Chronicles of the Second World War Quiz

100 questions · by Qwiz Rush

Chronicles of the Second World War Quiz is a free 100-question multiple choice, letters and numbers quiz on Qwiz Rush, made by Qwiz Rush, split into 10 rounds. Test your knowledge on the major battles, key figures, and turning points of the greatest global conflict in human history.

Host it live for friends, family, a class or a quiz night: everyone joins with a game code on their own device, no app needed. Or play it solo with Free Play and see how many you get right.

Every question runs on a 10-second countdown and the fastest correct answers score the most. All the questions and their choices are listed below so you can see what the quiz covers; the answers are revealed in the game. Want to change something? Make your own copy and edit it in your library.

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The 100 questions

  1. In September 1938, the Munich Agreement permitted Germany's annexation of which border region of Czechoslovakia?

    • Bohemia
    • Sudetenland
    • Moravia
    • Silesia

  2. Which two nations signed a non-aggression pact in August 1939 that secretly divided Eastern Europe into spheres of influence?

    • Germany and Poland
    • Germany and the Soviet Union
    • Italy and France
    • Germany and Great Britain

  3. The Second Sino-Japanese War began in July 1937 following a clash between Chinese and Japanese troops at which location?

    • Mukden
    • Nanjing
    • Shanghai
    • Marco Polo Bridge

  4. Which Spanish city was devastated by a bombing raid by the German Luftwaffe's Condor Legion in April 1937, inspiring a famous painting by Pablo Picasso?

    • Guernica
    • Madrid
    • Barcelona
    • Seville

  5. In March 1938, Nazi Germany annexed which neighboring sovereign nation in an event known as the Anschluss?

    • Poland
    • Hungary
    • Austria
    • Czechoslovakia

  6. In 1935, Fascist Italy invaded which independent African nation, exposing the weakness of the League of Nations?

    • Egypt
    • Ethiopia
    • Libya
    • Somalia

  7. In what year did Germany invade Poland, marking the official beginning of World War II in Europe?

    Answer with a number.

  8. In what year did Adolf Hitler violate the Treaty of Versailles by sending German military forces into the demilitarized Rhineland?

    Answer with a number.

  9. Name the British Prime Minister who famously declared "peace for our time" after signing the Munich Agreement in 1938.

    Answer with a letter.

  10. Name the extensive line of concrete fortifications, obstacles, and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany.

    Answer with a letter.

  11. Which country was the target of "Operation Weserübung" in April 1940, resulting in its occupation by German forces?

    • Denmark and Norway
    • Belgium and the Netherlands
    • Poland
    • France

  12. Which German General is widely regarded as the chief architect and theorist of the Blitzkrieg doctrine, famously implementing it with the XIX Panzer Corps in France?

    • Heinz Guderian
    • Erwin Rommel
    • Erich von Manstein
    • Gerd von Rundstedt

  13. What was the name of the German dive-bomber, famous for its "Jericho Trumpet" sirens, that provided crucial close air support during Blitzkrieg operations?

    • Junkers Ju 87 (Stuka)
    • Messerschmitt Bf 109
    • Heinkel He 111
    • Dornier Do 17

  14. During the Fall of France in 1940, what was the name of the heavily fortified French line of defense that the German forces bypassed by attacking through the Ardennes?

    • Maginot Line
    • Siegfried Line
    • Mannerheim Line
    • Metaxas Line

  15. What was the codename for the evacuation of over 330,000 Allied soldiers from the beaches of Dunkirk between May and June 1940?

    • Operation Dynamo
    • Operation Overlord
    • Operation Barbarossa
    • Operation Sea Lion

  16. Through which heavily forested, mountainous region on the borders of Belgium, France, and Luxembourg did German panzer divisions launch their surprise breakthrough in May 1940?

    • The Ardennes
    • The Black Forest
    • The Vosges
    • The Ruhr Valley

  17. In what year did Germany launch its invasion of Poland, marking the beginning of World War II and the first demonstration of Blitzkrieg tactics?

    Answer with a number.

