1940: During the Norwegian campaign, the destroyer HMS Glowworm encountered the German heavy cruiser Admiral Hipper, over seven times her size. Glowworm had become separated from the main Royal Navy force after turning back to search for a seaman washed overboard. Despite the odds, Lieutenant-Commander Roope took his ship into an immediate attack on the cruiser. Glowworm was badly pummelled, but Roope managed to close the range and rammed his opponent, causing her significant damage. After one last salvo, which did further damage to Hipper, Glowworm capsized. Only 31 men were rescued from her crew. Roope was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1944: Japanese troops succeeded in surrounding the British defensive boxes at Imphal and Kohima. However, the defenders were well dug in, and RAF and USAAF aircraft began a massive airlift operation, flying supplies directly into the boxes. At Kohima, Lance-Corporal Harman made a lone attack on a machine-gun post which the Japanese had managed to emplace only fifty yards away. Despite fierce fire, he managed to get close enough to wipe the crew out with a grenade. The next morning, he made another lone attack, charging with bayonet at a section of Japanese digging in. He killed five of them, but returning to his own position, was fatally wounded. He received a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1945: During the heavy fighting at Lake Comacchio in northern Italy involving Commando forces, Major Lassen, a Dane serving with the Special Boat Squadron, at that point attached to 1st SAS Regiment, took a patrol to the north shore of the lake in an harrassing raid. Against huge odds, he and his men destroyed three enemy strongpoints. Lassen was then hit and mortally wounded: he insisted on being left behind so as to allow his men to get clear safely. He received a posthumous Victoria Cross