Challenge #8

30 September 2026

These are the ten questions from War Dossier daily challenge #8, of 30 September 2026, with the correct answer and an explanation for each. Today's challenge is a different one and it is free to play.

Challenge answers

1 / 10

Which German weapon is shown in the photograph, captured at the moment of launch?

• The V-2 rocket (A4)
• The V-1 flying bomb
• The Rheinbote rocket
• A Wasserfall anti-aircraft rocket

You can spot it by its slender ballistic-missile shape with four large cross-shaped tail fins and a smooth, wingless cylindrical body, very different from the V-1, which had short wings and a visible jet engine on top of the fuselage.

2 / 10

In which month of 1945 did the USSR finally declare war on Japan, fulfilling the agreement?

• August
• May
• January
• October

The USSR declared war on Japan in August 1945, fulfilling the commitment made at Yalta.

3 / 10

In honor of which American officer was Henderson Field named?

• Major Lofton Henderson, killed at Midway
• General Alexander Vandegrift
• Admiral Richmond Turner
• Lieutenant Colonel Merritt Edson

The airfield was named for Major Lofton Henderson, commander of VMSB-241, killed at the Battle of Midway.

4 / 10

What continued happening in parallel with the Quit India movement, despite the tension between Congress and the British authorities?

• Voluntary military recruitment for the Indian army
• The total withdrawal of British troops from India
• The complete closure of all factories in the country
• The suspension of all political activity in the country

Voluntary military recruitment continued in parallel with the political tension and protests.

5 / 10

Who led the Rangers in scaling the cliffs at Pointe du Hoc?

• Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder
• General Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
• General Omar Bradley
• Colonel George Taylor

Lieutenant Colonel James Rudder commanded the 2nd Ranger Battalion in the cliff assault.

6 / 10

Unlike Colossus, which was programmable and more general-purpose, what kind of machine was the Bombe?

• An electromechanical machine for Enigma settings, not a programmable computer
• An electronic digital computer, just like Colossus
• A purely mechanical machine with no electrical parts at all
• A prototype personal computer

The Bombe was electromechanical, with physical rotating drums simulating Enigma rotors, whereas Colossus, built later to attack the Lorenz cipher, used electronic valves and is considered the world's first programmable digital computer.

7 / 10

By around what period had the German army fitted radios to nearly all of its tanks?

• By the late 1930s, before the war began
• Not until 1943, after losses on the eastern front
• Only from 1935, with the official creation of the panzer divisions
• It was never achieved on a widespread basis throughout the war

By the late 1930s, before the war began, nearly all German tanks were fitted with radio receivers, with full transmitters mainly in command tanks; this was a key advantage over other armies of the period.

8 / 10

On what date was the Allied air command dedicated to supporting the partisans from Italy formed?

• 7 June 1944
• 6 June 1943
• 1 January 1944
• 20 October 1944

The Balkan Air Force was formed on 7 June 1944 under RAF command.

9 / 10

Unlike the German optical advantage, which mainly benefited long-range gunnery, what type of ammunition in theory kept its penetrating power regardless of firing distance?

• The shaped charge (HEAT)
• Simple armor-piercing (AP)
• Capped armor-piercing (APCBC)
• Hard-core (APCR)

While German optics gave an advantage mainly at long range, HEAT ammunition in theory kept its penetration regardless of range, though at the cost of accuracy from the shell's spin.

10 / 10

Which prominent Allied general set up his headquarters in Port Moresby between 1942 and 1944?

• Douglas MacArthur
• George Patton
• Dwight Eisenhower
• Bernard Montgomery

After being saved in 1942, Port Moresby became a major Allied base and General MacArthur's headquarters from 1942 to 1944.