31 Oct 1944
- Commander John Ailes III became the commanding officer of USS Cassin Young. ww2dbase [Cassin Young | CPC]
- British troops occupied Salonika, Greece in order to prevent Greek Communists from taking over in the vacuum left by the retreating Germans. ww2dbase [TH]
- British troops established a bridgehead over the River Maas south of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [TH]
- Canadian troops reached Walcheren, the Netherlands. ww2dbase [Battle of the Scheldt Estuary | TH]
- Bernard Montgomery was awarded the Virtuti Militari V Class of Poland. ww2dbase [Bernard Montgomery | CPC]
- Lieutenant Commander Miles Permenter Refo III was named the commanding officer of USS Hoe. ww2dbase [Hoe | CPC]
- The US submarine Nautilus finished off the abandoned US submarine Darter with her 6-inch guns. The Darter had foundered on Bombay Shoal, Spratly Islands off Palawan, Philippine Islands on 25 Oct 1944 whilst in pursuit of the damaged Japanese cruiser Takao. All Darter's crew were rescued by the US submarine Dace. ww2dbase [Darter | AC]
- The first manned flight of the prototype Ohka aircraft was conducted; the aircraft was equipped with two wing-mounted rockets and no fuselage-mounted rockets. ww2dbase [MXY7 Ohka | CPC]
- USS Guitarro fired eight torpedoes at 0847 hours at the Japanese convoy that she had been attacking since the previous day; six torpedoes made contact, and Guitarro claimed three sinkings, although only one sinking was confirmed. ww2dbase [Guitarro | CPC]
- USS Gabilan sank oceanographic research vessel Kaiyo No. 6 in Japanese home island waters, hitting her with 1 of 4 torpedoes fired. ww2dbase [Gabilan | CPC]
- Robert von Greim was mentioned in the Wehrmachtbericht radio report. ww2dbase [Robert von Greim | CPC]
- USS Kete departed Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii for her first war patrol. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Kete | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
- USS Astoria arrived at Pearl Harbor, US Territory of Hawaii. ww2dbase [Pearl Harbor Navy Base and Ford Island Naval Air Station | Astoria (Cleveland-class) | Honolulu, Oahu | CPC]
- Japanese Navy landing ship No. 163 was completed and was transferred to the Army as SB No. 102. ww2dbase [No. 101/103-class | CPC]
- USS Yorktown (Essex-class) arrived at Eniwetok, Marshall Islands. ww2dbase [Yorktown (Essex-class) | Eniwetok | DS]
- USS Sterlet attacked a Japanese tanker in the Pacific Ocean after sundown, sinking her with six torpedoes. She shared the credit with USS Trigger, which had previously damaged the tanker. ww2dbase [Sterlet | CPC]
- 14,000 Jews were transported from Slovakia to Auschwitz Concentration Camp in occupied Poland. ww2dbase [Discovery of Concentration Camps and the Holocaust | Auschwitz Concentration Camp | Oswiecim | CPC]
- A German V-2 rocket hit Swedish Yard of Surrey Commercial Docks in Bermondsey, London at 0256 hours, damaging several wheat containers. Another rocket hit the Royal Victoria Dock at Earlham Grove, West Ham in the afternoon. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 2 | London, England | CPC]
- Allied convoy JW-61A departed Liverpool, England, United Kingdom. ww2dbase [Arctic Convoys | Liverpool, England | CPC]
- V-1 flying bombs struck Britain. Fifteen people were killed in the south eastern counties and a further three were killed in West Ham, London. At 0650 hours a V-1 flying bomb struck the Marie Hotel at Coulsdon, London; the hotel was used as an old people's private hotel; seventeen of the residents were killed and ten more seriously injured. ww2dbase [V-Weapons Campaign | Vergeltungswaffe 1 | London, England | HM]
31 Oct 1944 Interactive Map
Timeline Section Founder: Thomas Houlihan
Contributors: Alan Chanter, C. Peter Chen, Thomas Houlihan, Hugh Martyr, David Stubblebine
Special Thanks: Rory Curtis
Did you enjoy this article or find this article helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this article with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
|
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Wreck of Johnston Found (8 Apr 2021)
- » Passing of Margaret Kelly (25 Jan 2021)
- » WW2DB's 16th Anniversary (29 Dec 2020)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,099 biographies
- » 333 events
- » 38,474 timeline entries
- » 1,135 ships
- » 338 aircraft models
- » 191 vehicle models
- » 352 weapon models
- » 120 historical documents
- » 226 facilities
- » 464 book reviews
- » 27,421 photos
- » 354 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word. It is victory. Victory at all costs. Victory in spite of all terrors. Victory, however long and hard the road may be, for without victory there is no survival."Winston Churchill
Support Us

Please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 a month will go a long way. Thank you!

Or, please support us by purchasing some WW2DB merchandise at TeeSpring, Thank you!