On This Day ... in 1809 & Others
Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley held off further attacks by French forces under Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, and Marshals Victor and Jourdan on the second day of the battle of Talavera. Wellesley was made Baron Douro and Viscount Wellington for his victory.
1813: Following the French advance through the Pyrenees on 25 July, the Duke of Wellington with 24,000 men faced Marshal Soult with 36,000 French troops at the First Battle of Sorauren, near Pamplona. Soult's attack was repulsed, but he renewed the battle on 30 July.
1914: Squadron Commander Longmore carried out the first Royal Navy aerial torpedo drop, during experimental work with the help of Short Brothers. A 14" torpedo was launched from a Short seaplane. The work bore fruit 13 months later when the Royal Naval Air Service mounted the first ever aerial torpedo attack on a Turkish ship in the Dardanelles.
1940: The main Luftwaffe attack of the day was launched at Dover, where it was met by four Fighter Command squadrons.