Miscellaneous military and war trivia questions and answers.

What American actor was given the British Distinguished Service Cross for commanding a flotilla of raiding craft for Admiral Louis Mountbatten's commandos during World War II?
A: Douglas Fairbanks Jr.

What great military leader was an accomplished yo-yo player?
A: Napoleon's nemesis, the Duke of Wellington. At the time, the yo-yo was known as a Bangalore.

Who was Emil R. Goldfus of Brooklyn, New York?
A: Colonel Rudolf Abel, the Soviet intelligence agent convicted of spying on 1957, who was exchanged for downed American U-2 reconnaissance pilot "Francis Gary Powers in 1962.

What was the first war  in which soldiers wore machine-made uniforms?
A: The American Civil War.

At the Battle of the Marne in 1914, how were French reinforcements rushed from Paris to the front in order to help fend off the advancing Germans?
A: In Commandeered Renault taxis. Each cabbie was paid a 27-percent tip on top of his metered fare.

Who signed Major Clark Gable's army discharge papers in 1944?
A: President-to-be Ronald Reagan, then a captain.

How did the army of Persian kin Xerxes I cross the Hellespont--the strait between Europe and Asia--in 480 B.C.?
A: On two bridges of boats. Alexander the Great duplicated the feat 146 years later.

Who was the youngest U.S. Army officer ever to be promoted to general?
A: George Custer, a graduate of West Point, who became a general at age 23--14 years before his infamous battle of Little Big Horn.

How many stars were on the American flag during the Spanish-American war in 1989?
A: Forty-five. The five states not yet admitted to the Union and not represented on the flag were Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Alaska and Hawaii.

For what did General John J. "Black Jack" Pershing win a Pulitzer Prize in 1932?
A: History, for his book. My Experiences in the World War.

Following the British defeat at Dunkirk in June 1940, who made the stirring broadcast vowing that "we shall fight in the fields and in the streets...we shall never surrender"?
A: British actor Norman Shelley. He sounded just like Winston Churchill and read the address so that the prime minister could deal with pressing matters of state.

What was the inspiration for the name Rough Riders--the name of the elite fighting unit Theodore Roosevelt organized for the Spanish-American War?
A: The Rough Riders Hotel in Medora, North Dakota, where Roosevelt had tried ranching.

How many years did Hyman Rickover, the man credited with propelling he Navy into the nuclear age, serve on active duty?
A: Sixty--he was forced to retire at age 82 by President Ronald Regan.

How many oarsmen were carried aboard triremes--the fast-moving warships that helped the Greeks rule the Mediterranean during the fifth century B.C.?
A: 170--They were seated at banks of 31, 27 and 27 oars on each side of the ship.

How many pounds of feed were consumed daily by the 5,000 horses that pulled the artillery for Napoleon's Army of the North in1815?
A: 10,000 pounds--or 50 tons. That comes to 20 pounds per horse.