WW1 Quiz: World War 1 Questions and Answers

1. World War IEasy

   1. Britain had promised to protect a neutral country. Germany’s invasion of which country brought Britain into the war?

   1. ABelgium
   2. BNetherlands
   3. CSwitzerland
   4. DDenmark
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   A. Belgium. In the 1839 Treaty of London, Britain had promised to protect Belgium’s neutrality. When German troops crossed into Belgium on 4 August 1914, Britain went to war to keep that promise.

   

2. World War IEasy

   2. The Ottoman Empire fought on the side of the Allies in the First World War.

   1. ATrue
   2. BFalse
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   B. False. The Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, Germany and Austria-Hungary, in 1914. The Allies included France, Russia, Britain and, later, Italy and the United States.

   

3. World War IEasy

   3. Why did Gavrilo Princip and his group want to kill Archduke Franz Ferdinand?

   1. AThey were paid by Germany to start a war
   2. BThey blamed him for the invasion of Belgium
   3. CThey wanted Russia to mobilise its army
   4. DThey wanted Bosnia freed and joined to Serbia
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   D. They wanted Bosnia freed and joined to Serbia. Princip was a Bosnian Serb nationalist. Austria-Hungary ruled Bosnia, and he wanted Bosnia to leave the empire and join Serbia. Killing the heir to the throne was meant to strike at the empire itself.

   

4. World War IEasy

   4. Why did Germany declare war on France as well as on Russia in August 1914?

   1. AFrance had attacked Germany’s western border
   2. BGermany’s plan was to beat France first, then Russia
   3. CFrance had sent its army to defend Serbia
   4. DFrance had refused to sign the Treaty of London
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   B. Germany’s plan was to beat France first, then Russia. German generals feared a war on two fronts. France was Russia’s ally, so once Russia mobilised, Germany’s war plan was to knock France out quickly and then turn east against Russia.

   

5. World War IMedium

   5. Why did convoys help to defeat the U-boats?

   1. AConvoys sailed only at night, out of sight
   2. BGrouped ships with warship escorts were harder to attack
   3. CConvoys kept far away from the North Sea
   4. DNeutral countries agreed to stop all trade with Germany
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   B. Grouped ships with warship escorts were harder to attack. On a wide ocean, one group of ships was much harder to find than many ships sailing alone. Warships guarding the group could attack any U-boat with depth charges.

   

6. World War IMedium

   6. Why did many Americans turn against Germany between 1915 and 1917?

   1. AGerman U-boats sank ships and Germany courted Mexico
   2. BGermany refused to buy American goods after 1914
   3. CGermany seized American ships in its own ports
   4. DGermany sent its army to attack the United States
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   A. German U-boats sank ships and Germany courted Mexico. U-boats sank the Lusitania in 1915, killing 128 Americans, and from 1917 attacked any ship near Britain. The Zimmermann Telegram then showed Germany offering Mexico an alliance against the United States.

   

7. World War IMedium

   7. Poison gas and tanks quickly ended the trench stalemate as soon as they were first used.

   1. ATrue
   2. BFalse
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   B. False. For years the new weapons mostly added to the killing. Only in 1918 did the Allies learn to use tanks, aircraft and artillery together and break through, as at Amiens.

   

8. World War IMedium

   8. After the Battle of the Marne, Germany’s plan for a quick victory had failed.

   1. ATrue
   2. BFalse
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   A. True. The German retreat to the Aisne saved Paris and ended the Schlieffen Plan. Both sides dug in, and years of trench warfare followed.

   

9. World War IMedium

   9. How was Kaiser Wilhelm II related to King George V of Britain?

   1. ABrother
   2. BCousin
   3. CUncle
   4. DNephew
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   B. Cousin. Both men were grandsons of Queen Victoria, so they were cousins. Wilhelm was also a more distant cousin of Tsar Nicholas II.

   

10. World War IMedium

    10. Why did Germany restart unrestricted submarine warfare in February 1917?

    1. ATo protect its fleet after the losses at Jutland
    2. BTo break through the British trenches in France
    3. CTo starve Britain before an American army could arrive
    4. DTo stop American ships from joining the convoys
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    C. To starve Britain before an American army could arrive. German leaders gambled that U-boats could force Britain to give up quickly. The gamble failed: U-boats killed American sailors, and the United States declared war on 6 April 1917.

    

11. World War IMedium

    11. What was the name of Woodrow Wilson's plan for peace, set out in January 1918?

    1. AThe Ten Points
    2. BThe Twelve Points
    3. CThe Fourteen Points
    4. DThe Sixteen Points
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    C. The Fourteen Points. The Fourteen Points included free trade, self-determination and, as the last point, a League of Nations where countries would settle disputes peacefully.

    

12. World War IMedium

    12. Why did most attacks across No Man’s Land fail before 1918?

    1. ASoldiers refused to fight after the Christmas truce
    2. BGenerals had banned artillery near the trenches
    3. CEach side had too few soldiers to attack
    4. DMachine guns and barbed wire favoured the defenders
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    D. Machine guns and barbed wire favoured the defenders. Attackers had to cross open ground under machine-gun and artillery fire and get through barbed wire. Even then, the defenders had more trench lines behind the first one.

