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On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

At Sevastopol, 19 year old Private Strong of the Coldstream Guards, won the Victoria Cross by picking up a live Russian shell which had fallen into a British trench, and throwing it safely away before it exploded.

1900: In South Africa, Lieutenant Wylly of the Tasmanian Imperial Bushmen, was part of a scout patrol that ran into a Boer ambush. Wylly and several others were wounded, but, seeing that one of his comrades' horse had also been hit, he gave up his own horse to the wounded man, then remained behind to give covering fire while the rest of the patrol escaped.

Wylly avoided capture and was awarded the Victoria Cross, as was Trooper Bisdee, who dismounted to lead the horses of some of the more badly wounded men.

1914: "The Affair at Nery" saw a fierce cavalry action fought between the British 1st Cavalry Brigade and the entire German 4th Cavalry Division. The British cavalry covering the withdrawal of the British Expeditionary Force, were surprised at first light by the German cavalry at the village of Nery. Two machine-guns from the 2nd Dragoon Guards, under Lieutenant Lamb, and three guns from L Battery of the Royal Horse Artillery provided covering fire despite being heavily outgunned by their opponents.

Two of L Battery's guns were quickly knocked out, but the sole remaining gun continued to fight a duel with eight German guns until its ammunition had been exhausted, manned by Captain Bradbury, Sergeant Major Dorrell and the wounded Sergeant Nelson - all three were awarded the Victoria Cross, posthumously in the case of Captain Bradbury. Lieutenant Lamb won the Distinguished Service Order.

Despite their superiority in numbers, the German cavalry was forced to withdraw, abandoning their eight artillery guns. L Battery is now part of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards are the modern successors to 2nd Dragoon Guards.

1918: Eight Victoria Crosses were won on the Western Front:

Lieutenant Towner, Australian Machine-Gun Corps
Sergeant Grant, Wellington (New Zealand) Regiment
Sergeant Lowerson, 21st (Victoria) Australian Battalion
Corporal Buckley, 54th (New South Wales) Australian Battalion (posthumous)
Corporal Hall, 54th (New South Wales) Australian Battalion
Private Nunney, Eastern Ontario Regiment (posthumous)
Private Mactier, 23rd (Victoria) Australian Battalion (posthumous)
Private Currey, 53rd (New South Wales) Australian Battalion

1939: Despite a British and French ultimatum, Germany invaded Poland.

1940: The Luftwaffe continued heavy attacks on RAF airfields.

On This Day ... 1591 & Others

At Flores, in the Azores Sir Richard Grenville lay,
And a pinnace, like a flutter’d bird, came flying from far away;
“Spanish ships of war at sea! we have sighted fifty-three!”
Then sware Lord Thomas Howard: “’Fore God I am no coward;
But I cannot meet them here, for my ships are out of gear,
And the half my men are sick. I must fly, but follow quick.
We are six ships of the line; can we fight with fifty-three?”

Revenge, commanded by Sir Richard Grenville, conducted her epic fight against the Spanish at the Azores. An English squadron was watering at Flores, hoping to ambush the Spanish silver convoy from the Americas, when a large Spanish fleet under Don Alonzo de Bazan was sighted. The rest of the squadron escaped, but Revenge, which had been Sir Francis Drake's flagship against the Armada in 1588, found herself facing 53 Spanish ships on her own. In an action that lasted fifteen hours, Revenge sank 4 Spanish ships and repelled boarders at least five, perhaps as many as 15, times. Finally, with Sir Richard Grenville grievously wounded and most of her crew dead, she was forced to surrender. Grenville received the best medical attention Bazan could offer, but died two days later.

The incident is commemorated in Alfred Lord Tennyson's ballad of The Revenge

Where Granville, boast of freedom, fell,
Your manly hearts shall glow.

The Spanish did not long enjoy possession of Revenge. Badly damaged, she was wrecked in a violent storm a fortnight later. Grenville's cousin, Sir Walter Ralegh, regarded him as a hero who chose to fight rather than abandon a foraging party ashore. Most other contemporaries were less charitable, deploring his failure to escape with the rest of Lord Howard's squadron and losing perhaps the best ship in Queen Elizabeth's Navy Royal.

By way of a footnote, it is worth pointing out that the spelling of Sir Richard's name has led to much controversy. Four different families, each of which claim to be descended from him, spell it Granville, Grenville, Grenfell and Greenfield. The spelling usually accepted is Grenville, but his own signature, in a bold clear handwriting, among the Tanner manuscripts in the Bodleian library at Oxford, is Greynvile.

1813: Wellington's British and Portuguese troops captured the French border fortress of San Sebastian, opening the way into southern France.

1855: A small Royal Navy landing party of five men were put ashore on the Crimean coast to destroy Russian boats and supplies. However, they walked into an ambush. Despite being outnumbered ten-to-one, they were on the verge of escape when one man fell.

