Pages of History (October): The One-Eyed Ghost

This month’s Pages of History will take you to the heart of events that took place in different theaters of war. From the Netherlands to East Prussia, the Philippines to Guadalcanal: use vehicles that represent these historical battles and win prizes!

From October 1st until October 31st, you will be able to participate in 8 tasks consecutively. Completing each task will grant you a trophy with a reward, completing all of the tasks will earn you a unique player icon!

Léo Major is the only Canadian to receive the Distinguished Conduct Medal for service in multiple wars. He participated in the Normandy Landings and lost his left eye in the Battle of Caen, but insisted on remaining in the line of duty. During the Battle of the Scheldt, he single-handedly captured 93 German soldiers. Major received his first Distinguished Conduct Medal in 1945 for single-handedly liberating the Dutch city of Zwolle. His overnight actions forced German forces to retreat, prompting the Allies to cancel a planned artillery bombardment on the city. He received his second medal six years later for capturing strategic hills in the Korean War.

You can immediately purchase this profile icon for Golden Eagles until November 3rd (11:30 GMT) without completing tasks. To find it, go to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.

Trophy reward for each task

Completing each individual task will give you a trophy with one of the following rewards:

  • 20-50% RP booster for 3-10 battles;
  • 20-50% SL booster for 3-10 battles;
  • 3-5 universal backups;
  • Premium account for 1 day;
  • A random ground vehicle camouflage (out of those that are currently obtainable with achievements or purchasable with Golden Eagles).

Other terms

  • Tasks are available from 11:00 GMT until 11:30 GMT on the final day of each task.
  • Tasks can be completed in random battles except for “Assault” mode.

You can read a detailed description of which task is for which day and your overall progress by going to your Nickname → Achievements → Pages of History.


Calendar

October 1st — October 4th

Battle of the Scheldt

The Allies captured Antwerp on September 4th 1944, but access to the port was blocked by German forces on the banks of the Scheldt. So on October 2nd, an operation began to open the port of Antwerp for supply lines to the front. Canadian troops participated primarily in the operation. Within a month by early November they had achieved their objectives.

October 5th — October 8th

Battle of Vella Lavella

On October 6th 1943, near Vella Lavella Island (Solomon Islands), Japanese naval forces covering the evacuation of infantry from the island engaged the Allies. Both sides lost a destroyer, but during the battle, Japan was able to successfully complete the evacuation.

October 9th — October 12th

Orsha Offensive

On October 12th 1943, the Red Army launched an offensive near the city of Orsha in Belarus. The Red Army failed to remove the Germans from their fortifications, suffering significant losses and only making limited progress. Orsha remained in German hands until the following summer.

October 13th — October 17th

Gumbinnen Operation

On October 16th 1944, after an artillery barrage, Soviet troops launched an offensive in East Prussia from the Neman River along narrow clearings and marshy forests. On October 22nd they captured Gumbinnen, but lost it two days later to a German counterattack. At the cost of heavy losses, the USSR advanced 80 kilometers across East Prussia, but near Königsberg, the front line remained virtually unchanged.

October 17th — October 20th

Battle of Leyte

The first American landings took place in Leyte Gulf in the Philippines on October 17th 1944. Japanese forces paid little attention to this, but by October 20th, a large-scale American landing on various islands followed. The Allies inflicted a crushing defeat on Japan both on land and at sea, paving the way for the liberation of the Philippines.

October 20th — October 23rd

Second Battle of El Alamein

By the end of the summer of 1942, the Axis offensive in North Africa had been halted, and Marshal Rommel’s subordinates went on the defensive. On the night of October 23rd–24th, Allied forces went on the offensive, and by early November they had broken through the German and Italian defenses. This was a decisive battle of the North African theater of operations, after which the strategic initiative completely passed to the Allies.

October 23rd — October 27th

Battle of Henderson Field

In early August 1944, as part of the first American landing on Guadalcanal, an airfield under construction was captured. It was named after Lofton Henderson, a U.S. Marine Corps commander killed in the Battle of Midway. From October 23rd-26th, the Japanese attempted to recapture the airfield with a surprise ground attack supported by air and naval support. Several dozen Americans and between two and three thousand Japanese were killed in the battle. After this defeat, Japan made no further major offensive attempts on Guadalcanal.

October 28th – October 31st

Budapest Operation

After the liberation of Western Romania and the capture of Bucharest, the Soviet command was tasked with defeating Axis forces in Hungary and reaching the Austrian border. On October 29th 1944, the Tisza offensive began. On November 4th, Soviet forces reached the outskirts of Budapest, but the assault lasted almost the entire winter. The remaining Wehrmacht forces in the city only capitulated on February 13th.

8 Likes

Yarr! We be invadin’ these beaches an’ reachin’ victory in Berlin in no time.

17588851974787439367695755650712

9 Likes

Well he looks very chummy xD

He mustve move like ghost to not raise alarm during this. One could say he was invisible even.

Spoiler

metal-gear

4 Likes

@Stona_WT just a suggestion, this post could be a good time for the OP to link to the Canadian Moments of Valor video Gaijin did, prominently featuring Major, whic has never been officially linked to or mentioned from this forum (came out over a weekend, there was never any forum post on it): [Video] [Shop] [Special] Moments of Valor: Canada - News - War Thunder.

You guys put money into that animation, might as well get something for it here.

3 Likes

I do find it intriguingly meme-y re how the world sees Canada that both PoH Canadians so far (Currie and now Major) got their valour decorations for forcing mass German surrenders in Normandy (they killed people too at other times, that’s just what they got famous for).

This is different from the average PoH’s for Britain (cleverly outfox their enemy with some novel jerry-rigged Heath Robinson contraption usually involving bailing-wire and a crumpet), America (get 5 1/2 victories blowing up some confused Japanese and then doing a successful multi-state Victory Bonds tour) or Russia (ram their plane into another plane, then ram it into a tank, then capture the Reichstag, then ram their plane into the Reichstag).

1 Like

Eh close enough, welcome back Demoman TF2

1 Like

Ohhhh- Leo major, I’ll have to go for this one. (time to learn how pages of history work)

1 Like

Now I cannot be certain, but I don’t think there ever was a Korean War battle in the Pages of History.

Can’t even say his name.

1 Like