese province of Manchuria, securing vast amounts of natural resources for their people and army. Who was named head of this new asset?

Henry Pu Yi. The Japanese justified their actions by citing an act of sabotage on one of their railways (which they staged).

On September 1, 1939 Hitler's invasion of Poland began, an act that finally plunged the world into war. The Poles fought bravely for weeks, but an invasion from the Soviets doomed them. On what date did the Soviet invasion occur?

September 17. Nazis and Communists - what a strange alliance! Of course, it didn't last very long.

Hitler's ambitions having turned west in the spring of 1940, led to conquest of France and the hurried evacuation of the B.E.F., French Army and other remnants of Allied units at Dunkirk. A maritime operation of titanic proportions succeeds in the rescue of over 300,000 men. What codename was given to this critical operation?

Dynamo. Although the Allies left behind all of their heavy equipment, the bulk of the British Army escaped and were able to fight another day.

The Japanese launch a massive carrier-based attack against the United States naval base in Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. Which other two bases were bombed on the same or the following day?

Wake Island and Guam. Japan's strategy at Pearl was almost identical to a strategy concocted about ten years earlier, by an American given the assignment of testing the base's defenses.

From May 1940 onwards, the British people had Winston Churchill to look up to. Shortly before entering politics in 1900, in what field had he made his living?

journalism. Sir Winston was actually captured during the Boer War while on assignment, but he escaped and found he was aleady a national hero when he got back to Britain.

June 1941 marked Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union. Hitler reminded any of his reluctant generals that it was the German people's destiny to occupy these extensive lands. What was this "ideology" named?

Lebensraum. Hitler defined his vision for the German expansion in "Mein Kampf".

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of WWII.

t. The Battle of the Atlantic refers to the German attempt to blockade Britain - and the British and Allied response to that. This struggle for control over the Atlantic saw thousands of people die and millions of tons of shipping and cargo sunk in a span that lasted for the entire the duration of the war.

In a more obscure part of the world in early 1942, this famous American general gained fame after overseeing the retreat from Burma.

Stilwell. "Vinager Joe" Stilwell was the stuff of legends.

The Battle of Midway began June 4, 1942. This crucial battle in the Pacific Theater led to the sinking of the Japanese aircraft carriers Akagi, Hiryu, Soryu, and the Kaga. The American Navy in turn lost the wounded carrier Yorktown. What American destroyer was also sunk trying to rescue sailors from the Yorktown?

Hammann. The Battle of Midway basically ended the Japanese's offensive capabilities in the Pacific.

Late in October 1942 marked the turn of the tide for the Germans in North Africa. General Montgomery of the British Eighth Army delivered a decisive blow to Rommel's Afrikakorps near the small village of El Alamein in Egypt. Strangely enough, Rommel was absent, back home ailing. Who was in command?

General Georg von Stumme. Stumme did not survive the battle, collapsing from a heart attack.

America's greatest war correspondent, Ernie Pyle, survived the European Theater only to die while on assignment in the Pacific. How did he die?

shot. An understated, brilliant writer, he was ambushed along with some other men. He was deeply missed then and remains to be. We truly lost a 'buddy'.

Although the race to Berlin was hotly contested from the British and Americans to the west and the Soviets to the east, the Soviets were ultimately given the gratification of taking the German capital. Which Soviet commander is widely given credit for this?

Georgi Zhukov. Although General Zhukov was indeed a hero to the Soviet people in their darkest hour, Sergei Nemchinov greatly aided the NY Rangers in their quest for the Cup in 1994.

Watching the American flag being raised atop a bitterly contested mountain on Iwo Jima, Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal is said to have stated ... "Holland, the raising of that flag on Suribachi means a Marine Corps for the next _____ years". How many?

500. Iwo Jima was a brutal reminder of what was to come in the Pacific if Japan were to be defeated.

A fitting conclusion to the Nazi terror took place where it all began. The city of Nuremburg was once home to immense political rallies responsible for spreading Nazi doctrine. It now was used to try Nazi war criminals. How many officials were sentenced to death in the initial hearings?

12. Twelve were sentenced but only eleven were executed. Hermann Goering escaped the hangman by poisoning himself.