World War I Quiz

Monday marked the 100th anniversary of the British Empire declaring war on Germany. In view of that, I decided it would be appropriate to theme this quiz on the First World War. The topic is of course so vast that 100 questions wouldn't scratch the surface of how important the impact of the war is, and it is estimated that around 17 million people (both soldiers and civilians) lost their lives as a result of the conflict. But how much do you know about it?

This quiz uses the same format as my previous Friday Quiz, but with another round of extra tough questions. I should probably warn all my international friends that this is a pretty heavily Anglo-centric quiz, but why not give it a go anyway?

Standard

Historical Events
1) The assassination of which royal figure provoked the start of the World War?

Geography
2) The city of Ypres, over which many battles took place, is in which country?

Science
3) The Battle of the Somme featured the debut of which military weapon?

Music
4) Which music hall song written in 1915 by brothers George Henry Powell and Felix Powell, became a significant hit in the trenches?

TV & Film
5) The 4th series of which well known 1980s sitcom was set during the First World War?

Sport
6) During Christmas 1914, about 100,000 British and German troops ceased fighting and many used the occasion to play which sport?

Arts & Books
7) 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' is a work by which well known war poet?

Food & Drink
8) Which canned foodstuff usually made up most of the meat element of British soldiers diet?

Politics
9) Which UK Prime Minister was regarded as 'the Man Who Won the War'?

General Knowledge
10) Which General (later Field Marshall) commanded the British Expeditionary Force from 1915 - 1918?

So how did you do?

Answers

1) Archduke Franz Ferdinand
2) Belgium
3) The tank
4) Pack Up Your Troubles (In Your Old Kit-Bag and Smile, Smile, Smile)
5) Blackadder (the series is called Blackadder Goes Forth)
6) Football (soccer)
7) Wilfred Owen
8) Corned beef (or bully beef)
9) David Lloyd George
10) Sir Douglas Haig

0-3) I hope at least you take something away from this!
4-7) Not bad, but could do better
8-10) That's the spirit

If those were a little bit basic for you, then why not have a go at this next lot?

Harder

1) Which member of the Black Hand organisation shot and killed Ferdinand and his wife Sophie?

2)  How many Battles of Ypres were there in total during World War I?

3) In 1917 which French company, (best known for making cars) produced the FT model of the tank, one of the most revolutionary tank designs in history?

4) The chorus of 'Pack Up Your Troubles' refers to a 'lucifer', but what was a lucifer?

5) Who played Field Marshall Haig in the final episode of Blackadder Goes Forth?

6) Which English football team won the First Division title for 1914-15, the only season to be played during the war?

7) Which Nobel Prize winning author joined the Imperial War Graves Commission after the death of his son John during the war?

8) Which word for cheap wine is thought to have been introduced to the English language around this time?

9) What was the name of the British Foreign Secretary at the outbreak of the war, who said 'The lamps are going out all over Europe, we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime'?

10) Which Field Marshall did Haig replace as Commander of the BEF?

I hope you're still breezing through these. Below are the answers.

Answers

1) Gavrilo Princip
2) 5
3) Renault
4) A match
5) Geoffrey Palmer
6) Everton
7) Rudyard Kipling
8) Plonk
9) Sir Edward Grey
10) Sir John French

1-3) Useful in a tight spot
4-7) Impressive
8-10) You should be doing this instead of me...

Still feeling pretty smug? Try these mind-knackering pieces of informational gold that will never come up in a pub quiz anywhere, but will make you look and feel like a tower of omnipotence...

Tough As Old Boots

1) What was the name of the state sponsored militia that Austria-Hungary created in order to persecute Serbs, and did so with relish after Ferdinand's death?

2) What is the name of the war memorial in Ypres dedicated to Commonwealth soldiers who died in the battles for control of the city?

3) What is the name of the British prototype Mark I tank that today is the oldest surviving individual tank in the world?

4) In order to adapt the song for the front, the time signature of 'Pack Up Your Troubles' was changed from 6/8 time to what?

5) In the episode 'Goodbyeee', Blackadder is credited with saving Douglas Haig's life during the Battle of Mboto Gorge, from a man carrying a particularly vicious what?

6) Which captain of the rugby league team Northampton Saints headed the Sportsman's Battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment?

7) Which British army unit was responsible for producing the Wipers Times, a satirical newspaper whose title is based on the British pronunciation of Ypres?

8) What type of foodstuff was Maconochie, described by one soldier as 'a war crime'?

9) Name either of the two Cabinet ministers who resigned from Herbert Asquith's Government upon the declaration of war upon Germany.

10) Under the authority of which French Commander-in-Chief did Lloyd George place Haig in 1917?

You must be exhausted. Here are the answers.

Answers

1) Schutzkorps
2) The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing
3) Little Willie
4) 2/4 time
5) Slice of mango
6) Edgar Mobbs
7) 12th Battalion Sherwood Foresters (Nottingham and Derbyshire Regiment), 24th Division
8) Meat stew
9) John Morley and John Burns
10) Robert Nivelle

1) Fair play to you
2) You must be a professional
3+) Or else you cheated...

That's definitely enough for now. Hope you appreciate my efforts and please let me know how you did. Also, as usual, don't hesitate to correct me if I've gone wrong.