  18. In what year did the Battle of France end with the signing of the armistice at Compiègne, establishing the Vichy French regime?

    Answer with a number.

  19. Name the capital city of Poland that fell to German forces on September 28, 1939, after a devastating siege.

    Answer with a letter.

  20. What is the surname of the French World War I hero who signed the armistice with Germany in June 1940 and subsequently led the collaborationist Vichy regime?

    Answer with a letter.

  21. Which German Field Marshal commanded the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad and was ultimately captured by Soviet forces?

    • Erich von Manstein
    • Friedrich Paulus
    • Heinz Guderian
    • Walter Model

  22. What was the most produced Soviet medium tank of World War II, famous for its sloped armor and rugged design?

    • KV-1
    • IS-2
    • T-34
    • T-26

  23. The Battle of Kursk in 1943 is widely recognized as the largest what in history?

    • Tank battle
    • Airborne operation
    • Amphibious landing
    • Siege of a capital city

  24. Who was the highly decorated Soviet female sniper credited with 309 confirmed kills, nicknamed "Lady Death"?

    • Lyudmila Pavlichenko
    • Roza Shanina
    • Marina Raskova
    • Lydia Litvyak

  25. What was the codename for the massive 1944 Soviet summer offensive that cleared German forces from Belarus and destroyed Army Group Centre?

    • Operation Uranus
    • Operation Bagration
    • Operation Citadel
    • Operation Barbarossa

  26. What was the name of the ice transit route across Lake Ladoga that provided the only supply line to the besieged city of Leningrad?

    • The Road of Life
    • The Northern Corridor
    • The Siberian Express
    • The Bridge of Hope

  27. In what calendar year did Nazi Germany launch its invasion of the Soviet Union, codenamed Operation Barbarossa?

    Answer with a number.

  28. The Siege of Leningrad, one of the longest and most destructive sieges in history, lasted for approximately how many days?

    Answer with a number.

  29. Who was the preeminent Soviet military commander who coordinated the defense of Moscow, the Battle of Stalingrad, and the eventual capture of Berlin?

    Answer with a letter.

  30. Which Soviet city, a vital oil hub on the Volga River, became the site of the turning point battle of the Eastern Front between 1942 and 1943?

    Answer with a letter.

  31. Who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the planning and execution of the Battle of Midway?

    • Isoroku Yamamoto
    • Chuichi Nagumo
    • Tomoyuki Yamashita
    • Kichisaburo Nomura

  32. In April 1942, the United States launched the Doolittle Raid against Tokyo using B-25 Mitchell bombers. From which US Navy aircraft carrier did these bombers take off?

    • USS Enterprise
    • USS Hornet
    • USS Yorktown
    • USS Saratoga

  33. What was the official Allied military codename for the campaign to capture the island of Guadalcanal, launched in August 1942?

    • Operation Watchtower
    • Operation Cartwheel
    • Operation Galvanic
    • Operation Olympic

  34. Which covert biological and chemical warfare research unit of the Imperial Japanese Army was based in Pingfan, near Harbin, in occupied Northeast China?

    • Unit 516
    • Unit 100
    • Unit 731
    • Unit 1644

  35. During the Battle of Leyte Gulf in 1944, the Japanese military officially deployed organized suicide aircraft attacks for the first time. What is the common term used for these pilots?

    • Kamikaze
    • Kaiten
    • Ohka
    • Shin'yo

  36. What was the popular name for the Allied airlift operation that flew military transport aircraft over the eastern Himalayas to supply the Chinese war effort against Japan?

    • The Hump
    • Operation Matterhorn
    • The Burma Lift
    • Operation Thursday

  37. In what year did the Japanese surprise military strike on Pearl Harbor occur, bringing the United States into World War II?

    Answer with a number.

  38. How many atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities by the United States military during World War II?

    Answer with a number.

  39. What is the name of the prominent volcanic mountain at the southern tip of Iwo Jima where the iconic American flag-raising photograph was taken during the 1945 battle?

    Answer with a letter.

