War Movies and Their Settings Trivia Quiz

The world had been at war since 1939, and the United States struggled to maintain its isolation. Although President Roosevelt proclaimed a policy of neutrality following Germany's invasion of Poland, by March 1941 the Lend Lease Act had been passed. This stated that the U.S. would lend or lease weapons to countries that were considered to be vital to the country's defense, and actually drew the U.S. deeper into the European conflict. Tensions between the U.S. and the Axis - Germany, Italy, Japan - escalated after that. When talks in Washington, D.C. with Japanese diplomats failed to produce the resolution they we seeking in their quest for empire, they were ordered to return home. Eleven hours later, on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, at 7:55 a.m. local time in hopes of furthering their plans for a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere.

The story for the 2001 movie, "Pearl Harbor", actually began before the attack, setting up the ground work for the love triangle that formed between pilots and friends Rafe (Ben Affleck) and Danny (Josh Hartnett), and Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale), the Army nurse they both loved; Pearl Harbor was the place where they were all confronted with the events in their lives that brought the three of them together. While the two pilots bravely tried to protect the ships from the sky, their efforts were not enough. In the aftermath of the battle they began to train for a retaliatory strike in Japan, which in history is called Doolittle's Raid. Danny was killed during the raid, and Rafe became father to Danny and Evelyn's son.

"Pearl Harbor" was filmed at some locations in Hawaii, and some of the modern bases there were used as a backdrop for parts of the film. Rosarito Beach, located in Baja California, was used for some of the water shots, as was Corpus Christi, Texas, which is the current location of the "USS Lexington", which was used in the movie as a Japanese aircraft carrier.

Fought from 1754-1763, the French and Indian War left England in debt. The solution to their financial problem was to pass taxes on the colonies, beginning with the Sugar Act in 1764, and continuing with the Stamp Act in 1765, the Townshend Acts in 1767, and, as punishment for the Boston Tea Party, the Intolerable Acts in 1774. By 1774, organized groups of resistance in the colonies were formed, and war broke out - "the shot that was heard around the world" - in 1775 at Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts. In March 1776, the colonists in South Carolina wrote a state constitution - the first southern colony to do so - and left the British Empire.

While fighting occurred all along the eastern coast of what is now the United States, over 200 battles took place in South Carolina. Charles Town was lost to the British in 1780, however, a very different type of battle was waged in the backwoods country. Francis Marion, known in history as the Swamp Fox, led a group of guerrilla fighters that successfully harassed British troops, and cut their supply lines.

It is very apparent that the character of Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) in "The Patriot" was loosely based on Francis Marion and his contribution to the American Revolution. A veteran of the French and Indian War, Martin did not want to vote in the South Carolina General Assembly to support the Continental Army because he had no intention of getting himself or his family involved in a war. His sons, however, had a different plan. They were eager to contribute to the war effort. This brought Martin into the conflict, and he agreed to lead a state militia that specialized in guerrilla warfare.

"The Patriot" was filmed entirely in South Carolina. Many of the battle scenes were filmed in Rock Hill, while Cypress Gardens was used for the guerrilla band's meeting place. Mansfield Plantation, located near Georgetown, was used for Martin's home in the movie.

It all began in 1492, when Columbus caught sight of San Salvador, which is off the coast of modern Florida. He claimed the land he found during his four voyages of exploration for the King and Queen of Spain who had sponsored him. In 1494, the pope of the Roman Catholic Church became involved in what could have been a massive dispute between the two leading European countries of the time - Spain and Portugal. A line of demarcation was drawn, and, according to the Treaty of Tordesillas, everything east of the line belonged to Portugal and everything west of it belonged to Spain.

Spain then got busy trying to govern the land and exploit its wealth, establishing the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535, with its capital in Mexico City, and the Viceroyalty of Peru, established in 1542, with its capital at Lima. Viceroys were appointed by the king to oversee all dealings in the New World and they, in turn, appointed officials, including the courts, military, and local rulers. The viceroys answered to the Council of the Indies, which was the ruling council of all Spanish colonies, as well as the Roman Catholic Church, which had significant influence in the New World. Spain's rule was autocratic with little regard for the native people who lived in the area. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, influenced by the American and French Revolutions, the people began to rebel.

