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WWII On This Day: October 24

What happened on October 24 during World War II? This date brings together 4 events from 1942 and 1944, with period photographs and links to the full operations documented across WW2 Theatres.

1942
British artillery bombardment illuminating the night at the start of the Second Battle of El Alamein, 23 October 1942.
Sergeant Gladstone / IWM E 18465 · UK Government public domain (Imperial War Museums)
The Second Battle of El Alamein

Engineers struggle to keep the armour corridors open

During the early hours of 24 October engineers worked through the Axis minefields while infantry secured strips of ground beyond the first defences. Cleared lanes were still interrupted by damaged vehicles and shellfire, and tanks moving forward accumulated in narrow files. X Corps commanders had expected greater depth of clearance by morning. Instead, anti-tank guns near the western edge of the defended area continued to threaten tanks as they emerged. Infantry positions had to hold while further gaps were opened.

Continue in The Second Battle of El Alamein →
Tank crews board Shermans of the Queen’s Bays at El Alamein on 24 October 1942.
Tank crews board Shermans of the Queen’s Bays at El Alamein on 24 October 1942. Sergeant Len Chetwyn / IWM E 18376 · UK Government public domain (Imperial War Museums) Source
The Second Battle of El Alamein

Shermans of the Queen’s Bays prepare for the next armoured move

Sherman tanks of the 1st Armoured Division were among the British armour waiting to move beyond the mine belts on 24 October. Contemporary photographs show the Queen’s Bays crews boarding their tanks as the passage and traffic problems continued. The British armour had improved 75 mm gun power, but movement depended on the narrow cleared lanes and infantry holding their shoulders. German and Italian anti-tank guns still dominated exposed ground to the west.

Continue in The Second Battle of El Alamein →
The Second Battle of El Alamein

Georg Stumme dies during an inspection of the front

General Georg Stumme, acting commander of Panzerarmee Afrika during Rommel’s absence, died on 24 October while visiting the forward area. His death disrupted the army headquarters at the start of the battle. The German and Italian front still held its deeper defences, but repeated British infantry attacks and tank probes were already drawing mobile reserves into the northern sector. Rommel returned from Germany the following day to take control of the battle.

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1944
LVT-4 Alligator amphibious vehicles pass Terrapin amphibious vehicles near Terneuzen during the Battle of the Scheldt, 13 October 1944.
Department of National Defence / Library and Archives Canada · 13 October 1944 · Public domain in Canada · Source
The Battle of the Scheldt

Operation Vitality

The 2nd Canadian Infantry Division began Operation Vitality on 24 October, advancing west along the narrow South Beveland isthmus. Mines, demolitions and the confined road network slowed the attack. The frontal advance fixed the German defenders while plans matured for an amphibious landing behind them on the south coast of the peninsula.

Continue in The Battle of the Scheldt →