  40. Who was the reigning Emperor of Japan during World War II, who ultimately announced Japan's surrender to the Allied forces in August 1945?

    Answer with a letter.

  41. Which British General, nicknamed 'Monty', commanded the British Eighth Army to a decisive victory at the Second Battle of El Alamein?

    • Bernard Montgomery
    • Harold Alexander
    • Archibald Wavell
    • Claude Auchinleck

  42. Who served as the Supreme Allied Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe during the planning and execution of Operation Overlord?

    • George S. Patton
    • Dwight D. Eisenhower
    • Douglas MacArthur
    • Omar Bradley

  43. Which Soviet Marshal, widely considered the USSR's most successful military commander, oversaw the defense of Stalingrad and led the final assault on Berlin?

    • Georgy Zhukov
    • Konstantin Rokossovsky
    • Aleksandr Vasilevsky
    • Semyon Timoshenko

  44. Which leader of the Free French forces delivered the famous 'Appeal of 18 June' broadcast from London in 1940, rallying French resistance?

    • Philippe Pétain
    • Henri Giraud
    • Charles de Gaulle
    • Jean de Lattre de Tassigny

  45. Who served as the Prime Minister of Canada during the entirety of the Second World War, leading his nation's extensive industrial and military mobilization?

    • William Lyon Mackenzie King
    • Robert Borden
    • Richard Bennett
    • Louis St. Laurent

  46. Which United States Fleet Admiral served as the Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Fleet (CINCPAC) during the war, directing Allied naval strategy in the Pacific?

    • Ernest King
    • Chester W. Nimitz
    • William Halsey
    • Raymond A. Spruance

  47. In what year did U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt die in office, leading to Harry S. Truman assuming the presidency and oversight of the war's final months?

    Answer with a number.

  48. How many stars did the newly created rank of 'General of the Army' feature on its insignia, held by top American commanders like George Marshall and Dwight Eisenhower?

    Answer with a number.

  49. Name the American General who famously declared 'I shall return' upon his forced evacuation from the Philippines in 1942.

    Answer with a letter.

  50. Name the British Prime Minister who succeeded Neville Chamberlain in May 1940 and led Great Britain through the majority of the conflict.

    Answer with a letter.

  51. Which German Field Marshal commanded the Deutsches Afrikakorps in North Africa and was famously nicknamed the "Desert Fox"?

    • Erwin Rommel
    • Heinz Guderian
    • Gerd von Rundstedt
    • Albert Kesselring

  52. Which Imperial Japanese Army general served as the Prime Minister of Japan during most of World War II, from 1941 to 1944?

    • Hideki Tojo
    • Tomoyuki Yamashita
    • Kuniaki Koiso
    • Hajime Sugiyama

  53. Which Italian military officer, known as the "Marshal of Italy", led the conquest of Ethiopia and later served as Chief of Staff of the Italian Army?

    • Pietro Badoglio
    • Rodolfo Graziani
    • Giovanni Messe
    • Italo Balbo

  54. Which German Field Marshal commanded the 6th Army during the Battle of Stalingrad and became the first German field marshal ever captured in the field?

    • Friedrich Paulus
    • Erich von Manstein
    • Fedor von Bock
    • Walter Model

  55. Who was the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet of the Imperial Japanese Navy responsible for planning the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor?

    • Isoroku Yamamoto
    • Chuichi Nagumo
    • Jisaburo Ozawa
    • Soemu Toyoda

  56. Which German general is widely regarded as one of the primary pioneers and architects of the "Blitzkrieg" armored warfare doctrine?

    • Heinz Guderian
    • Hermann Hoth
    • Ewald von Kleist
    • Hasso von Manteuffel

  57. In what year did Germany, Italy, and Japan sign the Tripartite Pact in Berlin, formally establishing the Axis alliance?

    Answer with a number.

  58. In what year did the Battle of Stalingrad end with the surrender of the remaining German Axis forces in the city?

    Answer with a number.

  59. What is the surname of the Japanese general known as the "Tiger of Malaya" for his swift conquest of Malaya and Singapore?

