Wars - 19th and 20th Centuries Quiz

Answer: Crimean War

The Crimean War was fought between 1853 and 1856. It is remembered for being the first war where cameras where used to cover the events and also for one of the most heroic battles, the "Charge of Light Brigade" at Balaclava. In this war, Russia fought against a West European coalition headed by Britain. Also, the Crimean War was the first major conflict after the Napoleonic wars where new battle tactics such as artillery barrages were used.

Answer: Franco-Prussian War

The Franco-Prussian War was fought in 1870-71; within six weeks of the start of the war, the Prussian army defeated France at the Battle of Sédan. Afterwards, France was forced to capitulate and amongst other things it had to hand over most of Alsace and Lorraine to Prussia. For France, the war was catastrophic: the Second Empire collapsed during the war and years of political turmoil followed, even after the establishment of the Third Republic in 1871.

Answer: Guam

The Spanish-American War started in 1898 due to the sinking of the Maine, an American ship anchored at Havana. Supposedly, Spanish forces sank the ship, killing a great number of sailors. Spain was defeated and had to hand over some of its colonies to the United States. Amongst these were the Phillipines and Guam, one of the two territories (the other being Puerto Rico) still under US control.

Answer: Treaty of Vereeniging

The Boer War lasted from 1899 to 1902. In this war, the largest imperial war ever fought by Britain, several hundred thousand soldiers were deployed. After the Vereeniging Treaty three million pounds were paid to the Boers while Britain kept political control. According to historian Lawrence James, over 200 million pounds were spent in the war and 295,000 soldiers participated.*

*Statistics taken from: "The Rise and Fall of the British Empire" by Lawrence James.

Answer: Orlando

Italy's prime minister during the final years of the war was Vittorio Orlando; he was one of the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles and he was a key player in Italy's entry into WWI.

Answer: Guernica

The small town of Guernica was attacked on a busy market day by a bomber squadron of the Luftwaffe in 1937. The event was so shocking for Picasso that he created one of his most famous paintings to serve as a memorial for the tragic event where several people were killed.

The Luftwaffe ran some tests in Spain after Franco's government came to power. Since Germany had given aid to Franco in the Spanish Civil War, Franco "returned the favor" by letting some commando squads of the Luftwaffe train and run military drills on Spanish territory.

Answer: True

During the two nights that preceded the Allied invasion of Sicily, the United States navy shot down over 53 of their own planes. Of course, it was a mistake, but nonetheless the planes were filled with paratropers of the 101st, 82nd, and British paratroopers divisions.

However, after this incident, most of the troops safely landed and Sicily was be taken by Allied troops in a matter of days.

Answer: True

As a matter fact, Colombia did send a batallion to Korea. Several different countries send batallions of their own to aid the US fight the North Koreans. Many of these batallions were distinguished in battle and several of their members received medals. About the Colombia Batallion, it was said to be one of the finest, and it was specially distinguished in the battle of Incheon.

Answer: Rangoon

The Battle of Rangoon was not fought in Vietnam. In fact, Rangoon is not even located in Vietnam; it is former the capital city of Burma. On the other hand, all of the other three battles were indeed fought in the Vietnam war. The Khe Sahn siege was a major battle and lasted for several months. Operation Bolo was an air battle that was intended to make the North Vietnamese air force to believe that the F4 phantoms were actually bombers. Once the Migs approached the formation, they were devastated by the F4s.

Answer: Iran

The Iran-Iraq war lasted almost 10 years from 1980 to 1989. Although neither side won, both sides lost hundred thousands of men and up to the Gulf War there were still POWs of both countries held hostage. One interesting fact about this war is that the U.S actually helped Iraq against Iran by giving it weapons and technology. Funny how things turn out!