Military History Review

How is chess different from the game of go? A. Chess is attrition based while Go is resource efficient. B. Chess forces the opponent to defend territory and high ranking pieces. C. Chess has practical applications to military strategy while Go relies on overwhelming force. D. Chess relies on maneuver and strategy while Go relies on attrition.

The difference between Westmoreland s strategy and that of his North Vietnamese counterpart Giap is A. Giap sees the battlefield as a chess style strategy while Westmoreland relies on maneuver. B. Westmoreland implements a chess style attrition strategy while Giap uses a Go inspired strategy. C. Westmoreland attempts to control the entire country of South Vietnam while Giap attempts to control key cities. D. Giap uses direct attacks on South Vietnam while Westmoreland relies on indirect attacks.

How does Giap attempt to turn the American people against the Vietnam War? A. By convincing the American people that a prolonged was is not in their best interest. B. By attacking key cities during the Tet Offensive, Giap makes the American public believe the war is unwinnable. C. By targeting the political will of the American public instead of directly attempting to defeat American ground forces. D. All of the Above.

Why is it irrelevant that the US never lost a military engagement in Vietnam? A. The US military was undermanned and could not control the countryside in Vietnam. B. The US could not sustain the political will of the American public who eventually turned against the prolonged conflict. C. The North Vietnamese had a larger army and could absorb massive casualties. D. The US military engagements in Vietnam were so small in nature that they had no effect on the outcome of the ar.

What Sun-Tzu principles does the Allied landing at Normandy illustrate? A. All warfare is based on deception. B. Place your soldiers where there is no escape and they will prefer death to flight. C. It is essential for victory that the generals are unconstrained by their leaders. D. All of the Above.

In what ways did the Allies use the Sun-Tzu strategy of deception during the Normandy landings? A. After breaking the Enigma code, the Allies do not reveal that they have broken the code despite knowing the Germans will bomb Coventry. B. By creating a fake army in Southeastern England, the Allies convince the Axis that the landings will be at Pas de Calais. C. By turning German spies, the Allies feed false information to the German high command. D. All of the Above

What Sun-Tzu strategies does General Lee ignore at Gettysburg? A. There are some armies that should not be fought, some ground should not be contested. B. Those skilled in war bring the enemy to the field of battle, they are not brought by him. C. Move only what you see an advantage and there is something to gain. Only fight if a position is critical. D. Do not advance uphill against the enemy, nor oppose him when he comes downhill E. All of the Above

Why is General Longstreet s plan superior to General Lee s plan at Gettysburg? A. Longstreet recommends Lee attack the Union Army at Gettysburg because there is a large concentration of Union forces. This could lead to a Confederate victory that would turn public opinion against the war. B. Longstreet s plan calls for the Confederates to surround the Union on the high ground, creating a siege situation where the Confederates could starve the Union Army into submission. C. Longstreet wants to march around the Union Army on the high ground and threaten Washington DC. This would force the Union off the high ground and take away their advantage. D. Longstreet s plan calls for the Confederates to avoid the stronger Union Army and continue to employ small scale raids in the North. This would demoralize the citizens of the North by creating a sense that the Confederates could attack anywhere, anytime.

The battle of Kadesh is significant for all of the following reasons except A. The Egyptian chariot was pulled by two horses which gave it an advantage in speed and maneuverability while the Hittite chariot was pulled by only one horse. B. The Egyptian chariots was designed with a stronger wheel, had its axle placed further back for greater maneuverability, and had a soft platform to stabilize the archer. C. The Hittite chariot was lower to the ground which gave it leverage, it carried a team of two men (archer and driver) which made it lighter, and had armor made of dried leather. D. The Hittite chariots and the Egyptian chariots had no major differences.

The Phalanx Formation of the Greek hoplites was an effective formation, but it had one major weakness. What was that weakness? A. The phalanx s weakness was that it depended on each man moving independent of one another. B. The phalanx could not operate effectively on flat terrain, the major landform of ancient warfare. C. While it was effective moving straight forward, it could not move effectively to the left and right. D. All of the Above

What is a Dory? A. A double ended spear used by Greek hoplites B. A rounded shield with an arm strap and handle used by the Greek hoplites C. A defensive formation used by the Greek infantry D. A period of training for young Spartan males

What was the cause of the Persian Wars? A. The Ionian Revolt B. The Battle of Marathon C. Greek Expansion into Persian territory D. Persian attacks on Greek shipping routes.

