1. Which word came into the English language from a weather-related incident connected with Kublai Khan’s unsuccessful invasion attempt on Japan in the 13th century?
2. Hitler’s Foreign Minister Joachim von Rippentrop signed a non-aggression treaty with the Soviet Union in August 1939 that Hitler broke two year later with his disastrous Operation Barbarossa. Name the Soviet foreign minister involved, mostly remembered for a weapon bearing his name.
3. Which invasion in late May 1588 was headed by the Duke of Medina Sidonia which ended in a total disaster for the attacking force?
4. Voyna i Mir is the Russian name of a famous novel that chronicles the unsuccessful French invasion of Russia in the 19th century and its aftermath. Name the English version and the novelist.
5. In the 13th century, which empire conquered modern Russia and Ukraine and destroyed the cities of both Moscow and Kiev?
6. Which inlet in the Gulf of Cazones in the Matinas Province of a particular country is remembered for a spectacularly unsuccessful invasion backed by the American CIA in 1961?
7. Which famous battle in 490 BCE — the turning point of an unsuccessful invasion — is named after the ancient Greek word for fennel?
8. In the War of the Worlds by HG Wells, one of the earliest science fiction novels, how does an invasion of extra-terrestrials from Mars finally prove unsuccessful?
9. Operation Sea Lion was one of the most meticulously planned operations of the Second World War which was never actually executed and finally postponed indefinitely in September 1940. What was Operation Sea Lion meant to achieve?
<drop_initial__quote>10 In the Second World War, Japan lost four of its elite fleet aircraft carriers and the strategic advantage that it held after Pearl Harbour in an abortive attempt to invade which pacific island in June 1942?
Answers
1. Kamikaze
2. Vyachselev Molotov; the Molotov Cocktail is named after him
3. The Spanish Armada which came with an army laden on 130 ships to invade England
4. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
5. The Mongol Empire by Batu Khan; the entire region became vassals of the Golden Horde
6. The Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba, repulsed by Fidel Castro’s troops
7. Marathon; the Battle of Marathon was where the heavily outnumbered Athenian forces defeated the invading Persian army
8. The aliens die due to their lack of immunity to a local pathogen
9. It was the Nazi code name for an invasion of Britain
10. The Battle of Midway; the Hiryu, Soryu, Akagi and Kaga, all of whom participated in the attack on Pearl Harbour, were sunk in the engagement