1914: HMS Audacious, the only Royal Navy dreadnought battleship to be lost during the First World War, was sunk by a German mine off the Irish coast. Her loss reduced the Grand Fleet's superiority over the German High Seas Fleet to a dangerous margin for some time, and the loss of the vessel was not admitted for many months.

1917: Major Lafone of the County of London Yeomanry held a position at Beersheba in Palestine for over seven hours against overwhelming Turkish forces. When only three soldiers under his command remained unwounded, he ordered all who could still move to retire, whilst he continued to hold off Turkish cavalry. Surrounded, he died fighting off a cavalry charge alone in the open. Lafone was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1918: A Canadian officer, Major William Barker, RAF, patrolling in one of the new Sopwith Snipe fighters, single-handedly fought off five German formations numbering some sixty or more fighters after successfully destroying a German two-seater. His elbow was shattered, he suffered bullet wounds in each thigh, and twice lost consciousness, but Barker managed to shoot down another three of his opponents, before crash-landing safely behind Allied lines despite having suffered multiple wounds. He received the Victoria Cross.

His citation reads

On the morning of the 27 October 1918, this officer observed an enemy two-seater over the Foret de Mormal. He attacked this machine and after a short burst it broke up in the air. At the same time a Fokker biplane attacked him, and he was wounded in the right thigh, but managed, despite this, to shoot down the enemy aeroplane in flames. He then found himself in the middle of a large formation of Fokkers who attacked him from all directions, and was again severely wounded in the left thigh, but succeeded in driving down two of the enemy in a spin. He lost consciousness after that, and his machine fell out of control. On recovery, he found himself being again attacked heavily by a large formation, and singling out one machine he deliberately charged and drove it down in flames. During this fight his left elbow was shattered and he again fainted, and on regaining consciousness he found himself still being attacked, but notwithstanding that he was now severely wounded in both legs and his left arm shattered, he dived on the nearest machine and shot it down in flames. Being greatly exhausted, he dived out of the fight to regain our lines, but was met by another formation, which attacked and endeavored to cut him off, but after a hard fight he succeeded in breaking up this formation and reached our lines, where he crashed on landing. This combat, in which Major Barker destroyed four enemy machines (three of them in flames), brought his total successes to fifty enemy machines destroyed, and is a notable example of the exceptional bravery and disregard of danger which this very gallant officer has always displayed throughout his distinguished career

1940: A raid on Coventry lasting over an hour resulted in 75 fires which were soon under control, but caused considerable damage to shop property.

1942: Lieutenant Colonel Turner of the Rifle Brigade led an attack which captured a position on Kidney Ridge at El Alamein. His battalion was counter-attacked by 90 enemy tanks. Turner led a desperate defence which destroyed 50 of the tanks, and personally helped man an anti-tank gun despite suffering a head wound. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1943: The 8th Army captured Montefalcone in Italy, whilst in the Pacific, New Zealand troops landed on the Treasury Islands.

1944: Canadian troops liberated Bergen-op-Zoom and British forces captured Tilburg.