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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the author, many American officers were concerned that the British war plan was:
(a) An attempt to curb French ambitions as well as those of the Germans.
(b) To draw out the war to further London's imperial ambitions.
(c) Too consolidated and misdirected in that it attacked only one Axis.
(d) Too bold by far, under-manned by half.

2. Who did the American contingent meet in Cherchel?
(a) General Henri Giraud, a senior general capable of uniting the French cause.
(b) The Desert Fox.
(c) Benito Mussolini, Commander General of the Italian Africorps.
(d) General Mast, the French commander of the Vichy army's XIX Corps.

3. Against the wishes of his generals, the president of the United States canceled which plan in preference for a North African invasion?
(a) Watchtower.
(b) Rainbow 5.
(c) Charioteer.
(d) Sledgehammer.

4. According to the author, what was operation VILLAIN?
(a) The delivery of an armored division by C-47 airplanes to the front lines.
(b) The landing of a combined force of British and American special forces troops near Casablanca.
(c) A massive bombing run against Axis airfields in North Africa immediately following TORCH.
(d) The first American airborne operation of the war, and among the most daring before or since.

5. TORCH is considered by the author to have been:
(a) "The single worst tactical decision of the war."
(b) "Poorly planned but excellently executed."
(c) "The most daring amphibious operation in the history of modern warfare."
(d) "Primarily a diversionary tactic to relieve pressure on the Soviet Union."

6. How many platoons had Eisenhower commanded in battle prior to the start of World War II?
(a) One.
(b) Ten.
(c) None.
(d) Three.

7. In the winter of 1942, which Nation proved the dominant Air force in North Africa?
(a) Britain.
(b) France.
(c) America.
(d) Germany.

8. What was the plan for integrating U.S. units into British lead military organizations?
(a) No plan existed.
(b) New U.S. troops were sent to England for specialist training.
(c) Select troops were permanently assigned.
(d) Units would be on a four week rotation.

9. The average number of deaths per day during the war averaged:
(a) 9,600.
(b) 12,600.
(c) 27,600.
(d) 7,600.

10. A British Tommy is quoted as saying:
(a) "To the victor, go the spoils."
(b) "No guts. No glory."
(c) "Through France passes our shortest route to the Heart of Germany."
(d) "The last war was a war to end war. This war's to start 'em up again."

11. What was the Service d'Ordre Legionnaire, whom Terry Allen came up against in the battle for St. Cloud?
(a) A battalian of Belgian troops fighting on the side of the Allies.
(b) French fascists who modeled themselves on the German SS.
(c) French secret service agents who infiltrated the Vichy French ranks.
(d) An expert French artillery division.

12. Who traveled to Gibraltar under the nom de guerre of "General Howe."
(a) Dwight D. Eisenhower.
(b) George Patton.
(c) Winston Churchill.
(d) Ted Roosevelt.

13. When German anti-aircraft gunners in Tunis fired at his plane by mistake, Field marshal Albert Kesselring's response was to:
(a) Install better sights on the guns.
(b) Order larger swastika's painted on all Axis aircraft.
(c) Re-station them to Antarctica.
(d) Rubuke them for missing an easy target.

14. What is Brigadier General Truscott quoted as learning, perhaps in relation to his conflict in Mehdia?
(a) "Luck is worth a division."
(b) "No matter how large the force engaged, every battle is made up of small actions by individuals and small units."
(c) "There is no winning, there is only moving on."
(d) "Nothing undoes a good strategy like French snipers."

15. According to the author, what makes Medjez-el-Bab a strategically important location?
(a) It has several large airfields and whomever controls the air, controls North Africa.
(b) Through it is the sole land route to Tunis.
(c) It is 30 miles from Tunis and straddles the Medjerda River.
(d) Located on a high plateau, it is easily defended.

Short Answer Questions

1. What French character was referred to as "a bad man with a narrow outlook and shifty eye," by Winston Churchill?

2. What nickname for Eisenhower did the War Department try to suppress?

3. According to the author, North Africa is where the Axis forever lost:

4. What was Leedstown?

5. The radio messages "batter up" and "play ball" meant what to the American fleet?

(see the answer keys)

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