Boots on the Ground Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hastings

Edward the Confessor ascended to the English throne in 1042. His mother was from Normandy and Edward had spent many years there, creating strong Norman bonds. When Edward died without an heir in 1066, there were several contenders to succeed him.
The Witenagemot (a political body made up of England's most important noblemen) elected Harold, Earl of Wessex as king and he was crowned.
Duke William of Normandy, who claimed that Edward had promised him the throne, and Harald III of Norway, who also claimed a right that dated back to an earlier King of England, began making preparations to take what they believed was theirs.

Harold's own brother, Tostig, also made an unsuccessful bid for the throne, being driven north by Harold's fleet. He eventually joined forces with Harald III's army and together they occupied the walled city of York. Harold's army defeated the invasion but this left the army in a weakened and depleted state. Both Tostig and Harald died in the battle.

Meanwhile William had been building an army and a fleet in Normandy. They landed in England a few days after the battle in York and had time to establish bases in Hastings and Pevensey while Harold, having left a large number of his troops in the north, moved south.
The Battle of Hastings lasted one day. Tired and outnumbered and facing an opponent with more military experience, the English still fought well. The fact that the battle lasted all day is cited as proof that they were able to hold their own.
The Normans used a tactic for which they were well known, referred to as 'feigned flight', drawing their opponents into pursuing them and exposing their flanks. Apparently at one point a rumour circulated that William had been killed and his troops were leaving.
Harold was killed and this was the turning point in the battle.
William the Conqueror of Normandy became king of England, ending the line of Anglo-Saxon kings and beginning the line of Norman ones.

Answer: William Wallace

If you were to believe "Braveheart's" depiction of Wallace, he was a peaceful man who wanted nothing more than to live quietly and raise a family. He was drawn into rebellion by first the rape and then the murder of his wife, whom he had married in secret because of the English custom of 'prima nocta'. None of this was true.

He was a landowner and he did become a major force in the Wars of Scottish Independence against Edward Longshanks, or Edward I. When Scotland's king and his heir died, Edward was called in to help the Scots choose their next king. Edward inserted himself as 'Lord Paramount of Scotland'. Edward later invaded Scotland, forcing the elected king to abdicate in 1296 and demanding homage from the Scottish nobles.
Wallace's first act of rebellion occurred in 1297.

The Battle of Stirling Bridge, also in 1297, saw a largely outnumbered Scottish army, led by Wallace and Andrew Mornay, defeat the English army. The two men were named Guardians of the Kingdom of Scotland. This monument is said to have been built on the very spot that Wallace stood and watched the English army muster.

Wallace was captured in 1305 and tried for treason. In answering the charge he claimed that he could not be guilty of treason because Edward was never his king. He was hung, drawn and quartered. Sadly, the movie "Braveheart" got that part right.

Answer: Gdansk

Strategically located, the beautiful city of Gdansk has seen many 'boots on the ground'. This is not a comprehensive list but merely a sampling of those battles.
In 1577 the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth besieged Gdansk for six months because the city refused to accept Stephen Bathory as the elected head of the Commonwealth. Gdansk instead supported Emperor Maximilian's claim to the throne. Since the Commonwealth couldn't take the city and the city couldn't break the siege, a negotiated agreement was reached.
From 1655-1660 it was under siege by the Swedish in the Second Northern War. This ended with the Swedish surrendering.
In 1734, during the War of Polish Succession it was besieged by Russia from February to June, resulting in a Russian capture of the city.
In 1807 the French took their turn at besieging and capturing Danzig (Gdansk), during the War of the Fourth Coalition (one of the Napoleonic Wars). This siege lasted between March and May.
In 1813, during the War of the Sixth Coalition (another one of the Napoleonic Wars) Russian and Prussian forces put the French garrison in Danzig under siege from January to December. The French ended up surrendering.
During WWI the city of Danzig was under German control but it was Hitler's invasion of Poland that triggered the start of WWII. Danzig was occupied and annexed by Germany.
Gdansk/Danzik was heavily bombed by Allied Forces in 1945, with 90% of the downtown area being destroyed.

Answer: Culloden

Referred to as both Bonnie Prince Charlie and The Young Pretender, Charles Stuart was the grandson of King James II, who was king of England and Ireland and king of Scotland, as James VII. Due to religious issues (he was a Catholic) he was deposed in 1688 by his nephew, who was also his son-in-law, William of Orange (he was Protestant). William then reigned with his wife, Mary II.

The Jacobite Uprising (1745) was an attempt to have Bonnie Prince Charlie crowned as King of Great Britain. The uprising was started by Charles Stuart and had great support from many Scots and some Englishmen.

The Jacobites received supplies from the Kingdom of France. The Battle of Culloden was, essentially, a massacre. The actual battle lasted for about an hour and an estimated 1,500 to 2,000 Jacobites were killed compared to less than 300 government soldiers.

The Duke of Cumberland was in charge of the government forces and his brutality towards the Jacobites after the battle, which earned him the nickname of Butcher, has long been a source of anger for many Scots.

Answer: Wolfe and Montcalm

The actual battle, between the British Army and Navy and the French Army, lasted only about 15 minutes but followed a siege of three months. The British troops surprised the French by sending a small party to scale a 53 m. (174 ft.) cliff. They then overpowered the undermanned garrison, allowing the bulk of Wolfe's army to get up to the plateau via a small, undefended (with the garrison gone) road.
Various things worked in Wolfe's favour. The fact that it was harvesting time saw many of the French forces in the fields, which is why the fort was undermanned. When Wolfe's army reached the plain, it too lacked many troops as quite a few had been relocated to another location. The officer who normally patrolled the cliffs at night could not do so because his horses were either lame or stolen. When the landing was first reported, the aide who received the report dismissed it as ridiculous and did not wake Montcalm. But most importantly, once learning of the position of the British troops, Montcalm chose to engage them immediately, instead of waiting for reinforcements.
This battle was a significant one in the formation of Canada as a primarily English country.

