1797: Admiral Sir John Jervis, with only 15 ships of the line, caught 28 Spanish ships of the line off Cape St Vincent en route to join forces with the French fleet. Jervis, flying his flag in HMS Victory, took full advantage of the scattered disposition of the Spanish fleet to break through their formation, and an act of particular initiative by Commodore Nelson, towards the rear of the British line in HMS Captain, turning to attack alone, ensured that the Spanish were unable to evade. Four Spanish ships were captured, two taken by HMS Captain.

1900: The town of Kimberley was finally relieved when troops under Sir John French broke the Boer seige.

1916: Near Hooge in Belgium, the Germans had succeeded in digging a mine from their own lines to beneath the British trenches. Packed with explosives, the mine was detonated at the start of a surprise attack. A large stretch of the British trenches was devastated by the explosion, which left a huge crater. Lieutenant McNair of the Royal Sussex Regiment was among the soldiers caught in the blast. But despite the shock of the event, McNair quickly organised a small team to rush to the front of the crater with a machine-gun in time to drive off the German infantry assault. The first wave of attackers having been driven off, McNair then turned to the task of summoning reinforcements, as well as assistance to dig out casualties. The communication trench, which should have offered a safe route back to the rear lines, had been blocked by the mine explosion, so McNair was forced to run back in the open, fully exposed to enemy fire. His prompt actions denied the enemy any success in breaching the British lines, and he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1941: British forces captured the important port of Kismayu in Italian Somaliland.

1942: As it became clear that Singapore was likely to fall, ships attempted to evacuate as many non-essential personnel as possible, running a gauntlet of Japanese air and naval attack. The merchant ship Vyner Brooke, carrying 65 Australian nurses, was sunk. The survivors made their way ashore to Banka Island, whereupon the nurses were murdered by Japanese troops; only Sister Vivian Bullwinkel survived.

Also at sea, HMS Li Wo, a tiny auxiliary patrol vessel armed only with one 4" gun, encountered a Japanese invasion fleet headed for the East Indies. Undeterred, her commanding officer, Lieutenant Wilkinson RNR, attacked. Massively outgunned, Li Wo managed to close the enemy and rammed a transport ship before going down in action with a heavy cruiser. There were only ten survivors. Wilkinson was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.