How are the Greeks able to neutralize the Persian numerical advantage? A. By dividing the Greek armies into many smaller armies, the Greeks forced the Persians to divide their forces and spread them out. B. By retreating into the walled cities, the Greeks were able to set up defensive fortifications. Historically speaking, it takes a 3 to 1 manpower advantage to attack a defensive force. C. The Greeks were able to use deception to hide the true size of their force and fooled the Persian commanders into thinking the Greek army was larger than it truly was. D. By using terrain and physical geography of the Greek peninsula, the Greeks would funnel the Persians into a position where they could not deploy their entire military.

Who was Militiadies? A. The Spartan general who led 300 Spartans (and 9,000 other Greeks) in delaying the Persian invasion at a choke point called the Hot Gates? B. The Greek general who developed a strategy to stall the Persian invasion using natural land and water based choke points to neutralize the Persian s numerical advantage on land and sea. C. The Egyptian general who rushed into battle before his army was ready in the attempt to set up a base at the city of Kadesh. D. The Greek general who developed the strategy of hit and run attacks that relied on harassment instead of direct attacks on Darius main force.

What was the Fabian strategy? A. To attack Hannibal and the Carthaginians in a frontal assault, as direct attack by infantry was the specialty of the Roman legions. B. To attack the Carthaginian troops when they least expected it with small, quick attacks. A type guerilla war which kept Hannibal on the defensive. C. To abandon the defense of the Italian peninsula and attack Carthage itself, forcing Hannibal to leave Italy to defend the city. D. To attempt to raise a larger army through overwhelming impressive victories which would convince the loosely allied city states to contribute more troops.

Why didn t Hannibal lay siege to the city of Rome? A. Hannibal knew his strength lay in open combat and did not want to get bogged down in a lengthy siege campaign. B. Hannibal did not have a large enough army to surround the city, lay siege to the city, and protect the supply lines needed to support a siege. C. The citizens of Rome fled the city ahead of the advancing Carthaginians, therefore, it would be a waste of resources to take the city. D. The city of Rome was not his primary strategic target as it was an insignificant city.

Why did Hannibal prefer to fight Varro as opposed to Paulus? A. Hannibal knew that Varro was a less skilled and less experienced general than Paulus. B. Varro s formations were predictable as the Romans would arrange their legions in the checkerboard maniple formation. C. Hannibal knew Varro was an aggressive hothead who would charge into battle without knowing the full picture and Hannibal felt he could exploit these aggressive qualities. D. Hannibal had been defeated by Paulus multiple times before at places like Lake Tresimene and Trebbia.

Why did Hannibal place his least dependable Gallic and Spanish troops at the center of the formation? A. Hannibal wanted to set a trap for the Romans by making them think the center was collapsing. B. Hannibal felt he could disguise his weakest troops by putting them in a position to be supported by the stronger troops on the flanks. C. Hannibal had no choice but to put his weaker troops in the center as he was low on manpower and couldn t risk being flanked by the numerically superior Roman Army. D. All of the Above.

What was the result of the battle of Cannae? A. After the Carthaginian Victory, Rome was thoroughly defeated and in the peace treaty returned the island of Sicily and Sardinia back to Carthage. B. The road to Rome was wide open and Hannibal used the opportunity to fulfill his promise to burn Rome to the ground. C. Rome reverted back to the Fabian strategy because they knew they could not defeat Hannibal head on. D. Carthage took over the entire Italian peninsula and it was not until Scipio Africanus defeated Hannibal at Zama that they were able to expand.

What Sun-Tzu principle did Hannibal employ in his victories over the Roman legions? A. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. B. With regard to narrow passes, if you can occupy them first, let them be strongly garrisoned and await the advent of the enemy. C. Do not attack an enemy uphill nor oppose him when he comes downhill. D. You can ensure the safety of your defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked.

How did Arminius become an expert on Roman military tactics? A. Arminius had a vast network of spies within the Roman legions. B. Arminius served in the Roman Army and gained Roman citizenship. C. Arminius had been adopted by Roman citizens when he was very young. D. Arminius had studied the great Roman leaders like Julius Caesar, Fabius, and Scipio Africanus.

Why did Roman Emperor Octavian want to expand the borders of the empire from the Rhine River to the Elbe River in Germania A. The Rhineland region is a source of abundant natural resources, especially gold and silver, which the Romans needed to pay the mercenaries who are increasingly making up a large portion of their military. B. The rich farmland of the region was needed by the Romans to feed their citizens in the cities of the Roman Empire. C. The coast provided access to the prosperous shipping lanes of the Baltic Sea, where the Romans could trade all the way up the Scandinavian peninsula. D. By pushing the border to the Elbe River, the Romans could create a more defensible border as there would be no strip of land cutting into the empire.

