Countries in World War II Quiz

Wasn't newfoundland an independent country before in 1939?

Slovakia's independent role in WW2 could be questioned, as they were not recognized as a state by anyone besides the axis and were basically a German province with more autonomy.

What? I'm pretty sure North Korea is fully recognised and Kosovo is recognised by a majority of countries.

South Korea is also not recognized by North Korea. Neither is China recognised by a bunch of countries. What is your point ?

Thanks QM!

You eliminated Czechoslovakia and Austria because they had already been taken over by Germany. Wasn't Poland also overrun?

So was France. So was the U.K. but they ran into the sea and didn't come back until D-Day at Normandy 4 years later with the Americans and Canadians.

You can't really say the UK was overrun.

Norway & Denmark are still missing

That's because Denmark and Norway had less than 10,000 military casualties.

Lol Australia got the first major victory against Japan, Italy and Germany... not to mention they were one of the first to declare on Germany, as well as sending nearly a million men to fight the axis...

Where are Denmark and Norway?

They are in Northern Europe, part of a region called Scandinavia.

Crap, totally overlooked the Baltic countries, I thought they were probably part of the USSR at that point.

Yep, Me too... You're not alone my friend..

same

They were independent prior to 1940.

me too!

Hints? Really? The Molotov-Ribbentropp pact plus the Winter War with Finland and the annexation of the Baltic countries are one of the most important forgotten parts of WWII. Moldova, The Eastern section of Poland (Lwow), the Baltics, Kaliningrad, and a section of Finland were incorporated into the USSR at the end of the war, but were not at the beginning. Köningsberg (Kaliningrad) and Memel (Klaipėda) on the Baltic were in Sept 1939 German-ruled cities, although Hitler had only just annexed Memel in March. Danzig (now Gdansk), also German-majority, was the starting point for the war.

Those countries gained sovereignty on November 11, 1918, at 11:00 am. This was when the treaty of Versailles that ended WWI was signed, partly breaking up the USSR and giving countries like Poland, Finland, and Lithuania independence. What I didn't realize was that Finland had that many military deaths and that Albania wasn't part of Yugoslavia. The more you know....

The Winter War is an awkward one because the Finns ended up fighting against the Soviet Union, which was fine in 1940 when the Soviets weren't part of the Allies and not so ok when they did it again in 1941-44 alongside Germany and Operation Barbarossa. The reasons why were perfectly understandable - Finland only gained independence from Russia in 1918, and the Soviets considered them to be like Ukraine, Poland and various other parts of the historic Russian territory. It doesn't really fit into the Western narrative about WWII though, so it gets quietly ignored.

Also you're very confused about dates. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk was signed March 3rd, 1918, between the German Empire and the Russian SFSR. The Russians ceded the Baltic states, Finland, Belarus and Ukraine. Some were made independent, some became part of the German Empire, and some weren't mentioned by name (Poland) but their territory was transferred. The Armistice was signed on Nov 11th 1918, which brought an end to the fighting on the Western Front. Versailles was signed the following year, 1919, and made de jure the independence of Poland (which had risen up against the Germans after Brest-Litvosk) and Czechoslovakia. East Prussia continued to exist in parts of what is now Poland and Lithuania until after WWII. This video explains things quite well: http://www.the-map-as-history.com/demos/tome03/Map-of-Europe-after-WW1-and-the-Versailles-Treaty.php

yes albania was its own sovereign nation and still was after the formationof yugoslavia it became a puppet of italy in the late 30's right before the war

Plus a lot of Western countries considered them occupied by the USSR.

Same

same

no Slovakia??? seriously? was a sovereign country

The First Slovak Republic wasn't recognised by any of the Allies who considered it (rightly) to be a German puppet state, and the legitimate government to be the Czechoslovak government in place before the German invasion. Which was a bit rich since it was British and French treachery which destabilised Czechoslovakia in the first place, but there you go.

The Soviets weren't part of the Allies when they recognised it, and they derecognised it when Slovakia took part in Operation Barbarossa: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_Republic_(1939%E2%80%931945) If you're being literal, the Slovak Republic did exist for a few years during the period, but the idea that it was an independent sovereign nation is pretty strange. It was a German puppet which only a handful of countries recognised, and which only existed in any sense for the duration of the war.

But, but Norway and Denmark:(

if uk and usa work, nz should too

N.Z. is a thousand fold more recognizable than K.S.A. I thought you meant the Klan States of America.

What was used for the calculation for "Deaths" number? Most accepted statistics put Soviet casualties at over 20 million (if you include military and civilian).

Don't do it! You have so much to live for!

The Statute of Westminster in 1931 effectively granted independence to Canada (and Australia, NZ, S Africa and Newfoundland).

hence the word 'effectively'

Wouldn't be severed until....leave the date blank like a gravestone of someone who's still living. Who's on your money and referred to everywhere? The queen of England. Who must approve or disapprove of all legislation? The queen of England's representative. Go to court? "Her majesty, blah blah blah Queen of England requests your presence".

