War On The Western Front
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This is a quiz for 18 year old high school students. It is based on the Core component of the NSW HSC Modern History syllabus. It is specifically based around fighting on the western front in world war 1.
- 1.Who were the commanding officers of the French and German forces at Verdun at the battle's beginning in 1916?
- A.
General Pétain and General Falkenhayn
- B.
General Douglas Haig and General Falkenhayn
- C.
General Ludendorff and General Pétain
- D.
Marshall Foch and General von Bulow
- E.
General Pershing and General Falkenhayn
- 2.Why were the French successful on the first day of the Battle of the Somme in reaching all objectives?
- A.
They were attacking a "soft" quarter.
- B.
They had sufficient artillery concentration, their attack was well co-ordinated with support fire and they attacked in platoon formation.
- C.
They had enough cavalry, tank power and artillery concentration to overwhelm the Germans before they could mount a serious defence.
- D.
Their commanding officer had acquired intelligence that helped them pinpoint the area least defended on the front.
- E.
They detonated large mines which enabled the infantry to exploit the gaps created and the artillery support was brief but effective.
- 3.What was significant about the 106 fuse?
- A.
The patent was owned by the Germans, but the fuse used by the British, so the Germans were being paid for each shell that landed on them.
- B.
It allowed shells to land with far greater accuracy, and, so, enabled the "creeping barrage".
- C.
It detonated high explosive shells upon contact enabling maximum personnel casualties and wire cutting without digging up the terrain.
- D.
It was the original fuse used by each belligerent at the start of the war.
- 4.The "Hundred Days Offensive" was
- A.
The first phase of operation Michael.
- B.
The first phase of Plan 17.
- C.
The final phase of the battle for Verdun.
- D.
The start of the Allied counter offensive of August to November 1918.
- 5.Why was the area just south east of the Somme chosen for the decisive Battle of Amiens in August 1918?
- A.
The Allies wanted to replay the Battle of the Somme and, this time, emerge decisive victors.
- B.
The Germans were planning their own offensive in this area and would, not have defensive patterns to repel the surprise attack.
- C.
The area was the junction of the French and BEF forces, allowing maximum co-operation, it was flat and well suited for tank use and the defending Second German Army was weak.
- D.
Lloyd George wanted Haig to return to the site of his greatest disaster in an act of spite.
- 6.The German High Command were convinced that they had lost the war when
- A.
Hindenburg's mother died of malnutrition while trying to maintain local morale by living on an average Prussian's diet in late 1918.
- B.
They discovered their men living off captured trench rats after the Battle of Amien.
- C.
Haig breached the Hindenburg line on 5 October 1918, followed by the 1st and 3rd Armies breaching the line on 8 October.
- D.
The German U boats sank the Lusitania.
- 7.Tanks were successful at Amien and Cambrai because
- A.
They were finally given enough fuel to fulfil their tasks.
- B.
They were used in concentrated attacks.
- C.
The battles had been won by the infantry and artillery anyway.
- D.
Both battles were fought in dry conditions.
- 8.The three weapons which enabled platoons to operate with massively greater efficiency by being made available on a large scale were
- A.
The bayonet, repeating rifle and tank.
- B.
The hand grenade, Lewis gun and rifle grenade.
- C.
The Uzi submachine gun, the Lewis gun and the bayonet.
- D.
The flamethrower, the trench club and recordings of off key marching music.
- 9.Who appointed Freidrich Ebert chancellor of Germany in November 1918?
- A.
Prince Max of Baden
- B.
Prince Max of Austria
- C.
Kaiser Wilhelm II
- D.
Kaiser Fredrich Wilhelm
- 10.What was the name of the treaty the new communist government of Russia signed with Germany on March 3, 1918,
- A.
The Treaty of Versailles
- B.
The Treaty of Baden-Baden
- C.
The Treaty of the Baader-Meinhoff
- D.
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
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