    

13. World War IMedium

    13. Why did a gap open between the German First and Second Armies on the Marne?

    1. AMoltke ordered the First Army back to Belgium
    2. BKluck turned his army west to meet a French attack
    3. CBülow’s army stopped to surround Paris
    4. DGallieni’s troops broke through the centre
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    B. Kluck turned his army west to meet a French attack. The French Sixth Army attacked Kluck’s open side from the direction of Paris. When Kluck turned west to face it, he pulled away from Bülow’s Second Army, and British and French troops moved into the gap.

    

14. World War IMedium

    14. Why did Britain come to see Kaiser Wilhelm II's Germany as a threat before World War I?

    1. AGermany had refused to trade with Britain
    2. BGermany had made an alliance with France
    3. CGermany had attacked Russia in 1898
    4. DGermany was building a large battle fleet
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    D. Germany was building a large battle fleet. Britain was an island that depended on its navy. When Germany built a large battle fleet from 1898, with Wilhelm's strong support, the British saw a direct challenge to their control of the seas.

    

15. World War IMedium

    15. Why did many Americans turn against Germany in 1915?

    1. AGerman troops had attacked American soldiers
    2. BGermany had blockaded the ports of the United States
    3. CGermany had sunk the British fleet at Jutland
    4. DA U-boat sank a liner without warning, killing Americans
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    D. A U-boat sank a liner without warning, killing Americans. On 7 May 1915 a U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania without warning. About 128 of the 1,198 dead were Americans, citizens of a country that was still neutral.

    

16. World War IMedium

    16. When Woodrow Wilson asked Congress for war in 1917, what did he say America would fight for?

    1. ANew territory in Europe
    2. BRevenge for the Lusitania
    3. CBritain's overseas empire
    4. DA world safe for democracy
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    D. A world safe for democracy. Wilson said America had no selfish aims and wanted no conquest. “The world must be made safe for democracy,” he told Congress.

    

17. World War IMedium

    17. Gallieni needed fresh troops at the front fast. Which civilian vehicles famously carried some of them?

    1. AParis taxis
    2. BRiverboats
    3. CBicycles
    4. DHorse-drawn carriages
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    A. Paris taxis. About 600 Paris taxis carried several thousand soldiers. Most reinforcements came by train, but the taxis became a symbol of French determination.

    

18. World War IMedium

    18. Kaiser Wilhelm II himself announced his abdication in Berlin on 9 November 1918.

    1. ATrue
    2. BFalse
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    B. False. Wilhelm was at army headquarters at Spa, in Belgium. In Berlin, the chancellor, Prince Max of Baden, announced the abdication without his agreement.

    

19. World War IMedium

    19. What was the most important result of the Battle of Jutland in 1916?

    1. ABritain kept control of the seas
    2. BGermany broke the British blockade
    3. CThe German fleet was completely sunk
    4. DThe United States joined the war
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    A. Britain kept control of the seas. Britain lost more ships and men, but Scheer’s fleet escaped home and never again risked a full battle. So the British blockade of Germany went on.

    

20. World War IHard

    20. Where did the Germans launch the war’s first large-scale chlorine gas attack, in April 1915?

    1. ABattle of the Somme
    2. BBattle of Loos
    3. CBattle of the Marne
    4. DSecond Battle of Ypres
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    D. Second Battle of Ypres. On 22 April 1915, at the start of the Second Battle of Ypres in Belgium, the Germans released about 150 tonnes of chlorine from some 6,000 cylinders. Britain’s own first chlorine attack came later, at Loos in September 1915.

    

21. World War IHard

    21. According to his own later account, why did Erich von Falkenhayn attack Verdun?

    1. ATo capture Paris before the British army arrived
    2. BTo destroy the French navy in its home ports
    3. CTo bleed France white by forcing it to defend the city
    4. DTo open a road for an invasion of Switzerland
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    C. To bleed France white by forcing it to defend the city. In his memoirs Falkenhayn wrote that he wanted France to defend Verdun at any cost and lose so many men that it could not go on. Many historians think he wrote this afterwards to justify the battle.

    

22. World War IHard

    22. After five months of fighting and over a million killed or wounded, how far had the Allies moved the front line on the Somme?

    1. AA few yards
    2. BA few miles
    3. CAbout fifty miles
    4. DAbout a hundred miles
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    B. A few miles. The front moved only a few miles, about six at the deepest point. Machine guns, artillery and deep defences made every attack slow and costly.

    

23. World War IHard

    23. By the calendar used in most of Europe, Russia's February Revolution of 1917 took place in March.

    1. ATrue
    2. BFalse
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    A. True. In 1917 Russia's old Julian calendar ran 13 days behind. The women's march of 8 March was 23 February in Russia, so the revolution is named after February.

