So - World War 2 was a while ago now. For my kids the Battles of El Alamein and Kursk might just as well be the Battle of Thermopylae. So it goes, things get forgotten as newer events take priority - my youngest studied the 1981 Springbok tour last year - like that's important when compared to El Alamein in Kiwi national consciousness. Kiwis fought and died at El Alamein - what's a minor civil disorder compared with that?
Got me thinking though - El Alamein is more on Kiwi's radar than Kursk despite Kursk being fought on a scale that dwarfed El Alamein. At Kursk German casualties alone well outnumbered the total number of men the Germans had on the field at El Alamein. They may have exceeded 500,000 according to some sources. Kursk was a super battle fought on a super scale.
But since there were probably no New Zealanders on the field at Kursk and a great many at El Alamein it is only natural as well as right and proper that the latter battle has a higher profile here
This quiz is about people who were major players in those years and events that were highly significant to the eventual outcome - but depending on where you come from they may be people and events you never even heard of. Some will be easy enough but not most.
Are you willing to take the challenge and learn something about perspective along the way. Who can get the highest score? Will it be that which has been covered in Hollywood movies that will predominate in what you know?
Question 1: Can you name these allied commanders above? Four points, one for each name.
Question 2: Where was the Battle of Kasserine Pass fought? Name two notable features about it? Four points, two for the country in which it was fought, or one if only the theatre is answered.
Question 3: Where was the Battle of Khalkhin Gol fought and when? Who were the combatants? Extra point for explaining the significance of this battle to the Second World War. Six points.
Question 4: Can you name the two American Generals to the left, both of whom held the exalted rank of five star general though one of them not until after the war. A point for each
Question 5: Which Nation's troops fought the German Army during the Battle of the Scheldt? Who was their commander? Two points.
Question 6: Where is Lake Ladoga and what significancant role did it play during the years 1941-1944? Two points