Military Nick-Names Trivia Quiz

Answer: Kesselring

Field Marshall Albert Kesselring was certainly no push-over when it came to the defence of Italy. The rugged terrain of the Italian peninsular made ideal defensive country and 'Smiling Albert' made the most of it when he set up a series of strong defensive lines to block the Allied advance. For the Allies what was initially a target of opportunity became a long hard slog which drew in an ever greater commitment of men and material from 1943-45.

Answer: Yamashita

General Tomoyuki Yamashita's victory resulted in the largest surrender of British led forces in history. The sight of the defeated General Percival presenting himself to the victorious Yamashita is one of the lasting images of the war. Some Japanese troops went on a rampage after the surrender of Singapore and massacred patients in a hospital. Yamashita had the officer responsible executed and later apologised to the surviving patients.

He later led the defence of the Philippines against General MacArthur's returning army where he was controversially held responsible for the 'Manila Massacre' when his subordinate, the fanatical Admiral Iwabuchi, turned the city into a battlefield against his specific orders.

When he was finally forced to surrender in Sept 1945 and he was asked why he did not commit suicide as was the custom his reply was "someone else will have to take the blame".

He was convicted as a war criminal at the Manila war crimes trials and hanged as sentenced at the insistence of General MacArthur despite pleas for clemency from legal people.

This case became a precedent for command responsibility and is known as the 'Yamashita Standard'.

Answer: Howlin' Mad

Howlin' Mad Smith initially led the V Marine Corps during operations in the Central Pacific, his name and temper suggesting the nickname. The name distinguished him from all the other General Smiths in the Marines and Army, such as General Julian Smith of the 1st Marines at Tarawa, General Ralph Smith of the 27th Infantry Division at Saipan, and General Harry Smith who commanded the V Marine Corps at Iwo Jima. After the war 'Howlin' Mad's' son became Rear Admiral John Smith.
'His Majesty' was President Truman's name for the imperious Douglas MacArthur.

Answer: False

In fact the 'Dugout Doug' description was a cruel jibe used by his troops holding out on the Bataan peninsular after the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. While they were under fire, MacArthur appeared to be spending his time in the safety of the tunnel complex on the fortress island of Corregidor.

In fact no one could fault the General for his personal bravery as was demonstrated on numerous occasions when he exposed himself to enemy fire. Initially he visited the front and encouraged his men that help was on the way in the form of reinforcements but as the weeks wore on he finally realised that there would be no help he could no longer face his troops to tell them the awful truth.

The jibe dogged him throughout the war as GIs let off steam in response to his imperious ways.

He felt deeply that he had been let down by Roosevelt and years later when he heard that FDR had died was reported to have said "So Roosevelt is dead, a man who never could tell the truth when a lie would serve him just as well".

Answer: William Halsey

William 'Bull' Halsey received this nick-name, after a reporter misspelled his first name 'Bill' in a story about him before the war but seemed to suit him as it summed up his aggressive nature. During the Leyte operation the 'Bull' was determined to make the most of the opportunity that presented itself and strike a decisive blow at the enemy.

He had missed out on the key naval engagements at the Coral Sea because he was busy dispatching Jimmy Doolittle's raiders on their surprise mission to Tokyo, and Midway because he was hospitalised due to a flare-up of a long standing skin condition.

His controversial decision to strike at enemy carriers approaching from the north and leave the vulnerable landings exposed to a powerful surface force has been debated over the years.

When 'Dugout Doug' was asked about the decision which had left his landings exposed to destruction he said: "Leave the 'The Bull' alone. He's the best fighting admiral the Navy's got."

Answer: Arthur Harris

Air Marshall Arthur 'Bomber' Harris led the RAF Bomber Command during WW II. His dogged determination to implement strategic area bombing of Germany earned him many critics but it did result in significant resources being diverted from the battle fronts. Over the long term it sapped the morale of the civilian population and that of the troops at the fronts worried about loved ones at home.

The firestorms stoked by his crews at Hamburg and Dresden are especially controversial and earned the alternative nickname 'Butcher' from some of his crews. Harris himself was entirely unrepentant and later wrote: 'They sowed the wind and now they are going to reap the whirlwind'.

Answer: 'Vinegar Joe'

Lt General 'Vinegar Joe' Joseph Stilwell described himself as "unreasonable, impatient, sour balled, sullen, hard, mad, profane and vulgar", but he might also have added "iron willed". In 1942 'Vinegar Joe' was sent to the China -Burma - India theatre and assumed a multitude of responsibilities.

In addition to serving as the chief Allied liaison officer with the difficult Chinese leader Chiang Kai-Shek he supervised the distribution of Lend-Lease supplies and had to use all of his guile to obtain support for this war theatre which had the lowest priority.

He arrived just in time for the Japanese invasion of Burma taking over the Northern sector and successfully led his Chinese troops in a difficult retreat into Imphal in India.

Answer: 'The Desert Fox'

'The Desert Fox' skilfully led the Afrika Korps in a duel with the British Eighth Army during the desert war in 1941-43 and earned the respect of friend and foe alike.

Answer: Claude Auchinleck

Field Marshal Claude Auchinleck, 'The Auk' as his men called him, was appointed Commander in Chief Middle East after Churchill sacked his predecessor Archibald Wavell in 1941. Operation 'Crusader' was launched shortly thereafter which drove Rommel back from the Egyptian frontier and deep into Libya but the Eighth Army suffered grievous losses in the process and was unable to exploit their success.

They were driven back to the Gazala position shortly afterward and in the great set piece action in May/June 1942 the Eighth Army was outfought and forced to retreat.

The subsequent loss of Tobruk was a great blow for Churchill but of limited strategic importance as far as 'The Auk' was concerned. He dismissed his subordinate General Ritchie and took direct command of the Eighth Army to prevent a looming rout.

He managed to halt Rommel at a small railway siding called El Alamein, a key event in the desert war. He suffered further interference from Churchill who wanted a counter-attack to be launched before the Torch landings in November and was finally dismissed to be replaced by Harold Alexander with the rising star Bernard Montgomery taking over command of the Eighth Army. 'The Auk' was sent back to India where he had long been a career soldier and was appointed C-in-C of the Indian Army.

Answer: 'Old Blood and Guts'

Although few of his men loved 'Old Blood and Guts' they preferred to serve under him because of his leadership skills. His Third Army blitzkrieg when the Allies finally broke out of the Normandy bridgehead in early August 1944 was among the war's most spectacular campaigns.

He was only forced to stop in the vicinity of Verdun some 400 miles east when his units ran out of fuel at the end of the month. This flamboyant general firmly believed that destiny had chosen him to be a great warrior and he wore a distinctive helmet, packed a pair of ivory handled pistols and practiced ferocious poses in front of a mirror.

He had no time for those he perceived as shirkers as the 'slapping incident' of shell shocked soldiers recovering in a hospital in Sicily demonstrated.

When his superior, Eisenhower, heard of this he was forced to stand him down from the upcoming Italian campaign and almost dismissed him. However he could not ignore such a gifted commander for long and gave him command of the Third Army the following year. One of his most famous speech's is portrayed brilliantly by George C Scott standing in front of an outsized American flag in the opening scene of the movie 'Patton' where he says "Now I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country.

He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country."