The Thursday Quiz LVI

The Thursday Quiz!

The Thursday Quiz is an "Is It or Isn't It" game. From the list of twelve items, your job is to determine whether each IS or ISN'T a true example of the week's category.

Remember always the Uniform Code of Military Justice:

No research, Googling, Wikiing, or use of reference books. The Thursday Quiz is a POP quiz. Violators will be put on K.P.

This Week's Category will attempt to turn your vulnerable right flank!

Battles

We did peace treaties a while back; this week, it's time to Give War a Chance. Which summaries are reasonably accurate descriptions of historic battles? And which ones represent michael5000's total war on truth and historicity?


1. Battle of the Bulge -- With Allied forces moving rapidly across Europe in 1944, the German army launches a major offensive through the Ardennes Forest to try to turn the tide of the war. Although the Germans advance rapidly at first, over several weeks the battle grinds to, basically, a draw. The Allies, in a much better position to absorb losses, resume their drive toward Berlin.

2. Battle of the Coral Sea -- An American/Australian fleet engages the Japanese navy in 1942 to try to head off an invasion of New Guinea and the Solomon islands. Although the Japanese sink a large American aircraft carrier at the cost only of a very small carrier of their own, they are forced to call off their planned invasions. After months of humiliating defeats, the indecisive battle feels like a victory in the U.S. and Australia.

3. Battle of Dien Bien Phu -- Blocked by the Great Wall and its garrisons, Genghis Khan's hearty Mongol warriors simply ride around it. After a grueling crossing of the Gobi Desert, they stun a completely unprepared army at the village of Dien Bien Phu, slaughtering tens of thousands of soldiers caught without their swords and armor. The fear and awe inspired by this total victory takes a heavy toll on China's ability to continue resisting the Mongol invasion.

4. Battle of Gallipoli -- The Roman Empire makes its first big land grab off of the Italian Peninsula in 430 B.C., as Emperor Marcus Aurelius personally leads troops into what is today Greece. At the hill village of Gallipoli, an Athenian army proves helpless against the innovative "phalanx" formations of the Romans. Subsequently, Roman culture will be strongly influenced by Greek ideas.

5. Battle of Hastings -- During a succession crisis for the throne of England, Duke William of Normandy goes after the de facto king, Harold II. Harold's troops, exhausted from fighting off the army of yet a third aspirant to the throne, defend against one of the largest amphibious invasion forces in history to that point. The battle is a hard fought one, but the Normans prevail.

6. Battle of Iwo Jima -- After Pearl Harbor, the Japanese Empire conquers Southeast Asia and the Pacific with incredible speed. The first hint that Japan was not invincible comes at Iwo Jima, where the American flag is famously kept flying for two long weeks above Mt. Suribachi before the Marines are forced off the island. "I shall return," says General McArthur, and he does; Iwo Jima is to be the last major American defeat in the Pacific.

7. Battle of New Orleans -- With American forces converging toward the Mexican heartland in early 1848, Santa Ana conceives a desperate assault on the lower Mississippi. Unfortunately for Mexico, the invading troops immediately run into a large American reserve force en route to the front lines. Led by Andrew Jackson, the Americans triumph in a battle fought, ironically, several hours after a formal peace treaty is signed in Mexico City.

8. Battle of the Somme -- In 1916, with the Front Line of WWI bogged down in trench warfare, the French and British devise a plan to break through the German lines. With around 625,000 Allied soldiers killed in the months-long operation, their tiny territorial gains can be accounted at roughly two lives per centimeter. The 465,000 dead German soldiers prove more difficult to replace, however, so the battle of attrition is in a sense a strategic success for the Allies.

9. Battle of Thermopylae -- In 480 B.C., the vastly outnumbered army of a coalition of Greek city-states, led by the Spartans, hold off the advancing forces of the mighty Persian Empire at a narrow mountain pass. Although the Persians eventually secure the pass, the delay and losses they sustain at Thermopylae stall their offensive; shortly after, they are pushed back out of Greece and Europe for good.

10. Battle of Trafalgar -- In 1805, as the French Empire gobbles up great swathes of Central Europe, the British desperately retain the naval superiority that prevents an invasion of their island country. Admiral Nelson, outnumbered but with better ships and crews, capitalizes on his advantages with unconventional tactics and achieves an almost total victory over a combined French/Spanish fleet.

11. Battle of Vicksburg -- The French advance rapidly eastward in the opening months of the Franco-Prussian War, but their offensive grinds to a halt at the Rhine River. When the Germans abandon a bridge at the small river port of Vicksburg, falsely believing it unusable, the French are able to get 35,000 men across the river literally overnight. The subsequent battle shatters German resistance; surrender follows six weeks later.

12. Battle of Waterloo -- Napoleon, defeated and exiled the year before, returns to France in 1815 and attempts to resume his imperial rule where it left off. Surrounding European states begin mobilizing their armies to prevent a repeat of French expansionism. Napoleon attempts to take the offensive, but his armies are beaten in Southern Belgium. Some 50,000 young men are killed. Napoleon is sent back into exile.

Crush all opposition to the sheer might of your intellect, by posting your answers in the comments.