World War II Generals Quiz

Dwight Eisenhower was a career military man who was also agile in the world of politics. He defeated Adlai Stevenson in a landslide election in 1952.

Guderian was known for developing fast-moving armored strikes called blitzkrieg attacks. Using highly mobile tanks and infantry, these attacks decimated Allied forces for years.

Isoroku Yamamoto was the fleet admiral who coordinated the successful Pearl Harbor assault. In 1943, a U.S. fighter shot down the bomber that was transporting Yamamoto.

About three months after the end of the war, Patton died from injuries sustained in a minor car wreck. While in the hospital, he said, "This is a hell of a way to die."

Unlike so many military men who rely on force and aggressiveness, Omar Bradley was known for his politeness and kindness. Others described him as being a little on the dull side.

Rommel was known as the Desert Fox for his brilliance as a German tank commander. After Rommel was implicated in a plot to kill Hitler, the Fuhrer forced Rommel to commit suicide.

MacArthur was a five-star general. The five-star ranking came about during World War II but has since been removed from the ranking system.

Arnold was instrumental in modernizing the equipment and strategies of the U.S. Air Force. Under his (rather ruthless) leadership, the Air Force played a huge role in beating back the Nazis.

Zhukov was one of the war's underrated generals. As the Nazi war machine rolled towards Leningrad, he locked down the city and prevented its capture, although a resulting German siege inflicted great suffering on the citizens there.

Churchill called George Marshall "the organizer of victory". Marshall oversaw a huge expansion of the U.S. military and helped to coordinate many strategic plans in both Europe and the Pacific.

Vittorio Ambrosio served in three Italian wars, including both World Wars. He failed in his bid to convince Mussolini to end the alliance with Germany, but Ambrosio eventually helped to remove Mussolini from power.

Bernard Montgomery was called The Spartan General -- or just Monty -- during his five-decade military career. He was a brilliant miltary man known for his absolute lack of politeness and tact.

Zhukov took the war and the Nazi atrocities to heart. He wholeheartedly endorsed reprisals against Germans as USSR armies advanced against the Nazis at the end of the war.

Freyberg was a commander for New Zealand. He was known as a fearless fighter who often plunged into the thick of battle, always emerging wounded but still walking.

As the top military commander in India during the war, Auchinleck was responsible for pushing back pro-Axis forces in the area. He also commanded forces in the Middle East.

At one point of the war, Bradley was in command of 1.3 million men. No general before or since commanded so many American soldiers at once.

Maxine Weygand was a general for France. As Germany invaded France, Wegand decided to help the Nazis … but was then arrested by the Germans because he wasn't as helpful as they wanted him to be.

Knowing the Allies would be attacking from the sea, Rommel was dismayed by the lack of progress of defenses on the Atlantic Wall. When he was promoted to a commanding position, he immediately set about reinforcing the wall to defend against invaders.

Manstein admitted to some of his war crimes and was sentenced to 18 years, which was then reduced to 12. He wound up serving four years for his role in the Holocaust.

As he was retreating from Germany's invasion, Anders was arrested and imprisoned by the Russians. He was released on the understanding that he'd command units to fight alongside Russian troops, and he did, while still pushing the Russians to release other imprisoned Polish citizens.

As head of the U.S. Air Force, Spaatz pushed fighters to achieve longer and longer flights. Fighter escorts made bombing raids much more successful.

Clark was in charge of the Fifth Army when it pushed its way into Rome in 1944. He was just 48 years old when he became the youngest U.S. officer to achieve the rank of general.

Giuseppe Castellano shook hands with the U.S.'s Dwight Eisenhower following the drawn-out Armistice negotiations. He retired from the army following the war and became a successful business owner.

Golian was instrumental in organizing an uprising in Czechoslovakia. The uprising did not last long against the superior German forces. Golian was killed at the Flossenburg concentration camp.

As the U.S. began to embrace massive bombing campaigns, Eaker learned everything he could about bombing strategies. He pushed bombers farther into Germany in hopes of dealing death blows to the Nazis.

Matsui was found responsible for war crimes such as the Nanking Massacre. He was captured by American forces and ultimately executed.

Alfred Jodl had the dubious honor of signing the famous surrender. He was found guilty of a long list of war crimes and then executed in 1946.

Kurt Student was in command of paratroopers during the Battle for The Hague, during which the Nazis failed to achieve even minor objectives. Student survived the accidental shooting but was executed after the war.

Hitler himself reportedly called Patton the crazy cowboy general. Patton was well-known for his fearless offensives that often drove back enemy lines.

Patton was never called the Wise Warrior, although he was smarter than most generals. He helped lead the Third Army across Europe following the Battle of Normandy.