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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. The author suggests that disliked soldiers were more likely to be selected for what type of duty?

2. The rumor about German sympathizers conveying intelligence to the enemy suggested that they were relaying what type of information?

3. How were military blunders usually treated in official reports?

4. How old were the youngest soldiers fielded by the axis during the war?

5. Hazing occurred at what levels within the American military?

Short Essay Questions

1. What types of rumors are sometimes believed by both sides?

2. How was military jargon and vocabulary used to demean enlisted men?

3. According to the author, what is the result on the battlefield of the relatively young age of soldiers and the violence of warfare?

4. What does the term "chickenshit" mean?

5. How and when was alcohol used as an anodyne?

6. What did Americans expect their participation in WWII to be like?

7. What were talismans?

8. How did the American military cause reports of military blunders to be underplayed?

9. What beliefs did American have about the Japanese going into the war, and how did those beliefs change?

10. What drinks were preferred by men from different nations in the war?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Nations on all sides recruited soldiers around the age of 18, since young men were considered to be ideal soldiers. For better or worse, young men fought and won the war.

1) Explain why young men were considered to be ideal candidates for training as soldiers.

2) Why is it important for soldiers to exhibit aggression? Explain why young men around the age of 18 are prime candidates in this regard.

2) Discuss why military leaders believed young men to be easier to lead and less likely to question the purpose of the war. Was this supposition valid?

3) Discuss the use of very young soldiers by the axis powers late in the war. Was this type of recruitment immoral, or supportable given their circumstances?

Essay Topic 2

Americans placed great stock in their new lines of heavy bombers, which were predicted to be able to win the war quickly and easily, but the reality proved very different.

1) Explain why Americans put so much faith and hope in the doctrine of precision bombing.

2) Explain the doctrine of precision bombing and how it was expected to end the war.

3) Discuss the difficulties in implementing a campaign of precision bombing, and how American strategy changed as a result.

Essay Topic 3

When America entered the war the country had mixed feelings but was generally optimistic. However, some of the rosy predictions of the American public proved to be woefully inaccurate and the nation struggled hard and suffered great loss in order to defeat the axis.

1) Explain the opinion of most Americans towards their prospects in the war at the time that America entered the war. What kinds of attitudes and doctrines dominated? How long did most Americans think the war would take to win?

2) List and describe the resources that Americans believed they would use to obtain victory.

3) Discuss how American optimism caused mistakes during the early parts of the war, and how it supported the war effort later.

4) Explain some of the changes in the American attitude towards the war that occurred as it dragged on and it became clear that early predictions would not come true.

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