World War II calendar
What happened on April 24 during World War II? This date brings together 6 events from 1941, 1942 and 1945, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.
Around 50,000 of the 62,000 Commonwealth troops were lifted from open beaches in the Peloponnese over six nights, under air attack and without air cover. Most of their equipment was left behind. Many were taken to Crete, which is why the island had a garrison of about 42,000 men, a substantial number of whom had no weapons and no unit.
During the night of 24–25 April the Commonwealth rearguards abandoned Thermopylae and Brallos after completing their delaying mission. Demolitions were left on roads, bridges and railway infrastructure to slow the pursuit. German mobile units found the route difficult even after the defenders had gone. Steep gradients, hairpin bends, destroyed infrastructure and landslides reduced the speed of tanks and trucks, while the Allied columns farther south continued toward embarkation points. The withdrawal removed the last prepared Commonwealth mainland line north of Athens. From this point the ground battle and the evacuation…
Continue in German Invasion of Greece, April 1941 →On the night of 24–25 April the Mediterranean Fleet began the main lift, embarking more than 12,000 troops from Porto Rafti and Nafplion while other groups moved toward Rafina, Megara, Monemvasia and Kalamata. The embarkation areas were deliberately dispersed. Large ports could handle more men but were easier to bomb, while beaches required small craft, darkness and careful route control. Units often abandoned vehicles and heavy equipment before the final march to the water. Over the following nights the fleet removed roughly fifty thousand personnel. The result depended on naval…
Continue in German Invasion of Greece, April 1941 →
Vehicle movement stopped as the ice broke up after 152 days of operation. The route had carried food, fuel and military cargo into Leningrad and evacuated more than 550,000 civilians. Water transport resumed as navigation became possible.
Continue in The Siege of Leningrad →
German bombers began a reprisal campaign against historic British cities after the destruction at Lübeck and while the attacks on Rostock were still under way. Exeter was struck on successive nights between 23 and 26 April and again in a much heavier raid on 3–4 May. Bath, Norwich, York and Canterbury followed during the spring and early summer. The targets were chosen in part for cultural and historical value rather than solely for industrial importance. The raids therefore made the logic of retaliation unusually explicit: German leaders publicly linked attacks…
Continue in Area Bombing Begins →
On 24 April forces of 1st Belorussian and 1st Ukrainian Fronts met around Bohnsdorf, closing the south-eastern side of the Berlin encirclement and isolating Ninth Army beyond the lake chain. Farther west Soviet forces expanded crossings at the Teltow Canal, opening routes into the southern districts. The same geography that helped close the city now channelled the urban attack through bridges and defended crossings. Berlin and Ninth Army had become separate military problems. Orders from the bunker continued to treat the army outside the city as a prospective relief force…
Continue in The Battle of Berlin →
