GK Quiz on World War II
GK Quiz on World War II | World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted for seven years. The vast majority of the world’s countries—including all the great powers—eventually formed two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the globe. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts; the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States—became the permanent members of its Security Council.
Check out how well you know about World War II.
GK Quiz on World War II
GK Quiz on World War II
1. World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from _________.
a) 1939 to 1945
b) 1940 to 1946
c) 1935 to 1940
d) None of these
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Answer a) 1939 to 1945
2. Which countries were involved in World War II?
a) Australia
b) Britain
c) Germany
d) All of these
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Answer d) All of these
World War 2 was fought between two groups of countries. On one side were the Axis Powers, including Germany, Italy and Japan. On the other side were the Allies. They included Britain, France, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, India, the Soviet Union, China and the United States of America.
3. What were the major causes of World War II?
a) The rise of fascism
b) Harsh treatment of Germany by the Treaty of Versailles
c) The Treaty of Versailles
d) All of these
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Answer d) All of these.
There are Some of the main causes of World War 2. The Treaty of Versailles ended World War I between Germany and the Allied Powers. Because Germany had lost the war, the treaty was very harsh against Germany. Germany was forced to “accept the responsibility” of the war damages suffered by the Allies.
4. Germany’s invasion of which country started world war II?
a) France
b) Japan
c) Poland
d) None of these
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Answer c) Poland
After securing the neutrality of the Soviet Union (through the August 1939 German-Soviet Pact of nonaggression), Germany started World War II by invading Poland on September 1, 1939. Britain and France responded by declaring war on Germany on September 3.
5. Who was the leader of England during WWII?
a) Benito Mussolini
b) Winston Churchill
c) Emperor Hirohito
d) None of these
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Answer b) Winston Churchill
Neville Chamberlain was Prime Minister of Great Britain in September 1939 at the start of World War II. In May 1940, after the disastrous Norwegian campaign, Chamberlain resigned and Winston Churchill became prime minister.
6. Who was the leader of the German Military of WWII?
a) Adolf Hitler
b) Franklin D. Roosevelt.
c) William Howe
d) None of these
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Answer a) Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) was the dictatorial leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party, or Nazi Party, commanding German forces throughout World War II. A fanatic nationalist, miltarist, racist, and anti-Semite, Hitler became Chancellor of Germany in 1933 and quickly transformed Germany into a totalitarian fascist state. Hitler retained power in Germany until his suicide just before Germany’s surrender in 1945.
7. Which of the following countries was not a member of the Allies?
a) China
b) Britain
c) Japan
d) None of these
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Answer c) Japan.
World War II (1939–1945) Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria) versus Allies (U.S., Britain, France, USSR, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, Greece, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Yugoslavia).
8. Who was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War II?
a) Joseph Stalin
b) Franklin Roosevelt
c) Nikita Khrushchev
d) None of these
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Answer a) Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign.
9. When did China enter the WWII?
a) 1945
b) 1941
c) 1940
d) None of these
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Answer b) 1941
The war cooled China’s formerly warm relations with Germany (see Sino-German cooperation), and following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, China formally joined the Allies and declared war on Germany on 9 December 1941.
10. Which was the most important battle in WWII?
a) Operation Barbarossa
b) Battle of Britain
c) Battle of Stalingrad
d) None of these
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Answerc) Battle of Stalingrad
The Battle of Stalingrad caused about two million casualties from Soviet and Axis forces and stands as one of the century’s worst military disaster. It was one of the bloodiest battles in history and is considered as one of the major battles in the World War II.
11. What was the longest battle in WWII?
a) Battle of the Atlantic
b) Battle of Guadalcanal
c) Battle of the Bulge
d) None of these
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Answer a) Battle of the Atlantic.
The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of World War II. It began immediately upon the British declaration of war against Germany in September 1939 and ended with Germany’s surrender to the Allies in May 1945.
12. What was the US strategy in the Pacific during WWII?
a) Blitzkrieg
b) Lightning war
c) Leapfrogging
d) None of these
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Answer c) Leapfrogging
Leapfrogging, also known as island hopping, was a military strategy employed by the Allies in the Pacific War against Japan and the Axis powers during World War II.
13. Who was the Commanding General of the German Afrika Korps nicknamed ‘The Desert Fox’?
a) Erwin Rommel
b) Adolf Hitler
c) Karl Dönitz
d) None of these
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Answer a) Erwin Rommel
Field Marshal Erwin Rommel was one of German’s most popular generals during World War II, and gained his enemies’ respect with his victories as commander of the Afrika Korps. Implicated in a plot to overthrow Hitler, Rommel took his life in 1944.
14. The main Axis powers of WWII consisted of-
a) Germany, Russia, Japan
b) France, Italy, Japan
c) Germany, Italy, Japan
d) None of these
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Answer c) Germany, Italy, Japan
15. Who was the Commander General of Italy during WWII?
a) Francisco Franco
b) Benito Mussolini
c) Vladimir Lenin
d) None of these
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Answer b) Benito Mussolini
16. Who was the Commander General of Japan during WWII?
a) Hideki Tojo
b) Fumimaro Konoe
c) Kuniaki Koiso
d) None of these
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Answer a) Hideki Tojo
Hideki Tojo was Supreme Military Leader from 1936 until 1944 and prime minister from 1941 until 1944. He was a strong supporter of the Tripartite Pact between Japan, Germany and Italy. Minister of War in the second cabinet of Fumimaro Konoe, he was chosen as prime minister by the emperor in October 1941.
