Conflict in the 20th Century Basics of 20th Century Conflicts A TEST OF YOUR CURRENT KNOWLEDGE

1. What dramatic event in Sarajevo directly led to the start of World War I? 2. What treaty officially ended World War I? 3. What controversial action did that same treaty take against Germany?

6. In what country did the following take place? 4. Who grew in popularity in Germany in the 1920s and took control of its government in the 1930s? 5. Who took control of the Soviet Union after 1924 and became one of the most brutal dictators in history until his death in 1953? 6. In what country did the following take place? Prior to World War II, this country’s nationalist and communist forces fought a bloody civil war against one another; the civil war was put on hold until Japan was defeated in 1945, but then resumed, with the communist side winning in 1949 and establishing a brutal regime over the most populous country in the world.

7. By what collective name were Germany, Italy, and Japan known as during World War II? 8. Trapped on a beach and facing capture or death at the hands of the Germans, 340,000 British and French troops were dramatically rescued from what place in 1940? 9. What battle was the turning point of World War II in the Pacific Theater?

10. What major battle in World War II began in December 1944, when the Germans launched a desperate final attack in an attempt to drive the Allies out of Europe six months after the success of the Normandy Invasion? 11. As Japan continued to refuse to surrender in August 1945, the U.S. first used the atomic bomb against what Japanese city in order to force an end to World War II? 12. What period of political tension began shortly after World War II and continued until the demolition of the Berlin Wall in 1989?

13. The closest that the U.S. and Soviet Union ever came to engaging in a nuclear war was during what event in October 1962? 14. What theory held that if one country became communist, surrounding countries also would? This was a major reason for the United States’ decision to enter the Vietnam War. 15. Although it was a military victory for the U.S., what communist assault in 1968 became the turning point that led to the United States’ withdrawal from the Vietnam War several years later?