Venezuela was the first country in South American to proclaim its independence in 1811; Simon Bolivar had already joined the revolt in 1810, and was appointed to serve as a militia officer the same year. "The Liberator" chronicled the rise to power of Bolivar (Edgar Ramirez) and his leadership during the Venezuela War of Independence, which lasted from 1810-1823. In 1813 he became the dictator of the Second Republic of Venezuela, and became president of the wider area of the Republic of Gran Columbia (primarily Venezuela, Columbia, Peru, Panama, and Ecuador) in 1819. Bolivar died in 1830 at the age of forty-seven of tuberculosis, although the movie strongly implied that he was assassinated.

The movie was filmed in France, Spain, and Venezuela.

The Hundred Year's War, fought from 1337-1453 between France and England, created the setting for the movie, "The Messenger". Charles IV, the King of France, died in 1328 without any male heirs, and Salic Law prevented his daughter from taking the throne. King Edward III of England, the son of Charles' sister, was his closest male relative, however, French nobles maintained that Salic Law prevented her from passing any right to rule to her son. The throne went instead to Philip VI, Charles' cousin on his father's side of the family. That, along with English claims to French lands, brought the two countries to war.

Fought mainly in France, the Hundred Years War was not continuously fought for 116 years. During the worst time of the Black Death, an intermission was declared, and, from time to time, truces were made. In the first years of fighting, England's longbowmen soundly defeated France's knights. England gained control of Calais, and, therefore, the English Channel; in addition, the French King John II was captured and held for ransom, which led to the signing of a temporary treaty. After the truce was broken, France began to regain some of its lost territory; by 1420, however, another treaty recognized England's King Henry V as the heir to France's throne. Henry V died shortly after, and France again tried to expel the English. This time they had a new military leader - Joan of Arc.

"The Messenger" told the life story of Joan of Arc (Milla Jovovich), and emphasized events that led to her rise to power and death during the Hundred Years War. In 1429 she convinced King Charles VII (John Malkovich) to put her in charge of an army that would halt the English siege of Orleans. Her vision as a child was depicted, as well as Charles' desperation, and the low morale of the French army. Under Joan's leadership the French army began to experience successes, and she was able to witness Charles' official coronation. Charles, however, did not prove to be a loyal ally; feeling threatened by Joan, he aided in her capture. The rest of the movie showed her trial and subsequent death.

While there are some glaring issues with historical facts in the movie, one can still learn about Joan's role as God's Messenger. According to historical sources, she was able to pick Charles out of a crowd of people at their first meeting, a feat that greatly encouraged Charles to accept her help. She was, in fact, wounded twice in battle, as shown in the movie. In addition, much of the dialogue surrounding Joan's trial and death was taken from historical manuscripts.

While parts of the movie were filmed in France, most of it featured locations in the Czech Republic.

The causes of the Russian Revolution, which had been brewing for years, were many and varied. While the elite controlled the land and other resources, the vast majority of the population suffered through food shortages, poor working conditions, and overall poverty. An absolute ruler, the Czar had allowed for the forming of the Duma, a new parliament after the Revolution of 1905, however, he typically dismissed the group when they disagreed with his policies.

Russia's loss in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-05) and early withdrawal from WWI in 1917 made Russia's weaknesses more apparent. Many began to pay attention to Marxist ideas that promised better leadership and social order. Czar Nicholas II was forced to abdicated in February 1917, but it was the October Revolution in 1917 that changed life in Russia forever.

Written by Boris Pasternak in 1957, "Dr. Zhivago" is considered to be semi-biographical. Set in the midst of the Russian Revolution, the movie told the story of Yuri Zhivago (Omar Sharif), and illustrated how WWI and the subsequent Russian Revolution affected his life. A doctor and poet, Yuri was married with a young family, and appeared to live a life of privilege in Moscow. While serving as a battlefield doctor during WWI, he met Lara (Julie Christie), who was working as a nurse while searching for her missing husband. The two parted ways after Russia left the war early.

Yuri returned to Moscow to find his home confiscated and his family in real danger from the now revolutionary people who shared it. They left for their country estate, and came into direct contact with fighting between the Red and White Armies. Yuri, while separated from his family serving as a doctor on the front line, learned that Lara was living nearby, and began an intimate relationship with her; the relationships that the two had with people on different sides of the war created a very complicated love triangle. While his family was deported to France, his relationship with Lara produced a daughter who Yuri never met.

Interestingly, "Dr. Zhivago" was mostly filmed near Madrid Spain, while scenes that showed the cold winter at the country estate were filmed in Finland and Canada. The Aldeadávila Dam, on the border between Spain and Portugal, provided the filming site for both the beginning and end of the movie.

