1917: On the Western Front, Captain Henderson of The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders pressed on at the head of an attack, despite being wounded. He and his men succeeded in capturing their objective, the defence of which he organised despite being largely isolated, before he fell in action. Elsewhere on the front, Captain Hirsch of The Yorkshire Regiment led his men in the capture of a German position. Then, despite already being wounded, Hirsch went back out into the open, braving intense machine-gun fire to check the position on his flanks. He was killed standing on the parapet rallying the defence against a counter-attack. Both officers were awarded posthumous Victoria Crosses.

1918: The Royal Navy launched a major raid on the ports of Zeebrugge and Ostend in an attempt to hamper the operations of the Flanders flotilla of small coastal U-boats which were taking a heavy toll of shipping. Some 76 Royal Navy ships were involved in the raid, including four elderly and expendable cruisers: HMS Vindictive carried the main assault force of Royal Marines and naval landing parties, whilst Iphegenia, Thetis and Intrepid were to be used as block ships to be sunk in the canal leading to the sea. Two Mersey ferries - Iris and Daffodil - were also used as assault ships, while the obsolete submarine C-3 was fitted out as a floating demolition charge to ram a viaduct.

The attack began at midnight on St George's Day, and lasted just over an hour. Thetis ran aground and had to be scuttled short of her objective, but Iphegenia and Intrepid were successfully scuttled in the canal, whilst Vindictive, Iris and Daffodil landed their assault teams on the Zeebrugge mole where they destroyed some facilities but became pinned down by heavy fire. Vindictive and the two ferries escaped back to the UK, albeit severely battered - 75 Royal Marines were killed aboard Iris alone from shell hits. The two ferries eventually returned to peacetime service on the Mersey, having each been awarded the prefix Royal for their achievements. C-3 succeeded in ramming her target, the viaduct connecting the mole to the shore, her crew of six being rescued by the commanding officer's elder brother in a motor launch.

Overall, nearly two hundred British personnel were killed, with many more wounded. Eight Victoria Crosses, 209 other medals, and 283 mentions in dispatches were awarded to personnel taking part in the raid.

1942: The Union of South Africa severed diplomatic relations with France

1943: British troops attacked the notorious Longstop Hill in Tunisia. The 8th Battalion of The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders suffered particularly heavy casualties, losing their commanding officer. Major Anderson assumed command, and led from the front attacking several machine-gun positions, being wounded in the process. By the end of the day the objective had been taken, although only about 50 men remained fit for action under Anderson's command.

Also in Tunisia, a German counter-attack overran a company of the North Lancashire Regiment. Lieutenant Clarke, wounded in the head, was the only officer to survive, and he gathered the survivors into a small platoon and returned to the attack. He single-handedly eliminated a machine-gun, then took out another two posts. However, he then fell victim to a sniper. Anderson and Clarke were both awarded the Victoria Cross.

1951: The 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment was awarded a US Presidential Citation for their action at Kapyong which blunted the Chinese advance in Korea during the their Spring Offensive and prevented a Communist breakthrough on the United Nations central front

1982: The Argentine submarine Santa Fe was attacked and badly damaged by Royal Navy helicopters off South Georgia. The crippled submarine landed on South Georgia and the crew surrendered

Petty Officer B Casey became the first British causality of the Falklands War, killed in a Sea King helicopter crash