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WWII On This Day: January 24

What happened on January 24 during World War II? This date brings together 2 events from 1941 and 1942, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1941
A Matilda II infantry tank of 7th Royal Tank Regiment in the Western Desert during Operation Compass, 19 December 1940.
Capt Geoffrey Keating / No. 1 Army Film & Photographic Unit · Imperial War Museums, E 1416 · Public domain
Operation Compass

The pursuit meets Italian medium tanks at Mechili

Near Mechili the British mobile force encountered a concentrated group of Italian M13/40 medium tanks. Their attack demonstrated the danger posed by the Babini armoured group when its tanks operated together and could exploit the open ground. British cruiser strength was also shrinking through mechanical wear and battle damage. Every petrol delivery and recovered tank affected how far 7th Armoured Division could continue through the interior. The mobile force therefore pressed west while the Australians advanced around the Jebel toward Derna.

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1942
Lieutenant-General Arthur Percival and the British surrender party walking to the Ford Motor Factory in Singapore on 15 February 1942.
British official photographer / Imperial War Museums HU 2781 · UK Government public domain · Source
The Fall of the Southern Empires

American Destroyers Raid the Balikpapan Invasion Force

In the early hours of 24 January, American destroyers entered the Japanese anchorage off Balikpapan and attacked invasion shipping with torpedoes and gunfire. Several transports were sunk or damaged in one of the few successful Allied surface strikes against an invasion force during the opening months. The raid showed that Japanese control of the seas around the East Indies was not yet complete. It also showed the limit of such successes. The landing had already placed troops ashore, Japanese aircraft and naval forces remained active across the region, and Balikpapan’s…

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