How well do you really know the history of the D-Day landings?
This 20-question (randomly selected from a 50 question bank) military history quiz goes beyond Hollywood. Test your knowledge of the D-Day landings including the US and British airborne operations, and all five invasion beaches. Score 60% to pass — but expect a challenge.
Need to brush up first?
Explore D-Day: [Battle Studies] · [Quiz]
Explore World War II: [Weapons & Equipment] · [Recommended Reading]
Results
Well done — you know your D-Day landings!
A score of 60% or better on this quiz requires considerably more than knowing the Hollywood version of D-Day.
Want to explore the landings in greater depth? Read the complete BattlefieldTravels study, based on historical research and firsthand exploration of the battlefield.
D-Day is harder than it looks!
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HD Quiz powered by harmonic design
#1. What was the principal mission of the German guns attacked by Lieutenant Richard Winters and Easy Company at Brécourt Manor?
Winters was ordered to deal with German artillery firing towards Utah Beach. His force attacked along the trench system and ultimately destroyed all four guns. Read more:
1944 D-Day, Easy Company, 2-506 PIR action at Brecourt Manor
#2. Why did the northern approach to Carentan become known as “Purple Heart Lane”?
Flooding forced Lieutenant Colonel Robert Cole’s 3-502 PIR onto a narrow and exposed causeway. Casualties were so severe that the approach became known as Purple Heart Lane.
Read more: Battle of Carentan
#3. Compared with the other Allied beaches, what complicated the timing of the Juno assault?
Juno’s H-Hour was set at 07:35 because of tidal conditions. The later assault gave German defenders daylight and a clear view of the Canadian approach.
Read more: Juno Beach landing
#4. Which Allied formation was principally responsible for the assault on Juno Beach?
Major-General Rod Keller’s 3rd Canadian Infantry Division formed the principal assault force at Juno, supported by the 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and other Allied elements. Read more:
#5. Why was the capture of Pegasus and Horsa Bridges important to the D-Day invasion plan?
#6. Who commanded the US Ranger force assigned to assault Pointe du Hoc?
Lieutenant Colonel James Earl Rudder commanded the Ranger force assigned to neutralise the Pointe du Hoc position between Utah and Omaha Beaches.
Read more: Pointe du Hoc Ranger assault
#7. Why was Carentan strategically important to the Allies after D-Day?
Carentan’s road and rail junctions sat between the Utah and Omaha lodgements. Its capture was essential to creating a continuous Allied front and supporting the subsequent build-up.
Read more: Battle of Carentan
#8. Which British officer is widely regarded as the first Allied soldier killed during the Normandy invasion?
Lieutenant Den Brotheridge was mortally wounded while leading his men across Pegasus Bridge during the opening assault. He is widely regarded as the first Allied soldier killed in the Normandy invasion.
Read more: Pegasus Bridge glider assault
#9. Which major D-Day objective assigned to the forces advancing from Sword Beach was NOT achieved on 6 June?
Read more:
#10. Which German armoured division launched the principal counter-attacks against the Sword Beach lodgement on D-Day?
Read more:
#11. Which American general famously responded to the misplaced Utah landing with “We’ll start the war from here”?
Brigadier General Theodore Roosevelt Jr, assistant commander of the 4th Infantry Division, recognised that the landing force was in the wrong place and decided to adapt rather than attempt to shift the assault back to the original plan.
Read more: Utah Beach landings
#12. Of the 750-men in the 9th Parachute Battalion, approximately how many was Lieutenant-Colonel Terence Otway able to gather for the assault on Merville Battery?
The 9th Parachute Battalion’s drop was disastrously scattered, leaving Otway with fewer than 150 men — roughly one-fifth of his battalion’s established strength — and without most of his heavy weapons and specialist equipment. He attacked anyway.
Read more: 9th Parachute Battalion at Merville
#13. Which two US infantry divisions were committed to the assault on Omaha Beach?
US V Corps attacked Omaha principally with the 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions. The first wave placed the 16th Infantry Regiment in the east and the 116th Infantry Regiment in the west. Read more:
#14. Which sub-unit led the 506th PIR assault into Carentan on 12 June?
Easy Company led the 2-506 PIR assault from the southwest during the renewed American attack on 12 June — the action portrayed in Band of Brothers.
Read more: Battle of Carentan
#15. Sword Beach formed which flank of the Allied D-Day landing area?
Sword was the easternmost Allied landing sector. Success there was essential to linking the amphibious landings with British airborne forces holding the Orne crossings.
Read more: Sword Beach landings
#16. Which important port did the British intend to capture on the western side of the Gold Beach sector?
Read more:
#17. Which specialised equipment did the Rangers train with for the Pointe du Hoc cliff assault?
The Rangers trained in amphibious assault, demolition and cliff climbing, using equipment including extension ladders and rocket-powered grappling hooks to scale the cliffs.
Read more: Pointe du Hoc Ranger assault
#18. Which US Army division made the principal amphibious assault on Utah Beach on D-Day?
The 4th Infantry Division landed at Utah Beach and pushed inland to link with the airborne divisions. Its advance depended heavily on the raised causeways crossing the flooded terrain behind the beach. Read more:
#19. Why did the capture of Arromanches become particularly important to the Allied invasion?
Arromanches had been selected as the site of Mulberry B, one of the artificial harbours intended to sustain Allied forces before major French ports could be captured. Read more:
#20. Which important Norman town was an inland objective of the Gold Beach landings?
The 50th Division was tasked with advancing towards Bayeux as well as linking the Gold lodgement with neighbouring Allied beachheads.
Read more: Gold Beach landings
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📚 Further Reading
This battle study nests within the broader analytical framework explored in the Research Hub, where operational methods, operating environments, armies, commanders, and weapons are examined across conflicts and eras. The links below connect related studies across the wider body of battlefield analysis on the BattlefieldTravels site.
⚔️ Explore all battle studies from World War Two 1939-1945
🏛️Explore the museum of World War Two historic artefacts
The book list for this conflict includes the finest campaign studies, memoirs, and operational analyses available on the D-Day landings, selected specifically to complement this battlefield study.
📚World War Two – Recommended Reading
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