Military Leaders Trivia

1. Who was the commander of the American VIII Corps whose headquarters was located at the vital road hub of Bastogne on December 16, 1944?

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: Troy Middleton

Middleton's outnumbered VIII Corps was split in half but still managed to delay the Germans east of Bastogne. Using reinforcements sent by SHAEF (Primarily, the 101st Airborne Division and a combat command of the 10th Armored Division), and fragments of units retreating from the initial German attack, a ring was formed around Bastogne that held the city until relieved by Patton's forces on December 26.

From Quiz Battlefields and Commanders

Answer: Field Marshal Paul von Hindenburg vs General Robert Nivelle and General Sir Arthur Currie

Today a beautiful park surrounds the Canadian National Vimy Memorial at the site of the battle. German trenches and Canadian tunnels are also preserved.

From Quiz Famous Military Leaders

Answer: Miltiades

The name is derived from a Greek word meaning "red earth". The son of Cimon, an Athenian aristocrat, Miltiades was chief magistrate under the Tyranny at Athens in 524 BC, and in 516, with the tyrants' support.

From Quiz Fighting Talk

Answer: Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar defeated the forces of Pharnaces II of the Kingdom of Pontus at the Battle of Zela in what is now northern Turkey. Caesar was avenging an earlier defeat of a Roman legion and the persecution of Roman citizens in the area. The phrase "Veni, Vidi, Vici" is contained in a letter Caesar wrote to report to the Senate.

From Quiz Great Commanders - Can You Guess Them?

Answer: Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great is widely regarded as the greatest commander of the ancient world, and is often considered for the spot of "greatest general" of all time. His most famous victories at Gaugamela and Issus crushed the back of Darius III and his empire, securing for him the throne of Persia. His later victory at Hydapses extended his rule to the banks of the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. Possibly his most remarkable achievement was creating the empire that he did without suffering a single defeat.

From Quiz A-Z of Military Leaders

Answer: Atatürk

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led three Turkish divisions in the defense of the Dardanelles and he was instrumental in the defeat and expulsion of the Allied Forces. After WW1 he led a national uprising (the misleadingly called "Turkish War of Independence") against the last Ottoman sultan and the Greeks, laying the foundations of the new Turkish State. In 1923 he became the first president of the Republic of Turkey. Atatürk died in 1938, after an extensive programme of modernization.

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: Anthony McAulliffe-Division Artillery commander

Anthony McAuliffe was the division artillery commander and ranking officer In the division at the time the deployment orders were received and, in the absence of the division commander, served as acting commander of the division until the siege of Bastogne was lifted. Shortly after the relief of Bastogne McAuliffe was promoted to Major General and given command of the 103rd Infantry Division.

From Quiz Battlefields and Commanders

Answer: Austerlitz, 1805

The Austerlitz battlefield is relatively unspoiled. A memorial, installed in 1930, marks the site of Napoleon's headquarters. Napoleon commissioned the Arc de Triomphe to celebrate his victory, but it wasn't completed till 1836.

From Quiz Famous Military Leaders

Answer: Scipio Africanus

One of the finest commanders in military history, Scipio was a member of a patrician Roman family. His father, a Roman consul, was killed during the Second Punic War. His first major victory was in the Battle of Baecula in 208 BC.

From Quiz Fighting Talk

Answer: Bastogne

McAuliffe was acting commander of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, surrounded in Bastogne during the German offensive known as The Battle of the Bulge. McAuliffe was known to not use profanity, and often said the mild "nuts" in place of stronger words. When the German envoy asked the meaning of the reply, an American officer explained it as "In plain English? Go to hell."

From Quiz If I Only Had a Brain

Answer: A Confederate officer left detailed battle plans where Union forces could find them.

