Index at bottom of the page.

1. The Battle of Cherbourg was
part of the Battle of Normandy
during World War II. It was
fought immediately after the
successful Allied landings on
June 6, 1944. Who commanded
the American forces?

2. When Montebourg collapsed,
American troops found several
large caches of V-1 flying
bombs were discovered in
addition to a V-2 rocket
installation at Brix.

3. Originally the Allies aimed
to take the French city of
Caen, one of the largest
cities in Normandy on
D-Day +5.

4. The first attempt to
capture Caen was by direct
assault from Sword Beach
from the assaulting landing on
June 6. The attack was stopped
by the The 21st Panzer
Division. Who was the
assaulting division?

5. Today there is a British
military cemetery in Tilly-
sur-Seulles, as well as a
museum that gives information
about the battle.  Nearby is
the smallest military cemetery
in Normandy. What is the
smallest cemetery named?

6. It began as Operation
Epsom. Three attacks were
carried out by British and
Canadian units of VIII Corps.
What was the day the
operation began?

7. An operation planned by
United States Army General
Omar Bradley for the break out
from the Normandy area after
the previous month's D-Day
landings. What was the
codename?

8. At noon on August 1, the
U.S. 3rd Army was activated,
taking control of the VIII
Corps as planned prior to the
invasion. Who commanded the
3rd Army?

9. In the early hours of June
6, the U.S. 82nd Airborne
Division and 101st Airborne
Divisions landed at the base
of what peninsula?

10. In the immediate aftermath
of the landings, the priority
for the invaders at Utah Beach
was to link up with the main
Allied landings further west.
On June 9, the 101st Airborne
Division managed to cross the
flooded Douve valley, and they
captured Carentan the next
day, thus giving the invaders
a continuous front.

11. Who commanded the American
force during the Battle of
Cherbourg?

12. German forces were
commanded by Friedrich Becker.


13. By June 16, there were no
further natural obstacles in
front of the American forces.
The German command was in some
confusion. The commanders
(including Field Marshal Erwin
Rommel) wished to withdraw
their troops in good order
into the Atlantic Wall
fortifications of Cherbourg,
where they could have
withstood a siege for some
time. Adolf Hitler, issuing
orders from his headquarters,
demanded that they hold the
line, even though this risked
disaster. Where was Hitler's
headquarters?

14. Late on June 17, Hitler
agreed that the troops might
withdraw but specified a new,
illogical defensive line,
spanning the entire peninsula
just south of Cherbourg.
Rommel protested against this
order; but nevertheless
dismissed the commander of the
German LXXXIV Corps, who he
thought was trying to
circumvent it. Who was the
German commander dismissed?


15. American troops discovered
several large caches of V-1
flying bombs were discovered
in addition to a V-2 rocket
installation. Where was the
V-2 rocket installation?

16. American divisions were
within striking distance of
Cherbourg. The garrison
commander, Lieutenant General
Karl-Wilhelm von Schlieben,
had 21,000 men but many were
hastily drafted naval
personnel or from labor units,
and the fighting troops who
had retreated to Cherbourg
(including the remnants of von
Schliebens own Division, the
709th Infantry Division) were
tired and disorganized. Food,
fuel and ammunition were
short. The Luftwaffe dropped a
few supplies, but these were
mostly items such as Iron
Crosses, to bolster the
garrison's morale.

17. The Americans launched a
general assault on June 22.
Resistance was stiff at first,
but the Americans slowly
cleared the Germans from their
bunkers and concrete
pillboxes.  On June 26, the
79th Division captured Fort du
Roule, which dominated the
city and its defenses.  This
finished any organized
defense. Von Schlieben was
captured. The harbor
fortifications and the Arsenal
surrendered a few days later,
after a token resistance. How
long did some German troops
cut off outside the defenses
held out until?

18. The commanding general of
the German Seventh Army, died
on June 28, having just been
informed of a court martial
pending as a result of the
capture of Cherbourg. What was
the cause of death?

19. The Ardennes Offensive was
a major German offensive
launched towards the end of
World War II through the
forested Ardennes Mountains
region of Belgium, France and
Luxembourg on the Western
Front. It is known to the
general public simply as the
Battle of the Bulge. What is
the official U.S. Army name
of battle?

20. The Battle of the Bulge
was the bloodiest of the
battles that U.S. forces
experienced in World War II;
the 19,000 American dead were
unsurpassed by those of any
other engagement.