    

24. World War IHard

    24. How did the Allies finally break the German lines in the Hundred Days Offensive of 1918?

    1. ABy shelling for a week, then walking slowly
    2. BBy digging deeper dugouts than the Germans
    3. CBy sending battleships up the River Somme
    4. DBy using tanks, aircraft and artillery together
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    D. By using tanks, aircraft and artillery together. From 8 August 1918 the Allies combined their weapons: shells fell just ahead of the infantry, tanks crushed the wire and planes found targets, so attacks no longer stalled.

    

25. World War IHard

    25. Which gas, first used in July 1917, was especially feared because it caused severe burns, blisters and temporary blindness?

    1. AMustard gas
    2. BChlorine
    3. CPhosgene
    4. DIrritant gas
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    A. Mustard gas. Mustard gas burned the skin, eyes and lungs, and it stayed in the soil for days or weeks. Many of its victims, like the men in Sargent’s “Gassed”, were blinded for a time.

    

26. World War IHard

    26. Which French words became the motto of the defenders of Verdun?

    1. AVive la France
    2. BLiberté, égalité, fraternité
    3. CHonneur et Patrie
    4. DIls ne passeront pas
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    D. Ils ne passeront pas. “Ils ne passeront pas” means “They shall not pass”. The words are linked with General Nivelle, who took over at Verdun in May 1916.

    

27. World War IHard

    27. Why did Britain and France launch the Battle of the Somme in July 1916?

    1. ATo protect the British fleet in the North Sea
    2. BTo test the new tanks on dry, open ground
    3. CTo end the war before Christmas 1916
    4. DTo take pressure off the French army at Verdun
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    D. To take pressure off the French army at Verdun. Since February 1916 the Germans had been attacking Verdun. A big British and French attack on the Somme would force Germany to move men and guns away from Verdun, and might break through.

    

28. World War IHard

    28. After Tsar Nicholas II gave up the throne in March 1917, what did Russia's new Provisional Government decide to do?

    1. AKeep fighting the war beside Britain and France
    2. BMake peace with Germany as quickly as possible
    3. CGive all the land to the peasants at once
    4. DHand power to Lenin's Bolsheviks in Petrograd
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    A. Keep fighting the war beside Britain and France. The Provisional Government stayed loyal to Russia's allies and kept fighting. The war stayed unpopular and food stayed short, so the government lost support, and the Bolsheviks' promise of peace won it.

    

29. World War IHard

    29. Why did many Germans feel humiliated after World War I?

    1. AThe Allies forced the Kaiser back onto his throne
    2. BThe armistice gave France all of Germany's factories
    3. CThe Treaty of Versailles made Germany take the blame
    4. DThe peace talks were held in a German city
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    C. The Treaty of Versailles made Germany take the blame. Germany was not invited to the talks. Article 231, the war guilt clause, made it accept responsibility for the war's loss and damage, and it had to pay reparations, lose land and cut its army.

    

30. World War IHard

    30. Which 1925 international agreement banned the use of poison gas in war?

    1. ATreaty of Versailles
    2. BChemical Weapons Convention
    3. CGeneva Protocol
    4. DTreaty of London
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    C. Geneva Protocol. The Geneva Protocol, signed on 17 June 1925, banned the use of poison gas in war. It did not ban making or keeping poison gas; a much later treaty did that.

    

31. World War IHard

    31. Because Pétain rotated units through the battle, a large part of the French army fought at Verdun.

    1. ATrue
    2. BFalse
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    A. True. Pétain kept sending fresh troops in and taking tired ones out. This stopped units being destroyed, but it meant that many French soldiers lived through Verdun.

    

32. World War IHard

    32. What new weapon did the British use for the first time on the Somme, in September 1916?

    1. ATanks
    2. BBarbed wire
    3. CMachine guns
    4. DDeep dugouts
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    A. Tanks. Tanks first went into battle at Flers-Courcelette on 15 September 1916. There were too few of them, and too many broke down, to change the battle.

    

33. World War IHard

    33. Why did many hungry, war-weary Russians support Lenin's Bolsheviks in 1917?

    1. AThey promised to bring back Tsar Nicholas II
    2. BThey promised peace, land and bread
    3. CThey promised to fight on beside Britain
    4. DThey promised Germany would help them win
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    B. They promised peace, land and bread. The Provisional Government kept fighting an unpopular war while people went hungry. The Bolsheviks' slogan “Peace, Land, and Bread” offered exactly what soldiers, peasants and workers wanted.

    

34. World War IHard

    34. Why did gas attacks from cylinders depend on the weather?

    1. ACold weather froze the steel cylinders shut
    2. BThe gas cloud moved with the wind
    3. CGas could only be released at night
    4. DGas masks only worked in dry weather
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    B. The gas cloud moved with the wind. A gas cloud drifted wherever the wind took it. The Germans at Ypres waited for a wind towards the enemy, and at Loos the wind blew some British gas back into their own trenches.

    

35. World War IHard

    35. In the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which took Russia out of the war in March 1918, what did Russia give up?

    1. AThe capital city, Petrograd
    2. BIts right to keep any army
    3. CAll the grain fields of Russia
    4. DPoland and the Baltic lands
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    D. Poland and the Baltic lands. Lenin's government had promised peace, so it accepted Germany's harsh terms: it gave up Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia and accepted that Finland and Ukraine were independent.