The forming of alliances was one of the causes of World War I; countries had been taking sides for years and seemed to have just been waiting for an excuse to declare war. The assassination of the Archduke and his wife was the excuse. The two sides that fought against each other - Allies (Britain, France, Russia, Italy) and Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) declared their allies shortly after.

While it may seem odd that the Ottoman Empire would want to become involved in a European conflict, there was an old score to settle with Russia and some territories to regain. From the Allied point of view, it would be easy to weaken the Ottoman Empire by taking control of the Dardanelles, their straits that led from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. When the first Allied attempt to take the straits with a naval bombardment was not successful, a land invasion was staged on the Gallipoli Peninsula from February 19, 1915-January 9, 1916. Even though they made a valiant effort, the Allied troops, mostly consisting of ANZACs (Australia New Zealand Army Corps), suffered terrible losses and were forced to withdraw. The Ottoman Empire considered this a tremendous victory, in spite of the fact that each side lost more than 250,000 men.

Two young Australian sprinters, Archy (Mark Lee) and Frank (Mel Gibson), both had dreams of serving in the military at the beginning of the war. They joined together to enlist, but had to part ways when Archy was selected to serve in the Australian Light Horse and Frank in the infantry. Months later the two reunited in Egypt. Frank transferred to the Light Horse, which had been transformed into an infantry unit, and they both found themselves on their way to Gallipoli.

Upon arrival they spent some time at Anzac Cove in the trenches, and some of Frank's infantry friends fought on August 6 at the Battle of Lone Pine, where many of them died. The Light Horse then received orders to attack ground protected by Ottoman machine gunners in three waves; the ensuing battle, which took place the following day, was called the Battle of Nek. Unfortunately, the attack did not go well, as the commanders' watches were not properly synchronized. The first two Allied waves of attack were effectively cut down by Ottoman artillery, and leaders hesitated to adjust their plans before the third wave. Frank, who was serving as a runner between posts, failed to reach his destination in time to stop the third wave of attack; he arrived in time to witness the death of his friend, Archy.

"Gallipoli" was mostly filmed in Egypt and South Australia. The area around Port Lincoln, which served as the coastline for the Gallipoli Peninsula is called Gallipoli Beach today.

One of the consequences of the Age of Exploration was the opening up of Africa to the colonizing powers of Europe. A great source of rivalry between the countries, the general attitude of the time was first come first served; there was a frantic Scramble for Africa. By 1884, however, the countries agreed to the partition of Africa in order to establish recognized rules for its colonization; countries could not claim land unless they could govern it. England, Italy, and France all held portions of what is called Somalia today; the country gained independence in 1960 after the unification of the Italian and British portions. (The French portion eventually became Djibouti).

But Somalia was united in name alone. Consisting of several different clans, the country struggled to achieve unity. In 1969 Siad Barre and his Somali National Army staged a bloodless coup and established the Somali Democratic Republic. His authoritarian regime was extremely unpopular and resulted in the Somali Civil War that began in 1988 and is still being fought today. The Battle of Mogadishu, which is the basis of the story in the movie, was fought on October 3-4, 1993.

Although inspired by a true story, some of the people and events were fictionalized in "Black Hawk Down", which told what happened after two U.S. Black Hawk helicopters, that were lowering soldiers to the ground, were shot down during Operation Gothic Serpent. After dealing with weeks of a stalled plan, and with the Somali people in dire need of humanitarian aid, it was decided to try a daylight attack that would only take thirty minutes. One hundred sixty members of U.S. elite forces were to capture the minions of a Somali warlord who had declared himself president and was starving his people into submission. Incredible heroes emerged among the elite forces, however, the movie focused on the efforts of Army Ranger Matthew Eversmann (Josh Harnett), who served as a leader of the group. During the eighteen hour confrontation, 19 Americans and hundreds of Somalis were killed.

Most of the movie was filmed in Morocco.

Japan had been creating the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere since its 1931 invasion of Manchuria. The plan was to enlarge their empire to include China, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Their plans for expansionism made them a perfect ally for Germany and Italy, and Japan joined the Axis alliance in 1940.

The United States, however, refused to agree to stand by while Japan enlarged its empire, which led to the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. In the following days Japan launched attacks on many places, including the Philippines, Hong Kong, Guam, and Thailand. Thailand's fall was fast and relatively bloodless. The prime minister offered to join Japan and the Axis, giving them a path to also take Malaya and Burma. From 1942-1943 Japan constructed the Burma-Thailand Railway, which would serve to transfer troops and military goods to other areas they wished to conquer - namely India.

