Challenge #17

9 October 2026

These are the ten questions from War Dossier daily challenge #17, of 9 October 2026, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Today's challenge is a different one and it is free to play.

Which Romanian tank destroyer is shown in the image? — Credit: Mircea87 · Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 · View at original source

The dossier entry: El R-2 y los TACAM rumanos

The R-2 was Romania's exported version of the Czechoslovak LT vz.35 tank, bought before the war and used against more modern Soviet armour, against which it proved clearly inferior. From 1944, a number of R-2s were converted into TACAM R-2 tank destroyers by removing the turret and fitting a captured Soviet 76.2 mm ZiS-3 gun behind an open-topped bolted casemate.

Challenge answers

1 / 10

Which Romanian tank destroyer is shown in the image?

The TACAM R-2
The TACAM T-60
The Mareșal
The Marder III

This is the TACAM R-2, with its open casemate of bolted plates and the long captured Soviet gun protruding at the front.

2 / 10

Which branch of the U.S. Army organized the combat photographic companies tasked with documenting the campaigns?

The Signal Corps
The Marine Corps
The Corps of Engineers
The Military Police

The Signal Corps organized photographic companies dedicated to capturing still images and film in each campaign.

3 / 10

Which convoy was scattered by Admiralty order in July 1942, with catastrophic results?

PQ-17
JW-51B
PQ-18
RA-64

Convoy PQ-17 was scattered by Admiralty order in July 1942 and suffered catastrophic losses.

4 / 10

Which American unit did the prisoners of war affected on December 17, 1944, belong to?

285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion
101st Airborne Division
7th Armored Division
4th Armored Division

The intercepted column belonged to the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion.

5 / 10

What motto, about hitting the enemy harder, became associated with Commander Samuel Dealey and his submarine?

"Hit 'em Harder"
"Sink or be sunk"
"Silent but deadly"
"First to fight"

This commander's aggressive style gave rise to the motto "Hit 'em Harder," a play on the submarine's own name.

6 / 10

Unlike the nightly Volga crossings that kept the Soviet supply line alive, what situation did the German side experience inside the Kessel?

It depended on an insufficient airlift, with no land supply route
It had a secure land route to the German rear
It received regular reinforcements by barge across the Don
It had abundant reserves stockpiled before the encirclement

While the Soviets sustained their urban front thanks to nightly Volga crossings, the German 6th Army was reduced to depending on an airlift that never covered its real needs.

7 / 10

What was Mitscher assuming when he ordered the late-afternoon American strike against the Japanese fleet on June 20, 1944?

That many aircraft would return at night and out of fuel
That the Japanese fleet was already sunk
That there would be no Japanese fighter opposition
That the aircraft would land ashore on Saipan

It was launched at extreme range knowing the return would be at night with tanks nearly empty.

8 / 10

What was the basis for the German army's lack of winter preparation?

On a plan that anticipated victory before winter arrived
On a shortage of textile factories in German territory
On an express order to prioritise equipment for the African front
On the British naval blockade of supply ports

The German plan anticipated a short, victorious campaign before winter, which delayed sending proper equipment.

9 / 10

What was the main armament of Prince of Wales?

Ten 356 mm guns in quadruple and twin turrets
Eight 406 mm guns in twin turrets
Nine 381 mm guns in triple turrets
Twelve 305 mm guns in triple turrets

The King George V class carried ten 14-inch (356 mm) guns, split between one quadruple turret forward, one aft, and a twin turret between them.

10 / 10

Unlike the IS-2, which fired from a rotating turret, how was the SU-122's howitzer mounted?

In a casemate hull without a turret, gun fixed to front
In a rotating turret identical to the T-34's
On a carriage towed behind the vehicle
In a raised cupola on the roof

Unlike the IS-2's rotating turret, the SU-122 carried its howitzer fixed in a closed casemate hull without a turret.

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