17. What was the last battle of World War II?
a) Battle of the Atlantic
b) Battle of Okinawa
c) Battle of North Borneo
d) None of these
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Answer b) Battle of Okinawa
The Battle of Okinawa was the last major battle of World War II, and one of the bloodiest. On April 1, 1945—Easter Sunday—the Navy’s Fifth Fleet and more than 180,000 U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps troops descended on the Pacific island of Okinawa for a final push towards Japan.
18. During the Battle of France the Germans bypassed the Maginot Line by attacking through-
a) Italy
b) Belgium
c) Russia
d) None of these
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Answer b) Belgium
Instead of attacking directly, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries, bypassing the Line to the north. French and British officers had anticipated this: when Germany invaded the Netherlands and Belgium, they carried out plans to form an aggressive front that cut across Belgium and connected to the Maginot Line.
19. Germany signs a nonaggression pact with the Soviet Union in ________.
a) 1939
b) 1941
c) 1940
d) None of these
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Answer a) 1939
German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, also called Nazi-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, German-Soviet Treaty of Nonaggression, Hitler-Stalin Pact, Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, (August 23, 1939), nonaggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union that was concluded only a few days before the beginning of World War II.
20. When did Germany attack Russia in WWII?
a) 1942
b) 1944
c) 1941
d) None of these
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Answer c) 1941
Under the codename Operation “Barbarossa,” Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, in the largest German military operation of World War II.
21. Why did United States declare war on the Japan in 1941?
a) Invasion of Poland
b) The Munich Conference
c) Attack on Pearl Harbor
d) None of these
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Answer c) Attack on Pearl Harbor
the United States Congress declared war on the Empire of Japan in response to that country’s surprise attack on Pearl Harbor the prior day. It was formulated an hour after the Infamy Speech of US President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
22. When did the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
a) 7 December 1940
b) 7 December 1941
c) 8 December 1941
d) None of these
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Answer b) 7 December 1941
The Attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, led to the United States’ formal entry into World War II.
23. Which country lost the most lives in World War II?
a) Germany
b) Japan
c) Soviet Union
d) None of these
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Answer c) Soviet Union
n terms of total numbers, the Soviet Union bore an incredible brunt of casualties during WWII. An estimated 16,825,000 people died in the war, over 15% of its population. China also lost an astounding 20,000,000 people during the conflict.
24. What was the largest battleship of World War II?
a) HMS Hood
b) Yamato
c) Iowa
d) None of these
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Answer b) Yamato
Armed with 56-centimeter main guns ,the largest and most powerful of any warship. The Yamato and Musashi were designed to help Japan combat the much larger naval force of the United States during World War II.
25. What was the largest tank battle in history?
a) Battle of Cambrai
b) Battle of Stalingrad
c) Battle of Kursk
d) None of these
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Answer c) Battle of Kursk
The Battle of Kursk was the largest tank battle in history, involving some 6,000 tanks, 2,000,000 troops, and 4,000 aircraft. It marked the decisive end of the German offensive capability on the Eastern Front and cleared the way for the great Soviet offensives of 1944–45.
26. Which Country was the first Axis Power to surrender?
a) Japan
b) Italy
c) Germany
d) None of these
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Answer b) Italy
Italy was the first Axis partner to give up: it surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943, six weeks after leaders of the Italian Fascist Party deposed Fascist leader and Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.
27. When did Japan surrendered in World War II?
a) 1946
b) 1944
c) 1945
d) None of these
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Answer c) 1945
The surrender of Imperial Japan was announced on August 15 and formally signed on September 2, 1945, bringing the hostilities of World War II to a close. Some believe the Aug. 15, 1945, declaration was the result of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was incapable of conducting major operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent.
28. When did Germany surrendered in WWII?
a) 7 May 1944
b) 7 August 1945
c) 7 May 1945
d) None of these
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Answer c) 7 May 1945
The final battles of the European Theatre of World War II as well as the German surrender to the Allies took place in late April and early May 1945.
29. Which Power won the World War II?
a) Mongolian People’s Republic
b) Allied powers
c) Axis Powers
d) None of these
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Answer b) Allied powers
The Allies of World War II, called the United Nations from the 1 January 1942 declaration, were the countries that together opposed the Axis powers during the Second World War. The Allies promoted the alliance as a means to control German, Japanese and Italian aggression
30. What was the treaty that ended World War II?
a) Geneva Conference
b) The Treaty of Versailles
c) Peace treaties
d) None of these
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Answer c) Peace treaties
The victorious wartime Allied powers (principally the United Kingdom, Soviet Union, United States, and France) negotiated the details of peace treaties with Italy, the minor Axis powers (Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria), and Finland, following the end of World War II in 1945.