The fact that Japan built a bridge on the River Kwai was based on a true story, however, the people and circumstances were largely fictional. The majority of the people who worked on building the railway were local people, although there were POWs who also were forced to work on the structure. In the movie, a group of British POWS were held at a Japanese camps in Thailand, and they provided the labor to build the bridge. In spite of their protests regarding the violation of the Geneva Convention, they were put to work, which was a very slow process due to poor engineering plans and the group's sabotage of the project. When the Japanese leader threatened British Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guinness) with death if the bridge wasn't finished by the deadline, a proper bridge was built, and a plan was made to blow it and the first train to cross it up. Many of the men, however, feared Nicholson's cooperation with the Japanese commander was a betrayal. Will the bridge be completed, or will it be destroyed?

The movie was filmed in Ceylon, which is called Sri Lanka, today, and did involve the construction of bridge there on the Kelani River.

After WWII, Korea, which had been taken by Japan in 1910, was divided at the 38th parallel. Russia and the United States, allies at the time, had each occupied a part of the country, with Russia keeping forces in the North and the United States keeping forces in the south. Although this was to be a temporary arrangement, the situation quickly erupted into war. From 1950-1953, the Korean War was fought during the Cold War to prevent democratic South Korea from being taken over by communist North Korea. The United States defended South Korea, due to its policy - the Truman Doctrine - of keeping communism contained in Russia and China, while North Korea was aided by Russia and China in its attempt to take over South Korea.

During the war, Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals (MASH) units were placed near battlefields in an attempt to lower the number of war casualties by making faster treatment available. They contained operating rooms, as well as anesthesia and other necessary equipment, and were constructed in such a way that they could be moved wherever they were needed the most. The MASH units, staffed with doctors, nurses, and other personnel, are credited with advancing wartime medicine and saving countless lives.

The plot of the movie "M*A*S*H" (1970) was very straightforward. It portrayed the lives of the fictional professionals at the 4077th MASH unit, focusing on three doctors, Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland), Duke (Tom Skerritt), and Trapper John (Elliott Gould) - not just their medical practices, but also the lengths they went to in order to overcome the boredom when their medical services were not needed and the horrors of war. Their antics effectively divided the camp in half, with some following the womanizing, drinking, joking Hawkeye, and others who were supposedly taking the more moral high ground.

The movie was filmed at Malibu Creek State Park in Southern California, which had been the 20th Century Fox Ranch from 1946-1974. Mountains seen in the background of the movie set were felt to be reminiscent of the mountains found in South Korea. The subsequent television show (1972-1983) was also filmed at the same location.

The "Last Samurai" (2003) is loosely based on the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877, which is also called the Seinan War. Lasting from January 19-September 24, the revolt was in response to the establishment of the new imperial government, or Empire of Japan. The attempt to modernize the country had left the samurai role obsolete, as it established a new imperial army manned by conscript soldiers. While Saigō Takamori, the leader of the Rebellion, had played an important role in the establishment of the new government, he and other samurai were feeling more and more dissatisfied with their loss of privilege and other changes that had taken place, as well as suspected political corruption.

In 1874 he began establishing Shi-gakkō military academies that not only taught traditional Japanese culture, but also the use of military weapons and tactics. The academies were so popular in the Satsuma Domain that it effectively severed its ties with the new imperial government. Afraid that others would follow, after Saigō's students seized government arsenals, the imperial government had to act.

Captain Nathan Algren (Tom Cruise), disillusioned with the horrors of war that he had witnessed and drinking to forget them, was hired by the new Japanese government to train the recruits who were to take the place of the samurai. It took a lot of patience to train these men, who had never been taught how to use weapons or fight. Their first confrontation with rebellious samurai was appallingly disastrous. Algren, who was wounded in battle, was taken to the samurai village and nursed back to health. During this time he overcame his past, and grew to respect samurai culture, forming a relationship with Katsumoto (Ken Watanabe), the samurai leader, and joining his cause.

While some of the scenes for "The Last Samurai" were filmed at Nijo Castle in Kyoto and Engyo-ji Temple in Himeji, Japan, most of the movie was filmed in New Zealand. Mount Taranaki, located in Taranaki, New Zealand, took the place of Mt. Fuji in Japan.