1 The Battle of Camaron in 1863 had 65 European troops defend against 3,000 Mexican attackers for 10 hours. This is regarded as the most significant battle in the history of which famous military unit?

2 In one of the most fabled runs ever, a country that had hitherto not won a single World Cup or an European Cup tournament match actually won the Euro tournament. The team and the year?

3 His first published novel was in 1902, he was writing his last novel in 1977 when he passed away. Name the author who was working on his 97th novel?

4 Witold Pilecki was the only man to purposely get himself arrested in order to get Allied Intelligence information about a specific place, and then escaped from there a couple of years later. About which place did Pilecki provide detailed plans to the Allies?

5 In February 1942, 1,400 British, Malay Indian and Australian soldiers held off almost 13,000 Japanese troops in an effort to allow civilians to evacuate Singapore. Ironically, while the action is largely forgotten, the captured British were part of a project that became the theme of a famous film in 1957. Name the film.

6 The 1986 Academy Award for best actress in a leading role was won by a 21-year-old, the youngest ever in history. For what other reason was this award particularly special? ×

7 The challenger was a 42-1 underdog who had lost his mother less than a month before and contracted flu the day before the event. The holder was undefeated and a huge favourite, who was knocked down and counted out in the 10th round in what is considered the greatest upset in boxing history. Name the boxers.

8 It can’t be easy to climb 200 ft of a vertical cliff face at 16,500 ft. To do it while being hit by three bullets and managing to reach the top and neutralising an enemy bunker deserved nothing short of a Param Vir Chakra. Name this soldier, who is one of the three living recipients of the award.

9 What did Dashrath of Gehlaur in Gaya district do between 1960 and 1983 to ensure that villagers got faster access to medical care?

10 Which scientist, who has an SI unit named after him, was almost completely self-taught and forced to travel abroad as his patron’s valet on a scientific tour of Europe in 1813?

Answers

1. The French Foreign Legion, immortalised in countless films and books

2. Greece, 2004, beat hosts Portugal in the final

3. PG Wodehouse. He was writing Sunset at Blandings

4. Auschwitz concentration camp. The Russian secret police killed him in 1948 for supporting the former non-communist regime

5. Bridge on the River Kwai, based on the experience of captured Allied soldiers who worked on the Bangkok-Rangoon railroad

6. Marlee Matlin, who won the award for Children of a Lesser God, is congenitally deaf

7. Buster Douglas knocked out Mike Tyson in 1990

8. Yogendra Singh Yadav of the 18 Grenadiers

9. He carved a path through a mountain. Dashrath Manjhi was the subject of the 2015 film Manjhi

10. Michael Faraday, who started as Sir Humphrey Davy’s assistant

Joy Bhattacharjyais a quizmaster and Project Director, FIFA U-17 World Cup

Follow Joy on Twitter @joybhattacharj

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