Except that in that capacity she is the Queen of Canada. Canada is very much an independent country.

The death toll might still be less than 10,000, but Norwegians were in the Battle of Britain fighting as R.A.F. pilots.

denmark was not peacefully invaded. they just fell in 4 hours.

denmark was wiped out in 4 hours...no it wasnt peaceful

Funniest quiz I have done................I forgot one....................could not think of it.....................USA!!!..............because I assumed I had already included it :-)

happens to me every day

If we re including the Baltic states and Albania, then I think Slovakia should be in here, and maybe Croatia too.

What do you mean? All those countries are now independent. The Soviet Union recognized the independence of these countries in 1991. Estonia adopted the declaration of independence 20.8.1991 and Latvia the following day. Lithuania had issued a proclamation in the early spring of 1990. Lithuania and Russia, led by Yeltsin recognized each other in July 1991. Estonia and Latvia, the Russian Federation recognized the independence after the conservative coup attempt 24.8.1991.

they were separate states at the start of the war

i think

What did New Zealand do in WWII because I did not know they were in it?

New Zealand was in it from Day 1. In December 1939, A British cruiser crewed by New Zealanders H.M.S. Achilles participated in the Battle of the River Plate. In 1940 New Zealand pilots fought in the Battle of Britain. In 1941 New Zealanders fought against the German invasion of Crete. Following that they were evacuated to Africa to join other New Zealanders fighting in the British 8th Army against Rommel. The Italians laid a minefield into which another New Zealand cruiser H.M.N.Z.S. Neptune sailed and sunk. In 1942 New Zealanders fought in the 1st Battle of El Alamein, bringing Rommel's advance to a stop, and then the 2nd Battle of El Alamein where he was forced to retreat. In 1943 New Zealand patrol boat H.M.N.Z.S. Moa was sunk by the Japanese in the Solomons. In 1944 New Zealand participated in the Battle of Cassino in Italy with heavy losses. My Grandmother's brother died a few months later in a botched river crossing near Ravenna. 11,000+ military deaths is accurate.

The New Zealanders had a very good reputation as soldiers in WW2, especially in N Africa.

Actually NZ - and prob. Australia and Canada - were not technically sovereign states then as they had not ratified the Statute of Westminster. That happened for NZ in 1949. Possibly the same for South Africa.

I'm pretty sure New Zealand was involved in the Pacific front as well...

what about norway and denmark???

India had upwards of 80,000 deaths and is not included in the list. Nor is it a part of the British total death count. Yet, there's Latvia...

I guessed all (reasonable) Asian, European, North and South American countries. Not only that but I guessed all North African countries just to be disappointed in myself again. South. Africa....

Where is Denmark and Norway, they were both invaded and occupied in world war 2.

They were invaded by the USSR in 1940 (during world war II) and remained a part of it until 1991.

Forgot Germany... I feel dumb

Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia were all part of the USSR during WWII. If you are going to have us put those countries then you need to split up Yugoslavia into Bosnia, Macedonia and Serbia.

they were independent as of 1st September 1939. The USSR took them over as part of the Nazi-Soviet pact when Germany invaded Poland

Wasn't Albania already taken over by Italy by September '39?

1939 to 1945

How did I miss Germany and Italy?!?

West and North of Sweden.

I looked at the numbers after and it made me feel so sad.

23/25. got all the little baltic and balkan countries but missed italy and canada?? i literally went to juno beach last year too, feel like a right idiot

What about Norway and Denmark... they got invaded by Nazi Germany

It's a salutary lesson to me how much we owe to the Soviet Union. However much we may hate it (and, in 2020, Mr Putin) in the West, they virtually won the war for us and it cost them almost as many lives as the rest of the World put together.

Didn't realize Estonia/Latvia/Lithuania weren't part of the USSR then.

Many maps made in the USA suggest otherwise. 1898 to 1949 I believe...

240k in Poland only? are you sure????

Reading the comments is rather soul destroying in its repetitiveness!

At first I was thinking, "this quiz is really Euro-centric" and then I realized that Italy's war in Ethiopia was prior to 1939 and that SE Asia became independent because of WWII. So many Koreans, Indonesians, Malaysians, Filipinos, Burmese, and Indians died.

no, they weren't they were independent after the Russian Revolution then Invaded by the Soviets in lat WWII.

Add cointries with atleast 5,000 deaths please becauss they were involved too. Btw why did you change it Quizmaster.

Siam (Thailand) should be on the list It was forced to join the Axis by Japan

Once again, Switzerland is just chilling with a bucket of popcorn, watchin it all play out.

I had no idea that Yugoslavia had more WWII military deaths than the U.S. A bit mind-blowing.

I forgot Greece, and South Africa didn't even come to my mind! As a Finn I knew the Baltic Countries of course.