WWII Quiz
boris116
Active member
Dean,
you are getting close!
But what is German in Mikhail Kalinin?
Remember, the city has been named AFTER a German person!
Think, who (from all the Germans) the Soviets would think as worthy to name a city after him or her?
Then it will be easy...
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Doppleganger
Active member
boris116
Active member
Gents, where did I say that city is in Germany?
However, I have said IT WERE THE SOVIETS who renamed the city!!!
Not the East Germans, not the Red Chinese....
The Russians WOULDN'T rename the city in East Germany or Poland themselves!
They have had enough local toadies to do it for them and make it look appropriate...
Another clue(that has been mentioned in the question) - the city has been renamed before WWII, but lost it's status DURING the war!
However, Karl Marx was a good candidate, very close to the correct one!
However, I have said IT WERE THE SOVIETS who renamed the city!!!
Not the East Germans, not the Red Chinese....
The Russians WOULDN'T rename the city in East Germany or Poland themselves!
They have had enough local toadies to do it for them and make it look appropriate...
Another clue(that has been mentioned in the question) - the city has been renamed before WWII, but lost it's status DURING the war!
However, Karl Marx was a good candidate, very close to the correct one!
MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
Ok this may seem like an odd request but is there any chance we are going to move back toward WW2 related questions and away from geography class?
I like geography as much as the next guy but this is a WW2 thread but from what I am seeing the links to WW2 seem pretty tenuous at best and are no doubt going to lead to more and more obscure questions like "how many army vehicles drove through my town in WW2" followed by "what was the name of the cat that stood on the corner in 1942".
Persnally I dont mind the location questions but can we please give them actual WW2 meaning ie "What city was captured in 1941" or "This city played a major role in ww2 jet engine development", while they are reasonably obscure they also gives people something to aim at and are based on WW2.
I like geography as much as the next guy but this is a WW2 thread but from what I am seeing the links to WW2 seem pretty tenuous at best and are no doubt going to lead to more and more obscure questions like "how many army vehicles drove through my town in WW2" followed by "what was the name of the cat that stood on the corner in 1942".
Persnally I dont mind the location questions but can we please give them actual WW2 meaning ie "What city was captured in 1941" or "This city played a major role in ww2 jet engine development", while they are reasonably obscure they also gives people something to aim at and are based on WW2.
boris116
Active member
I would completeley agree with you, MontyB, as long as you give me the right answer. It is VERY related to WWII, however, it is not my fault that you, Westerners
know so little about the Eastern front, so I have to give away hints, including those that might not be related directly to WWII.For any Soviet educated person with some knowledge of WWII history it would be no-brainer.
However, I can let you post a new question and be through with this quiz
MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
I would completeley agree with you, MontyB, as long as you give me the right answer. It is VERY related to WWII, however, it is not my fault that you, Westerners
For any Soviet educated person with some knowledge of WWII history it would be no-brainer.
However, I can let you post a new question and be through with this quiz
I dont disagree with your assessment of western knowledge of Soviet education hell I freely admit I know nothing of it but if we follow this path to its conclusion how much would others know of say New Zealand WW2 involvement and we have the major advantage of not being easily googled (I am pretty sure I could get this place tied up for months with Maori placenames and figures but what good would that do to the thread) this is one of the reasons I tend to ask questions that are reasonably generic as it allows the maximum possible participation.
I dont see any reason to post new questions I am just hoping we can get things moving a bit quicker and hopefully encourage a few more people to participate.
boris116
Active member
Bingo!!!
This city has been renamed from Pokrovsk to Engels and has become a capital of the Volga German Autonomous Republic.
In 1942, when the German forces have come close to the area, NKVD had deported all the local Germans in 24 hours to Siberia, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzia. The German republic has been disbanded and Engels has become an ordinary city.
The Germans were not allowed to return until 1980-s. Almost all of them have emigrated to Germany now.
On April 12, 1961 the first cosmonaut Yu. Gagarin has landed near Engels.
Your turn, Perseus!
Missileer
Active member
All I can think of is Saint Petersburg. When WWI broke out in August 1914 it was decided to change the name of the Russian capital from the Germanic St. Petersburg to the more Russian equivalent, Petrograd. Shortly after the Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin died, the city was renamed Leningrad (supposedly by public demand). In 1991, after a city-wide referendum, the city of Leningrad returned to its original name - St. Petersburg.
boris116
Active member
I dont disagree with your assessment of western knowledge of Soviet education hell I freely admit I know nothing of it but if we follow this path to its conclusion how much would others know of say New Zealand WW2 involvement and we have the major advantage of not being easily googled (I am pretty sure I could get this place tied up for months with Maori placenames and figures but what good would that do to the thread) this is one of the reasons I tend to ask questions that are reasonably generic as it allows the maximum possible participation.
I dont see any reason to post new questions I am just hoping we can get things moving a bit quicker and hopefully encourage a few more people to participate.
See?
The answer has been found very soon!
And I am waiting for your ANZAC questions!
What I have tried to do is to avoid "googleable questions".
There is some logic had to be applied first, beyond "who did what".
For example, a simple question, what type of a German person would be worthy enough for the Soviet autorities to name a city after him(her)?
The choice would be very narrow - 4-5 names at the most!
Now Google will help.
Sorry, If I have offended you in any way!
boris116
Active member
Sorry, Perseus has answered it.
This is a link to wilkipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Engels_(city)
Doppleganger
Active member
Not really all that remarkable Boris116.
I thought you were getting at something that was history making, like the Berlin wall going up for example.
boris116
Active member
Not really all that remarkable Boris116.
It depends on how you view the events.
The first manned space flight was a remarkable event in my book
Doppleganger
Active member
It depends on how you view the events.
The first manned space flight was a remarkable event in my book
Sure that was but Engles has a tenuous link with that event at best. The space flight was officially launched from Baikonur. But anyway I understand why you're trying to go for obscure questions that need a little more effort than Google. That is what I've tried to do also.
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MontyB
All-Blacks Supporter
51st Highlanders and the 50th Northumbrians
Where - Salerno Italy
When - September 1943
Why - They believed they would be joining their old units in Sicily, and it was not until they were at sea that they learned that they were in fact going to join the 46th Division, fighting alongside the American 5th Army at Salerno. Many were dumbfounded by the news and felt they had been tricked.
How many - Roughly 300 men.
what eventually happened to them - 108 of them eventually followed orders and joined their alloted units, 192 continued to disobey and charged with mutiny, they were all found guilty. Three sergeants were sentenced to death, all corporals were given ten years' penal servitude and privates were given seven years.
Fortunately, on 15 November, administration officer Sir Ronald Adam arrived in North Africa and asked to see the court martial transcripts. The background facts appalled him and he ordered the release of the men.
However, although their sentences were now suspended, they faced further ignominy by being sent to join unfamiliar units in the Eighth Army, while their own division went home. They were plunged into a vindictive atmosphere, where their previous good conduct and bravery counted for nothing. Eighty men found this too much to take and absconded. They were eventually captured and spent the rest of the war behind bars. There is evidence that some men were victimised by being given continuous front-line duty without rest or leave, or were sent on dangerous patrols. Others were later stripped of their bravery medals, had their war pensions cut and their campaign medals withheld.
I would like to post the source but it came from a commemorative book on the New Zealand Div Cav and I cant find a link to it on the net.
***As previously stated if I get this or any other question correct I would like to pass on asking the next question as I am limited on my internet access currently.***
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