In September of 1862, the Union forces were camped in an area in which the Confederate forces had camped a couple of days before. Two Union soldiers, Barton Mitchell and John Bloss, found some papers wrapped around three cigars and took these to their commanding officer, General George McClellan. The papers turned out to be General Robert E. Lee's battle plans. They were detailed orders dividing his forces and sending them to different locations, and they even explained exact routes. The result of the ensuing battle, which occurred near Antietam Creek on September 17, 1862, was 23,000 dead and wounded soldiers. The Confederacy lost tremendous numbers of men, and the loss also convinced Britain to stay out of the war when the country was tempted for a while to assist the Confederacy. The only thing that kept the Confederacy's northern army from being completely devastated was the fact that General McClellan delayed eighteen hours before taking advantage of his knowledge of Lee's plans, presumably because he considered the plans might be fake and thus a ruse to mislead him. After all, what dummy would have left real plans behind?

From Quiz Historical People II: Military Figures

Answer: Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great is one of the greatest military leaders in all of Western History. His armies conquered exotic lands and he spread Hellenic culture across much of western and southern Asia. Alexander also founded several cities in his name, the most famous, Alexandria, Egypt would become a cultural megacity home to the Great Library and the Great Lighthouse. Sadly, Alexander's death was much less heroic death.

From Quiz A-Z of Military Leaders

Answer: Beauregard

Confederate General Pierre Gustave Beauregard's career during the American Civil War served as an example of how former colleagues among the American officers found themselves on opposing sides throughout the war. He had served as an engineer under Winfield Scott, who was General-in-Chief of the Union Army in 1862, and he captured Fort Sumter from the command of one-time friend and former West Point instructor Major Robert Anderson.

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: Maxwell D.Taylor

Taylor was in Washington for staff conferences after the Market-Garden operation when he heard that the division had been ordered to deploy. He flew back to Europe but, because the division was surrounded, was unable to rejoin the division in Bastogne until Patton's troops opened a corridor to the town. The 101st division was attached to Patton's 3rd Army and, with Taylor in command, attacked out of their positions around Bastogne in an effort to cut off German elements that were still west of Bastogne.

From Quiz Battlefields and Commanders

Answer: Salamanca, 1812

The old bridge at Salamanca, over which Wellington's baggage filed during the morning's move west and over which the victorious general rode later that day, can still be seen but is, sadly, falling into disrepair.

From Quiz Famous Military Leaders

Answer: Flavius Aetius

He was kept as a hostage by the king of Huns during his early years. Aetius is generally viewed as a great military commander, indeed he was held in such high self esteem by the Eastern Roman Empire, that he become known as the 'last true Roman of the West'.

From Quiz Fighting Talk

Answer: William T. Sherman

More of Sherman's quote is ""You don't know the horrible aspects of war. I've been through two wars and I know. I've seen cities and homes in ashes. I've seen thousands of men lying on the ground, their dead faces looking up at the skies. I tell you, war is hell!" During his "March to the Sea" in November-December 1864, he destroyed military targets, civilian property and transportation and industrial infrastructure from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia.

From Quiz Historical People II: Military Figures

Answer: Radu III

Radu III became a close friend of Sultan Mehmed II. Radu become a popular war hero, becoming a janissary commander, the janissaries being fierce warriors trained to fight for Allah. All the others were brothers to Radu, with Vlad Tepes being none other than Vlad the Impaler.

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: Alan Jones

The green 106th Infantry Division had recently deployed to Europe and had only been in the front lines for six days when the Germans attacked. The German Fifth Panzer Army used the road net north and south of the 422nd and 423rd Infantry Regiments to surround them and force their surrender. In a communications failure, Jones was led to believe that reinforcements were on their way to relieve his besieged units, but they were instead intended to shore up the defenses around St. Vith. General Jones suffered a heart attack days later at his headquarters in St. Vith and was forced to turn the division over to his second in command.

From Quiz Battlefields and Commanders

Answer: General Erwin Rommel vs Lieutenant-General Bernard Montgomery

Surely you got that one right! El Alamein, on the Mediterranean coast, lies about 66 miles west of Alexandria and 150 miles north-west of Cairo. The Axis forces were turned back here and never reached Cairo, the Nile or the Suez Canal.

From Quiz Famous Military Leaders

Answer: Belisarius

Was born in Illyria (the western part of the Balkan peninsula) to poor parents and rose to become one of the greatest generals, if not the greatest, of the Byzantine Empire. "For not by numbers of men, nor by measure of body, but by valor of soul is war to be decided." - Belisarius

From Quiz Fighting Talk

Answer: Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.

