Q 01/05

What were the 'little ships' that sailed to Dunkirk in 1940?

A) Midget submarines on patrol

B) Civilian boats ferrying troops

C) Decoy warships made of wood

D) Fast motor torpedo boats

Answer · why

B) Civilian boats ferrying troops

Civilian boats ferrying troops, many of them fishing or pleasure craft, were needed because Dunkirk's beach was too shallow for big navy ships to come...

Q 02/05

What is the French name for the English Channel?

A) La Mer Anglaise

B) La Manche

C) Le Detroit

D) La Mer du Nord

Answer · why

B) La Manche

La Manche means 'the sleeve', a name usually said to describe the Channel's long outline, which tapers like a sleeve toward the Strait of Dover.

Q 03/05

What rock forms England's famous white cliffs at the Channel's narrowest point?

A) Marble

B) Gypsum

C) Chalk

D) Quartz

Answer · why

C) Chalk

Chalk formed from the remains of tiny algae that sank to an ancient seabed, and because it is soft, erosion keeps wearing the cliffs back.

Q 04/05

Roughly how wide is the English Channel at its narrowest point?

A) 3 km

B) 30 km

C) 100 km

D) 300 km

Answer · why

B) 30 km

About 30 km separates the coasts there, and until about 8,000 years ago a land bridge joined them, before melting ice raised the sea.

Q 05/05

Who was supreme commander of the D-Day invasion across the Channel?

A) Patton

B) Eisenhower

C) MacArthur

D) Bradley

Answer · why

B) Eisenhower

Dwight D. Eisenhower put off the invasion for 24 hours because of bad weather, then gave the go-ahead once his meteorologist forecast a break.