The Plains of Abraham are so named because they belonged to a farmer called Abraham Martin. This is the only picture in the quiz that is not my own because the day we visited the Plains of Abraham, tents were being set up in preparation for some event.

Answer: Copenhagen

The 1807 Bombardment is referred to as the second Battle of Copenhagen, (the first being a naval attack in 1801). The purpose behind the bombardment was a pre-emptive strike to prevent Napoleon from using Denmark to bottle up the Baltic Sea, even though he wasn't occupying Denmark at the time. The area was seen as vital to the British as a source of raw material.
Denmark was seen as being vulnerable to assault by French troops, particularly after Napoleon defeated Prussia in 1806, and the Dames could not be persuaded to enter into a secret alliance with Britain.
Intelligence received, indicating that Napoleon had tried to form an alliance with Russia, Portugal and Denmark against Britain, was enough to cause Britain to act and troops were sent to bolster the fleet which had already been sent.
The Danes tried to remain neutral between offers of alliances and protection from both the British and Napoleon. The British demanded and the Danes refused in what amounted to a declaration of war.
The British won the Battle of Koge against Danish militia, and bombarded Copenhagen from Sept. 2nd-5th. The Danes sued for peace and Britain took or destroyed what was left of her fleet before honouring her part of the agreement and pulling her fleet out of Denmark.

Answer: The British Empire and the United States

Located in the city of Fort Erie, (now) Ontario, Fort Erie was a British Fort built in 1764, after the Seven Years War. Fort Erie is across the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York. It stood for 50 years, operating as a supply depot. Plans to improve and rebuild the fort were approved in 1803. So the new fort was not completed when the War of 1812 began. The fort was occupied by American forces for a brief period in 1813 before they abandoned it. The British reclaimed the fort and worked on rebuilding it but another American invasion once again took possession of the fort in 1814. Using the fort as their base, the American engaged the British at the Battles of Chippewa and Lundy's Lane. The British eventually laid siege to the Americans within the fort, but were unsuccessful in recapturing it, losing over 1,000 men in the attempt.
The British eventually lifted the siege and in November 1814, the Americans destroyed the fort and returned across the border.


The War of 1812 began when America declared war for a number of reasons, including the suppression of American trade with Europe by the British Navy. Other British offenses included Britain's support of America's First Nations people and the forced recruitment of American seamen into the British Navy. They were also trying to reclaim land that they felt should have been given to them after the Revolutionary War.
The war lasted 32 months and ended with the signing of The Treaty of Ghent on December 24, 1817.

Answer: Passchendaele

Lying in the path of Germany's planned sweep into France, Belgium's attempt to remain neutral didn't last for long. Germany's invasion of Belgium is what triggered Britain's entry into the war.
The First Battle of Ypres, October 19th to November 22 nd, 1914 resulted in the Allies taking the town back from the Germans.
The Second Battle of Ypres, April 22nd to May 25th, 1915, was notable for being the first time that the Germans used poisonous mustard gas and resulted in the Germans capturing Passchendaele Ridge, east of town.
The Third Battle of Ypres, also referred to as the Battle of Passchendaele, raged from July 21st to November 6th, 1917, resulted in the loss of almost half a million lives (including both sides) and the re-capture of Passchendaele by the Allies.

Canadian physician Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, wrote the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" after his experiences in The Second Battle of Ypres.
When visiting Ypres it's hard not to be moved at the respect still paid by the Belgium people to the allied soldiers who lost their lives fighting for them 100 years ago.

Answer: Leningrad

Founded by Peter the Great on land taken from Sweden, St. Petersburg gave Russia access to the Baltic Sea and for a time was the capital of Russia. In 1914 the city's name was changed to Petrograd and in 1924 its name was changed again to Leningrad. The name of St. Petersburg was not restored until 1991.
During WWII Hitler was determined to capture the city of Leningrad, both because of its symbolic significance to the Russian people and because of its industrial importance. Hitler was very confident that he would be successful.
The siege began on September 8th, 1941 and lasted until January 27th, 1944 - an unbelievable 872 days.
Bombing of the city had begun in August, before the siege and continued relentlessly throughout. The Russian Army established a supply route across Lake Lagoda and through a small area of land that was unoccupied by the Germans but an estimated 1,500,000 people died through lack of food and water. This number did not include those among the 1,400,000 evacuees who also died.
The German Army was unsuccessful in taking Leningrad, but they did loot and destroy many of the palaces which lay outside the city. Many of these palaces have been restored.

Answer: Prince Andrew

The Queen's second son was on the aircraft carrier The Invincible and flew in several missions, both defensive and rescue in nature, despite reservations expressed by the British Government. The Queen insisted that her son be allowed to serve.
Argentina has been very vocal about their claim to both The Falkland Islands (seen in the picture) and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, other British territories that were invaded on April 3rd, 1982. In fact if in Argentina, it's best not to use the name Falklands, as they refer to the islands as the Malvinas and can get downright ornery if they are referred to any other way.
Argentina surrendered on June 14th with casualties numbering less than 1,000 (649 Argentinian soldiers, 255 British soldiers and 3 Falkland islanders).
While waiting for the arrival of the British fleet, the Argentinians dug in, mining many of the beaches. While some of those mines have been removed, many have been left and locals will tell you it's so that they can be used against the Argentine army should it ever try to invade again.