These are the ten questions from War Dossier daily challenge #45, of 6 November 2026, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Today's challenge is a different one and it is free to play.
Credit: Herbert Abrams, US Army · Licence: Dominio publico (EE.UU., publicada 1931-1977 sin aviso de copyright) · View at original source
The dossier entry: Creighton Abrams
Creighton Abrams commanded the US 4th Armored Division's 37th Tank Battalion from his own tank, nicknamed 'Thunderbolt'. On 26 December 1944 his battalion broke the German siege of Bastogne, though the tank that entered the town first, 'Cobra King', was not his own. Decades later he became a four-star general and US Army Chief of Staff, the post that later lent his name to the M1 Abrams tank.
Challenge answers
1 / 10
Which American officer appears in this portrait, commander of the tank battalion that broke the siege of Bastogne in December 1944?
Creighton Abrams
Lafayette Pool
John S. Wood
Maurice Rose
This is Creighton Abrams, portrayed years later as a four-star general; in 1944 he commanded the 37th Tank Battalion that reached Bastogne.
2 / 10
In which country did Churchill deliver his famous Fulton speech in 1946?
The United States
The United Kingdom
Switzerland
Belgium
The speech was given at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri, in the United States.
3 / 10
How were the Wright R-3350 radial engine's 18 cylinders arranged?
In a twin row (two banks of nine cylinders)
In line, one behind the other
In a V, forming two banks of nine
In a single 18-cylinder star
The twin-row design allowed more cylinders within a reduced frontal diameter, at the cost of complicating cooling of the rear row.
4 / 10
How did the encrypted output come out on most Typex versions?
It was automatically printed onto a paper tape
It was shown on a cathode-ray tube screen
The operator had to write it down by hand letter by letter
It was transmitted directly as coded speech
Unlike Enigma, which lit up encrypted letters on small lamps the operator had to copy by hand, Typex automatically printed the output onto paper tape, speeding up the work.
5 / 10
In what year was the Bailey bridge first used in combat?
1942
1940
1944
1939
Its first combat use was on 26 November 1942 over the Medjerda River in Tunisia, built by 237th Field Company of the Royal Engineers during the North Africa campaign.
6 / 10
What kind of Japanese force carried out the small-scale occupation of the Gilbert Islands?
A small naval detachment
A full infantry division
A paratrooper force
A carrier fleet
A small Japanese naval detachment sufficed to take Makin, given the absence of significant defenses.
7 / 10
Unlike the attack on the Ruhr dams, directed against specific industrial installations, the bombing of Dresden...
massively affected the city's urban centre and civilian population
was directed exclusively against oil refineries
was carried out by a single specialized squadron
used the Upkeep bouncing bomb against the dikes of the Elbe river
While Operation Chastise aimed to breach specific dams, the bombing of Dresden struck the urban centre directly and caused a high number of civilian casualties.
8 / 10
What method of advance characterized this combined offensive through the central Solomons and New Guinea?
Bypassing strongly defended Japanese positions to leave them isolated and cut off from supply
Frontally attacking every Japanese position without exception
Concentrating the entire effort solely on surface naval battles
Relying exclusively on long-range strategic bombing
The 'island hopping' strategy avoided wearing down forces against well-defended garrisons, leaving them cut off from supply.
9 / 10
Unlike the 509th Composite Group, which carried out the mission, what role did the Interim Committee serve?
Advise the president on the decision to use the weapon
Train the flight crews
Manufacture the fissionable material
Design the detonation mechanism
While the 509th carried out the mission, this committee advised the president on the political decision to use the bomb.
10 / 10
Which offensive ended the stalemate at the Anzio beachhead?
Operation Diadem, in May 1944
Operation Shingle, which was the initial landing
The bombing of the Montecassino abbey
The capture of Montecassino by the Polish II Corps
The overall Diadem breakthrough finally allowed the trapped troops to break out.
Today's challenge is another ten questions. No sign-up, nothing to install.