What Sun-Tzu principles did Arminius employ at the battle of Teutoburg Forest? A. Let your plans be dark and impenetrable as night, and when you move, fall like a thunderbolt. B. Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy s resistance without fighting. C. You can ensure the safety of our defense if you only hold positions that cannot be attacked. D. Do not attack uphill and do not resist an enemy advancing downhill.

What key mistakes did the Roman commander Varus make at Teutoburg Forest? A. He trusted Arminius completely. B. He was overconfident that his legions had pacified Germania. C. He didn t accept the advice of his other generals. D. All of the Above.

How was Arminius able to defeat the disciplined Roman legions at Teutoburg Forest? A. The one on one fighting style of the Germanic tribes was well suited for close combat in the forest. B. The Germanic cavalry was able to smash the disciplined maniple formation of the legions because of their heavily armed horsemen. C. By luring the Romans into the dense forest, Arminius was able to negate the advantage of the Roman cavalry. D. By luring the Romans down the narrow roads in the dense forest, Arminius was able to attack the Romans when they were not in battle formation.

What was the result of the battle of Teutoburg Forest? A. The Romans abandoned their goal of pushing the borders of the empire to the Elbe. B. The Romans lost 3 legions and about 20,000 legionnaires. C. It solidified the Latin/Germanic cultural divide that still exists today. D. All of the Above.

What caused the Gothic uprising in the Eastern portion of the Roman Empire? A The Goths were promised food and land inside the Roman Empire as part of their agreement, but the Romans failed to live up to their end of the deal. B. The Goths became angry after 300 years of oppressive Roman rule. C. The Roman Emperor Valens increased the taxation burden on the Goths. D. All of the Above.

Why did the Roman commander Valens order an attack on the Gothic army without waiting for his nephew Gracian to arrive with reinforcements from the Western half of the empire? A. Valens believed he held the advantage and wanted to exploit the weakness of the Germanic tribes. B. Valens wanted the glory for himself, and did not wait for Gracian to arrive. C. Valens believed the Gothic army would be getting reinforcements and wanted to strike before the Gothic army grew in strength D. None of the Above

Which of the following is not a similarity between Teutoburg Forest and Adrianople? A. The Romans were overconfident and underestimated their opponents. B. Both the Gothic leader and the Germanic leader had served in the Roman legions. C. The Romans were surprised in both battles-at Adrianople by the Gothic cavalry and in Teutoburg Forest by the ambush. D. The Romans were able to overcome heavy odds in both instances and secure a military victory

What improvements had been made to firearms in the years preceding the Civil War? A. Rifling in the barrel caused the projectile to spin, increasing accuracy and distance. B. Projectiles changed from a round ball to a cylindrical shaped bullet increasing accuracy and distance. C. Limited use of lever action repeating rifles like the Henry increased the number of shots per minute. D. All of the Above.

Why were line and column tactics and volley fire the primary tactics used during the Napoleonic era? A. Large number of soldiers on the battlefield would cause confusion, so Napoleon organized them into ranks and columns for logistical purposes. B. Firearms were inaccurate so the strength of an army was in sending a massed volley of projectiles across the battlefield making it necessary to have soldiers line up shoulder to shoulder. C. Line and column tactics were agreed upon by warring nations as the civilized way to wage war. D. All of the Above

Why were Napoleonic tactics the dominant tactics used by both sides on Civil War battlefields? A. Most general officers on both sides of the war received their training at West Point and studied under Mahan, who had studied Napoleon in France. B. The writings of Antoine Henri Jomini (an aid of Napoleon) were used as a textbook at West Point. C. Students at West Point were taught to see the battlefield through the eyes of Napoleon, where opposing armies faced off in a chessboard style formation. D. There was no imaginable alternative to the Napoleonic tactics. E. All of the Above

Which of the following is not a Napoleonic tactic? A. Turning movements to effectively attack an enemy flank, forcing the enemy to adjust and expose another area of its defense. B. Army organization of divisions which did away with large armies in massive single file formations and allowed flexibility and rapid movement on the battlefield. C. The entire army would maintain a single, cohesive unit on the battlefield to smash the enemy head on and break through the enemy s lines. D. An army on the move would deploy advance guards and flanking parties. E. Concentration of a mass of your army against a fraction of the enemy s to create a localized advantage.