Bo'sun Kellaway of HMS Wrangler immediately turned back to help him, and fought desperately with the Russians as they closed in. Despite his efforts, both men were captured. Kellaway's disregard for his own safety was recognised by the award of the Victoria Cross .

1858: In India, Captain Browne charged a mutineer artillery piece. A hand-to-hand fight with the gunners cost him his left arm, taken off at the shoulder by a sword blow, but he succeeded in preventing the gun firing on the advancing British troops. He was awarded the Victoria Cross and later achieved the rank of Chief Boatswain

1918: Second Lieutenant Huffam, of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, distinguished himself during the Allied advance across France, twice rushing machine-gun nests, and also rescuing under fire a wounded man.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross

Private George Cartwright, 33rd (New South Wales) Australian Battalion, similarly charged alone against an enemy machine-gun which had pinned down half his battalion.

His citation for the award of his Victoria Cross reads

For most conspicuous bravery and devotion to duty on the morning of 31st August 1918 during the attack on Road Wood, south-west of Bouchavesnes, near Péronne. When two companies were held up by machine-gun fire from the south-western edge of the wood, without hesitation Private Cartwright moved against the gun in a most deliberate manner under intense fire [one report says he was standing, advancing at a walk, firing from the shoulder]. He shot three of the team, and, having bombed the post, captured the gun and nine enemy. This gallant deed had a most inspiring effect on the whole line, which immediately rushed forward. Throughout the operation Private Cartwright displayed wonderful dash, grim determination and courage of the highest order.

1940: The Luftwaffe continued its onslaught on RAF airfields, with Fighter Command suffering its worst casualties thus far; 37 RAF fighters were destroyed, with twelve pilots lost. However, the defenders believed they had downed at least 85 German aircraft.

1944: On the slopes of Monte Gidolfo in Italy, Lieutenant Norton, a South African officer serving with the Hampshire Regiment, ignored fire from a German assault gun to single-handedly eliminate in succession three German machine-gun positions, killing or capturing all their defenders. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1854 & Others

A Franco-British naval squadron arrived off Petropavlovsk, Russia's chief naval base in the Far East, during the Crimean War. However, as the squadron prepared to commence bombardment, its commander, Rear Admiral David Price, committed suicide. Why he shot himself will never be known. The bombardment eventually commenced the following day, and on 4 September, the British and French ships landed marines and sailors. Unfortunately, the landing party walked into an ambush, suffering heavy casualties, and the operation was abandoned.

1855: In the main theatre of operations against the Russians, outside Sevastopol, British troops were digging siege works when the fortress' garrison sallied out to attack them. Sergeant Coleman of the 97th Regiment (Earl of Ulster’s Regiment), was the last to quit the position, only retreating when the rest of the work team had been killed or wounded. He managed to rescue a wounded officer and carry him back to safety, and was awarded the Victoria Cross.

He attended the first investiture of the Victoria Cross by Queen Victoria held in Hyde Park, London, on Friday, 26th June 1857 with 61 other Crimean War veterans. He was killed in action at Lucknow, India, on 21 May 1858.

1940: Repeated Luftwaffe attacks on RAF airfields generated heavy air combat. 25 RAF fighters were lost, with ten pilots killed. The defenders believed they had downed at least 62 German aircraft.

On This Day ... in 1350 & Others

The English fleet under Edward III and the Black Prince defeated Spanish ships in the Channel off Winchelsea
(also known as Battle of Les Espagnols sur Mer), some forty to fifty English ships surprising 47 large Castilian vessels returning home from Flanders where they had been raiding English shipping.

This may have been the first naval battle in which cannons were used, albeit very early types of bombard. The navigational dangers of combat in open waters in the ships of the period were marked - King Edward's ship, the Cog Thomas, collided with its target and suffered fatal damage, but the crew managed to board and overwhelm the Castilian, returning safely in their prize.

The Black Prince's ship, also reduced to a sinking condition by collision with its target, was rescued by the Earl of Derby's vessel. Although most of the Castilian ships were captured and their crews killed, English casualties were also high, and sufficient other French and Castilian ships remained operational in the Channel to pose significant risks to English commerce.

1915: During a Turkish attack at Gallipoli, Second Lieutenant Throssell of the Australian Light Horse suffered severe multiple wounds. Nevertheless, he refused to leave his position for medical treatment, remaining in command of his unit until the enemy had been driven off. He received the Victoria Cross.

1918: During a tank attack on the Western Front, a British Whippet tank was set on fire and fell into a shell-hole, lying at such an angle that the hatch could not be opened. Lieutenant Sewell, commanding the section, left his own tank and ran over to help the trapped crew. He ignored heavy enemy fire to dig away the earth around the hatch. He was finally able to free the crew, but was himself killed shortly afterwards. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1939: The Fleet was mobilised, against the possibility of war with Germany.

1940: The Luftwaffe waited until the afternoon before mounting a major effort.

