1781: General George Washington draw up plans for a large scale invasion of Canada, involving 8000 infantry supported by 2000 naval personnel. The Continental Congress rejected the plans as too costly

1915: A heavy German gas attack forced British troops to abandon a stretch of trench near Hill 60 at Ypres. Realising the importance of denying the position to the enemy, Private Warner of the Bedfordshire Regiment went back into the gas alone, with wholly inadequate protection, and held off initial German efforts to occupy it. Once the gas had dispersed somewhat, Warner, by now suffering badly the effects of poisoning, left the position briefly to gather more men, and with them held the line until the Germans gave up on the attack. Warner's exposure to the gas proved fatal; his heroism was recognised by a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1917: In Jordan, Private Cruickshank, a Canadian serving with the London Scottish, won the Victoria Cross for his repeated efforts to deliver an important message from his platoon, cut off in a wadi with most of its men killed or wounded. Attempting to scramble out of the wadi, he was hit by Ottoman fire and wounded. He tried once more, and was again hit. However, once his wounds had been bandaged, he attempted yet again. For the third time he was hit, and so badly wounded that he could not move. He was eventually rescued from where he was lying in the open, under continual fire.

1940: In Norway, as the Germans closed on Andalsnes, the Allies evacuate over 4,000 men from the port but are forced to leave behind their equipment. With daylight the Luftwaffe arrived in force, driving out to sea two WW1 vintage British cruisers converted for AA duty, that had been sent to protect the port.

After twilight two more cruisers and five destroyers come in and pick up 1,300 additional men.

1941: The Luftwaffe bombed Liverpool heavily and will continued to do so for the next 7 nights. 76,000 people were homeless and 3,000 killed or injured. In the port, 69 out of 144 berths are put out of action, and for a while the tonnage landed was down 75%

1944: Bomber Command visited targets in no less than six French and Belgian towns in preparation for the Normandy landings, the targets being mainly railway depots and aircraft repair facilities.

1945: As part of Operation Oboe 1, Australian troops landed at Tarakan Island in the Dutch East Indies to retake the important oil installations and airfields held by the Japanese. General MacArthur instructed Lieutenant-General Sir Leslie Morshead to seize and hold Tarakan and destroy the enemy forces there. The Netherlands East Indies Government was to be re-established, Tarakan's oil producing capacity was to be conserved and the island's airfields put into use.

In Berlin, a day after Adolf Hitler committed suicide, it was announced that Admiral Karl Doenitz had succeeded Hitler as leader of what little was left of the Third Reich

1982: The Royal Air Force undertook the first of what were then the longest bombing raids ever attempted: the Black Buck missions against the Argentine forces at Stanley airfield. Each mission lasted some 16 hours in the air, flying from Ascension Island, and needed 11 Victor tankers to get one Vulcan bomber to and from its target.

This was followed by the first Fleet air engagements and an airstrike by Sea Harriers against Stanley airfield and the airstrip at Goose Green.

2004: In the early hours of the morning, a company of the 1st Battalion The Princess of Wales' Royal Regiment was tasked with extricating a foot patrol which had come under attack in Al Amarah during a prolonged period of violent unrest in the Iraqi city. The troops, advancing in Warrior armoured vehicles, came under repeated attack. The lead Warrior of the reserve platoon was ambushed and struck by multiple rocket-propelled grenades which wounded and incapacitated most of the crew, including the commander and gunner, and destroyed the radio and intercom systems. The driver, Private Johnson Beharry, unable to communicate with anyone, pressed on in an attempt to drive through the ambush, before being brought to a halt by a barricade. A further volley of rocket-propelled grenades hit the Warrior, setting it on fire. Beharry crashed the Warrior through the barricade, despite the risk of mines, clearing a path for the following five Warriors to extricate themselves. He then spotted another rocket-propelled grenade coming straight at his hatch. He managed to close the hatch just in time, but the blast destroyed his periscope. This left him with no option but to drive the remaining distance of the ambush - 1500 metres in length - with his head out of the hatch, exposed to heavy enemy fire. More RPGs struck the vehicle, and a bullet penetrated his helmet, fortunately coming to rest on the inner lining. Once clear of the ambush, Beharry drove the burning vehicle to a Coalition position, where he managed to help out of the vehicle all his injured comrades, all the time exposed to enemy fire, and get them under the protection of another Warrior. He then drove his damaged Warrior to a secure location within the compound before activating the engine fire extinguisher which immobilised the vehicle. He collapsed from his efforts and was evacuated. Having subsequently returned to duty, on 11 June 2004, he was again the driver of a Warrior that was struck by RPGs in an ambush, again incapacitating the crew. One exploded next to Beharry's head, causing severe injuries, but he managed to reverse the vehicle out of danger before losing consciousness. In recognition of his supreme gallantry on both occasions, Private Beharry was awarded the Victoria Cross.