Forney was a Lieutenant in the Navy's Chaplain Corps, assigned to minister to the ship's crew and forbidden by Navy regulations and his church policy from directly participating in combat. He noticed that antiaircraft gun crews were tiring as they hauled ammunition from deep within the ship to the topside guns, so he helped by encouraging the men with his now-famous phrase. Song writer Frank Loesser later used that phrase in a popular song performed by Kay Kyser and his orchestra.

From Quiz Historical People II: Military Figures

Answer: Richard Lionheart

Richard Lionheart was a successful military commander and a symbol of Christianity during the crusades. Despite being the King of England he primarily spoke French, and disliked England, preferring the lands of France, which wasn't uncommon at the time. King John of England is none other than King John Lackland. He had a terrible reputation, being known as "Lackland" for his lack of lands from inheritance and loss of French territory and "Softsword" for his lack of military ability. He is the king who signed the Magna Carta, though under massive pressure from his aggrieved, rebellious barons. It was one of the first documents attempted to secure the rule of law. Sometimes it is claimed that it inspired the constitution of the United States, but the link is very tenuous. Henry III was the successor to King John. Alfred the Great was the key Anglo-Saxon hero who fought against the Vikings.

From Quiz A-Z of Military Leaders

Answer: Darius III

After his humiliation at Issus, Darius III fought and lost against Alexander again at Gaugamela in 331 B.C. Darius' lack of military prowess forced him to flee to Bactria where he was assassinated in 330 B.C.

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: James Gavin

The 37 year old Gavin moved his division to the area of Werbomont, Belgium, on the north shoulder of the battlefield. There, he deployed his division to face multiple attacks from elements of four SS Panzer Divisions. Gavin had enlisted at age 17 and won an appointment to West Point in a competitive examination within the Army. He graduated and, after numerous assignments, was tasked with assisting in the conversion of the 82nd Infantry Division to the 82nd Airborne Division. He literally wrote the book on Airborne tactics and was given command of the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Gavin assumed command of the entire division on August 8, 1944.

From Quiz Battlefields and Commanders

Answer: General Sir Redvers Buller vs General Louis Botha

Other famous participants at this battle was the young Mahatma Gandhi as leader of a Natal Indian Ambulance Corps and Winston Churchill as a correspondent for the London "Morning Post".

From Quiz Famous Military Leaders

Answer: Batu Khan

He was a grandson of Genghis Khan. With Poland, Bohemia, Hungary and much of the Danube Basin under his control, Batu was poised for the invasion of western Europe when he received news of the death of the head of the Mongol empire, the great Khan Ögödei.

From Quiz Fighting Talk

Answer: The Charge of the Light Brigade

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was Poet Laureate of the UK when he wrote "The Charge of the Light Brigade" in 1854. He reportedly wrote the poem in a few minutes after reading a newspaper account of the actions of the Light Brigade in the Battle of Balaclava during the Crimean War.

From Quiz A-Z of Military Leaders

Answer: Eisenhower & Dwight Eisenhower

In his early army career, Dwight Eisenhower excelled in staff assignments, serving under Generals Pershing, MacArthur and Krueger. Perhaps controversially, he was appointed to command the Allied Forces landing in North Africa in November 1942, despite no experience of operational command. A superb leader and diplomat, 'Ike' was Supreme Commander of the Allied Forces invading France in 1944. He succeeded Harry Truman as President of the USA in 1952.

From Quiz Battle of the Bulge, Allied Generals

Answer: Matthew Ridgeway

Ridgeway returned to the front from England and directed the XVIII Airborne Corps defense of the northern shoulder of the Bulge. The Corps eventually included Armored, Airborne and Infantry divisions sent as reinforcements as well as remnants of units that had seen heavy losses in the fighting around St. Vith. Ridgeway took command of the XVIII Airborne Corps upon its formation in August, 1944, after commanding the 82nd Airborne Division from its creation through the Italian campaign and the invasion of Normandy.

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