1918: At Villers-Bretonneux, Lieutenant Borella led an Australian infantry platoon during an attack on formidable German defences. He and his men charged a machine-gun post and took it, although the attack left them sorely depleted in numbers. With just ten men left, Borella took a trench held by a much larger German force, capturing thirty of them. The Australians then held off a counter-attack by a force ten times their number. Borella received the Victoria Cross.

1940: Further bad weather hindered both Luftwaffe operations and Fighter Command's response.
Bomber Command Blenheims continued their efforts against German barge concentrations, while Squadron Leader Webster of 15 Sqn conducted the first ever Intruder mission, loitering at night over a German airfield near Caen in the hope of disrupting airfield activities and catching night flights unawares. Although the efforts of his crew on that night proved fruitless, the tactic was to be developed throughout the war with often remarkable success.

1944: On anti-submarine patrol over the Atlantic, an RAF Catalina flying-boat of 210 Squadron piloted by Flying Officer Cruickshank sighted a U-boat. U-742 chose to fight it out on the surface and met the Catalina's attack with accurate anti-aircraft fire. One of the RAF crew was killed, and others wounded, and the aircraft suffered serious damage.

Cruickshank himself suffered no less than 72 wounds, but ignored his injuries to bring the Catalina around for a second attack run. This proved on target, depth charges straddling the submarine and destroying her. The damaged Catalina then faced a 5.5 hour flight home. Cruickshank lost consciousness several times but managed to help land the aircraft safely. He received the Victoria Cross.