European War Quiz

What were the code-names for the five beaches?

Utah, Omaha, Gold, Sword, and Juno

Of the beaches, which were the US?

Utah, Omaha

In Western Europe, the Normandy Invasion was also known as ___

D-Day, Operation overload

How long did the planning of the Normandy Invasion take and by who? (Western Europe)

Two years of planning by Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower

The Normandy Invasion was the ___ (Western Europe)

biggest (combined land and sea) operation in history

Criteria needed for a successful invasion to begin: (Western Europe)

Begin at night, low tide at dawn, Moonlit Night, Good Weather conditions

Why did the invasion need to begin at night?

to hide ships coming across channel

Why did the invasion need to be at low tide?

see beach obstacles, low tide had to be at Dawn

Why did the invasion need a Moonlit Night?

so paratrooper could see to land

Churchill said: (Italian Campaign)

"The soft underbelly of Axis"

Why was North Africa invaded by the Allies to start their involvement in the European War?

easier, path of least resilience, weren't ready to go to Europe, gave troops more experience, has the Suas Canal

In the Battle of the Atlantic, how did the US counteract the German subs?

Navy had to set up a convoy system

How long did Germans besiege the city (European Theater)

2 months

The European Theater was:

Turning point of the war

With defeat Axis lost control of ______ (North Africa Campaign)

Mediterranean Sea

18 months of hard fighting led to ____

Italian Campaign, Italy knocked out of war

What were the four reasons why the Normandy Invasion(D-Day) was successful?

The Russians, Hitler, Industry, Deception

The Russians: (Reasons it was successful)

Hitler had 1.6 million soldiers against them and only 560,000 in France

Hitler: (Reasons it was successful)

didn't listen to his military leaders

Industry: (Reasons it was successful)

US industry kicked out tanks, jeeps, and airplanes in record numbers

Deception: (Reasons it was successful)

two phony armies under the command of Gen. Patton (1st army) ("Ghost Army")

involved a dead body, fake documents, convinced Germany that the Allies planned to attack Sardinia instead of Sicily

What was operation mincemeat?