    Answer with a letter.

  60. What is the surname of the military leader and national hero who served as the Commander-in-Chief of Finland's defense forces during their campaigns against the Soviet Union?

    Answer with a letter.

  61. What was the name of the electromechanical device designed by Alan Turing and Gordon Welchman to help decipher German Enigma-encrypted messages?

    • Colossus
    • The Bombe
    • Lorenz
    • Heath Robinson

  62. Which German cipher machine, far more complex than the Enigma, was used for high-level teleprinter communications and broken by British codebreakers using the Colossus computer?

    • Lorenz SZ40/42
    • Enigma G
    • Hagelin M-209
    • Sigaba

  63. What was the codename given to the intelligence derived from decrypting high-level German military communications at Bletchley Park?

    • Magic
    • Ultra
    • Purple
    • Double Cross

  64. Which critical naval battle in the Pacific was won largely due to US cryptanalysts breaking the Japanese JN-25 naval code, allowing Admiral Nimitz to ambush the Japanese fleet?

    • Battle of Midway
    • Battle of the Coral Sea
    • Battle of Leyte Gulf
    • Battle of Guadalcanal

  65. What was the name of the Japanese diplomatic cipher machine broken by US Army Signals Intelligence Service analysts, codenamed "Purple" by the United States?

    • Type B cipher machine
    • Red machine
    • Jade machine
    • Coral machine

  66. Which technological innovation, developed by Great Britain under the codename "Chain Home", provided early warning of incoming Luftwaffe bomber attacks during the Battle of Britain?

    • Sonar
    • LORAN
    • Radar
    • Proximity Fuze

  67. In what year did the British government codebreakers successfully decrypt the first German Luftwaffe Enigma messages using the newly designed Bombe machine at Bletchley Park?

    Answer with a number.

  68. How many rotors did the standard German Kriegsmarine Enigma machine (M4) use simultaneously in its active cipher mechanism starting in February 1942?

    Answer with a number.

  69. What was the name of the Victorian mansion and estate in Buckinghamshire that served as the principal center of Allied codebreaking during World War II?

    Answer with a letter.

  70. Identify the Native American tribe whose complex language was used to create an unbreakable voice code for secure tactical radio communications in the Pacific theater.

    Answer with a letter.

  71. Which 1942 naval battle is widely considered the turning point of the Pacific War, where the US Navy sank four Japanese aircraft carriers?

    • Battle of the Coral Sea
    • Battle of Midway
    • Battle of Leyte Gulf
    • Battle of Guadalcanal

  72. Which German pocket battleship was scuttled by its captain off Montevideo, Uruguay, in December 1939 following a battle with British cruisers?

    • Bismarck
    • Tirpitz
    • Admiral Graf Spee
    • Scharnhorst

  73. In what year did the British Royal Navy decisively defeat the Italian Regia Marina in the night-time Battle of Cape Matapan?

    Answer with a number.

  74. Name the British battlecruiser, famously known as the pride of the Royal Navy, which was sunk by the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941.

    Answer with a letter.

  75. Which naval engagement is widely considered to be the largest naval battle of World War II, featuring the first organized kamikaze attacks?

    • Battle of Leyte Gulf
    • Battle of the Philippine Sea
    • Battle of Okinawa
    • Battle of Iwo Jima

  76. How many fleet aircraft carriers did the United States Navy lose during the Battle of Midway?

    Answer with a number.

  77. In December 1942, a German naval force failed to destroy an Allied convoy in which Arctic engagement, leading to Hitler's decision to scrap his surface fleet?

    • Battle of the North Cape
    • Battle of Narvik
    • Battle of the Barents Sea
    • Battle of the Denmark Strait

  78. Name the Admiral of the Imperial Japanese Navy who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor and commanded Japanese forces at the Battle of Midway.

    Answer with a letter.

  79. Which June 1944 naval battle was nicknamed the "Great Marianas Turkey Shoot" due to the overwhelming losses inflicted on Japanese naval aircraft?

