1915: Ottoman forces mounted a major counter-attack against the northern bridgehead in Gallipoli, held by the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. The ANZACs held their ground, and inflicted some 10,000 casualties on the Turkish troops, their worst losses of the First World War. Lance Corporal Jacka was awarded the Victoria Cross for his lone defence of a position at Courtney's Post

his comrades having been killed, seven Turks broke into the trench, but he killed all of them in a close-quarter fight.

1917: On the Western Front, Sergeant White of the South Wales Borderers charged a German machine-gun in an attempt to open the way for his company to advance. When only a few feet from the position, he was caught by a full burst from the weapon and killed. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1918: In France, Sergeant William Ruthven rallied a company of the 22nd Australian Battalion after the company commander fell casualty, then advanced alone to capture a machine-gun post and kill or capture some 40 enemy. He received the Victoria Cross.

His citation reads:

For most conspicuous bravery and initiative in action. During the advance Sgt. Ruthven's company suffered numerous casualties, and his company commander was severely wounded. He thereupon assumed command of this portion of the assault, took charge of the company headquarters, and rallied the section in his vicinity.

During the remainder of the day this gallant non-commissioned officer set a splendid example of leadership, moving up and down his position under fire, supervising consolidation and encouraging his men. Throughout the whole operation he showed the most magnificent courage and determination, inspiring everyone by his fine fighting spirit, his remarkable courage, and his dashing action.

1941: During an action in Abyssinia, Italian tanks led a counter-attack against men of the King's African Rifles. However, Sergeant Neil Leakey, a Kenyan, managed to scramble atop one of the tanks, forced open the hatch, and killed all the crew inside, except for the driver, who he induced to drive the vehicle into the British lines. He then went forward again and attacked another tank in similar fashion, but was killed fighting its crew. His actions disrupted the Italian attack, which was successfully driven off. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

In Iraq, the British forces defending the RAF base at Habbaniyah succeeded in taking Fallujah from troops loyal to the pro-Axis regime of Rashid Ali.

1944: As the date for the Normandy landings drew closer, Bomber Command launched another major effort against railway yards and coastal batteries in France. 900 aircraft attacked marshalling yards in Boulogne, Orleans, Amiens, Tours and Le Mans, as well as gun positions at Merville and Le Clipon and a radar station at Mont Couple. Seven aircraft failed to return.

1982: An 846 Squadron Fleet Air Arm Sea King 4 transferring SAS troops from HMS Hermes to HMS Intrepid, ditched in the ocean after a birdstrike. Eight survivors, including the two pilots, were picked up but the aircraft had turned over and sunk immediately.

21 men did not survive including 19 members of the Special Forces, some of whom had taken part in the Pebble Island raid and the landings on South Georgia. The crash also claimed the life of the only RAF serviceman to be lost in the conflict who had been working in support of Special Forces operations.