What was the Anaconda Plan? A. The southern strategy to strike with quickness and lethality at the major northern cities, much like the strike of a snake. B. The northern strategic plan to squeeze the south into submission through blockades, control of the Mississippi, and pressure on the northern border of the south. C. The southern strategy to gain naval assistance from Great Britain by exploiting the British need for southern cotton. D. The northern strategy of cutting off the head of the south by taking the capital of Richmond.

Which of the following is NOT an advantage the north had during the Civil War? A. The north had better trained soldiers and generals which allowed them to compensate for their numerical disadvantage on the battlefield. B. The north was heavily industrialized and their factories could produce a vast amount of war material. C. The larger population of the north allowed them to field larger armies than the south. D. The north had more resources available which allowed them to sustain a longer campaign, provided the will of the northern people did not change.

What was General Longstreet s advice to Robert E. Lee at Gettysburg? A. Move around the union army on the high ground to threaten Washington DC as this would force the union to follow. B. Attack the union on the first day before they had a chance to dig in and fortify their position. C. Surround the union army and avoid a direct attack by cutting off their means of supply. D. Attack the union army in the center on the third day, as the confederates had already determined the left and right flanks were strong, therefore the center would be weak.

Why is Gettysburg considered the high water mark of the Confederacy? A. It is the battle where the Confederate Army was the strongest, as they held a numerical advantage over the Union Army. B. It was the furthest north the Confederate Army had driven into the north. C. It is the closest the Confederates had come to defeating the Union on the battlefield. D. All of the Above

Why did Lee invade the North in 1863? A. Force a decisive battle that would force the north to negotiate a peace treaty. B. Destroy the industrial base of the north, which he realizes is their greatest advantage. C. Divide the Union in half by using the central position. D. Strike at the heart of the north-new York City

Robert E. Lee ignores all of the following Sun- Tzu principles at the battle of Gettysburg except A. It is the rule in war, if our forces are ten to the enemy s one, surround him; if five to one,attack him. B. Do not advance uphill against the enemy. C. Move not unless you see an advantage; use not your troops unless there is something to be gained; fight not unless the position is critical. D. By discovering the enemy s dispositions and remaining invisible ourselves, we can keep our forces concentrated, while the enemy s must be divided.

Why was Atlanta such an important city to the south? A. It was in the heart of the deep south. B. It was a central railroad station where four rail lines brought supplies various Confederate armies. C. It was the birthplace of the rebellion. D. All of the Above. E. Only A and B.

Why was Sherman successful in driving a stake in the heart of the Confederacy while Hannibal was unsuccessful in driving a stake in the heart of Rome? A. Hannibal did not recognize where the heart of the Roman Empire was while Sherman realized Atlanta was the heart of the Confederacy. B. Sherman was able to maintain his supply lines as he drove towards Atlanta because Johnston didn t threaten the rail lines while Hannibal simply didn t have the forces to maintain a siege of Rome. C. Sherman was able use his superior strategy to defeat the Confederate armies of Johnston, while Hannibal was never able to defeat the armies of the Roman legions. D. Hannibal was unable to successfully lay siege to the city of Rome because he did not have the proper siege weapons, while Sherman did have the proper offensive weapons to lay siege to the city of Atlanta.

What are the characteristics of total war? A. There is little distinction between combatants and civilians. B. To destroy the enemy, you must hit them at all points, not just with victories over the opposing armies. C. Supply lines and means of production are targeted so the enemy doesn t have the ability to wage war. D. All of the Above.

General in Chief Grant changes Union strategy in 1864 in all of the following ways except: A. Grant believed he should combine destruction of Confederate forces with the destruction of the Confederate industrial war machine and Southern war resources. B. He abandoned the strategy of occupying strategic points and focused on destroying the enemy, especially focusing on Lee s Army of Northern Virginia C. Grant believed that the Anaconda Plan would work and decided to focus on strengthening the Union blockade of Southern Ports. Eventually, the south would run out of war resources and would be forced to negotiate a surrender. D. Grant wanted the 1864 Spring Offensive to be as strong as possible and ordered Union troops who had been passively holding and occupying Confederate ground to advance.

The Virginia Campaign in 1864/65 previewed the fighting of WWI by A. The use of field fortifications and trenches were commonly used as a defensive position. B. Field commanders recognized the benefits of artillery support to soften enemy positions prior to a frontal assault C. Military generals on both sides made strategic decisions based on political reasons. D. The pursuit of the enemy relied on speed, especially with communications and supplies.