    • Battle of the Philippine Sea
    • Battle of the Coral Sea
    • Battle of Empress Augusta Bay
    • Battle of Leyte Gulf

  80. Which 1942 naval battle was the first in history in which the opposing aircraft carriers never sighted or fired directly upon one another?

    • Battle of the Eastern Solomons
    • Battle of Santa Cruz Islands
    • Battle of the Coral Sea
    • Battle of Midway

  81. Which British city was devastated by a massive German air raid on November 14, 1940, leading to the coining of the term "coventrate"?

    • London
    • Coventry
    • Birmingham
    • Plymouth

  82. What was the name of the German air offensive against the United Kingdom between September 1940 and May 1941?

    • The Blitz
    • Operation Sea Lion
    • The Great Raid
    • Operation Barbarossa

  83. Who was the commander-in-chief of RAF Bomber Command from 1942 to 1945, known for his advocacy of area bombing?

    • Arthur Harris
    • Hugh Dowding
    • Keith Park
    • Charles Portal

  84. In the United States, what iconic cultural figure represented the women who worked in factories and shipyards during World War II?

    • Rosie the Riveter
    • Uncle Sam
    • Wendy the Welder
    • Gibson Girl

  85. Which German city suffered a controversial and highly destructive Allied firebombing campaign over three days in February 1945?

    • Dresden
    • Berlin
    • Hamburg
    • Munich

  86. What was the primary purpose of the "Victory Gardens" planted by citizens in Allied countries like the US and UK during the war?

    • To reduce the pressure on the public food supply brought on by rationing
    • To grow flowers for military hospitals
    • To hide bomb shelters underground
    • To produce raw materials for making biofuels

  87. In what year did the United States government issue Executive Order 9066, which led to the forced internment of over 110,000 Japanese Americans?

    Answer with a number.

  88. How many atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities by the United States military in August 1945?

    Answer with a number.

  89. What was the term for the controlled distribution of scarce resources, food, and consumer goods on the Home Front?

    Answer with a letter.

  90. Which German city was the target of Operation Gomorrah in July 1943, creating a massive firestorm that killed over 35,000 people?

    Answer with a letter.

  91. Who was appointed as the Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers (SCAP) to oversee the post-war occupation and reconstruction of Japan?

    • Douglas MacArthur
    • Chester W. Nimitz
    • Dwight D. Eisenhower
    • George C. Marshall

  92. Which French general led the French 2nd Armored Division during the liberation of Paris in August 1944?

    • Philippe Leclerc
    • Charles de Gaulle
    • Jean de Lattre de Tassigny
    • Maurice Gamelin

  93. At which 1945 wartime conference did the Allied leaders finalize the division of Germany and Berlin into four distinct occupation zones?

    • Yalta Conference
    • Potsdam Conference
    • Tehran Conference
    • Casablanca Conference

  94. What was the official, formal name of the US-led Marshall Plan, enacted in 1948 to rebuild war-torn European economies?

    • European Recovery Program
    • Allied Rehabilitation Act
    • Western Economic Reconstruction Initiative
    • European Mutual Assistance Treaty

  95. In which United States city was the United Nations Charter signed on June 26, 1945, by representatives of 50 nations?

    • San Francisco
    • New York City
    • Washington D.C.
    • Chicago

  96. Who served as the chief United States prosecutor during the Nuremberg Trials of major Nazi war criminals?

    • Robert H. Jackson
    • Francis Biddle
    • Telford Taylor
    • Henry Morgenthau Jr.

  97. How many major Nazi war criminals were sentenced to death by hanging during the first and most prominent of the Nuremberg Trials?

    Answer with a number.

  98. In what year was the formal Japanese Instrument of Surrender signed aboard the USS Missouri, officially ending World War II?

    Answer with a number.

  99. Name the capital city of Germany that was divided into four Allied occupation zones and became the target of a massive Allied airlift operation starting in 1948.

    Answer with a letter.

  100. What is the name of the international organization founded in October 1945 to maintain international peace and security, succeeding the failed League of Nations?

    Answer with a letter.