1942: During heavy fighting in Papua New Guinea, Japanese troops broke through the line held by 2/14th (Victoria) Battalion. One of the survivors of the overrun position, Private Kingsbury, joined a reserve platoon in the counter-attack, and, with complete disregard for his own safety, charged the enemy firing his Bren Gun from the hip. He inflicted very heavy casualties and the Japanese fell back. However, as Kingsbury stopped to rest, he fell victim to a sniper. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1640 & Others

A small English force under Lord Conway attempted to stop the invading Scottish army under the Earl of Leven, Alexander Leslie

at Newburn upon Tyne, a few miles from Newcastle, during the Second Bishops' War. The two sides exchanged artillery fire across the Tyne, but the English militia broke when Scottish cavalry started to ford the river, and retreated to Durham. Newcastle fell to the Scots a few days later.

1914: The first major naval battle of the First World War was fought, in the Heligoland Bight. The Royal Navy's Harwich Force of light cruisers and destroyers under Commodore Tyrwhitt, supported by submarines under Commodore Keyes, attempted to surprise German patrols off Heligoland. But the Germans only lost one destroyer before their cruisers arrived on the scene and threatened to turn the tables. The Harwich Force was saved by the appearance of Sir David Beatty's battlecruiser force, which sank three German light cruisers and drove the rest off.

1940: Good weather allowed the Luftwaffe to resume its offensive against RAF airfields. The air defences claimed at least 28 victories, but twenty RAF fighters were lost, with ten aircrew killed.

On This Day ... in 1648 & Others

Colchester, which had been held by Royalists led by the Earl of Norwich, finally surrendered to Sir Thomas Fairfax's New Model Army. The Parliamentarians showed no mercy to the defending officers: two of the King's most distinguished commanders, Sir Charles Lucas and Sir George Lisle, were summarily executed.

1900: In action with the Boers, a corporal of the Rifle Brigade was wounded. His injury left him dazed and confused, and he left the safety of his position, running towards the enemy. Private Durrant went after him and pulled the man into cover. Finding that he needed urgent treatment, Durrant then carried him several hundred yards through enemy fire to an aid post, before resuming his own position in the firing line. Durrant was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1914: II Corps achieved the British Expeditionary Force's second defensive victory over the German First Army, at Le Cateau. British casualties amounted to some 7,000.

Wing Commander Samson led the Eastchurch Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service across the Channel to operate on the north French coast. An extremely aggressive commander both in the air and on the ground, Samson also pioneered the use of armoured warfare, fitting cars with makeshift armour and machine gun mountings to support his aircraft's reconnaissance missions, and on occasions leading mobile raids on German positions with ad hoc forces comprised of RNAS officers, Royal Marines and French gendarmes.

1918: Near Fresnes, Lieutenant-Colonel Clark-Kennedy led a battalion of the Quebec Regiment with particular distinction, his efforts opening up the advance for the rest of the brigade against difficult German positions. Clark-Kennedy suffered a serious wound, but remained in command until success had been assured. He received the Victoria Cross.

1940: Bad weather impeded Luftwaffe operations during the day, but they delivered attacks during the night against targets as widely spread as Aberdeen, Cardiff and the Wash.

1941: An RAF Hudson patrol aircraft of 269 Squadron repeatedly attacked the German U-570, until the U-boat finally surrendered to the aircraft. Royal Navy vessels subsequently arrived to escort the captured submarine to harbour.

1942: Nine Lancasters of 106 Squadron, Bomber Command, were dispatched on a dangerous unescorted long-range raid against Gdynia in occupied Poland, where the German aircraft carrier Graf Zeppelin was being fitted out. The Lancasters were equipped with special Capital Ship bombs, designed to attack the target below the waterline. Seven of the Lancasters managed to find Gdynia after a 950 mile (1,528.8km) flight, but heavy haze prevented them from locating Graf Zeppelin, and they were forced to bomb targets of opportunity in the dockyard. All nine aircraft returned safely from an epic flight, notwithstanding the disappointing result.

The Graf Zeppelin was Germanys only aircraft carrier in World War II - but it was never completed and never saw action. The ship was laid down on December 28th 1936 at Deutsche Werke shipyard in Kiel as Flugzeugträger "A" and was launched two years later on December 8th 1936. It was projected that the ship would be completed by the end of 1940 - but this never happened. An interesting detail is that in 1935, a German commission visited Japan to inspect the carrier Akagi to gain information about aircraft carrier specific construction details.

The Graf Zeppelins sister ship, the Flugzeugträger "B" was laid down at the Krupp Germaniawerft in Kiel in autumn of 1938, but construction was stopped at the beginning of World War II. In February of 1942, the ship was scrapped in the shipyard.

The same night also saw a more conventional raid against Kassel. The newly formed Pathfinders provided good marking, and much damage was done in the south-west of the city, with all three of the Henschel aircraft factories put out of action.

On This Day ... in 1346 & Others

The English army of Edward III won its first great victory of the Hundred Years War at Crecy. Philip VI had led his French army out of Abbeville that morning to try to cut off Edward from the route back to the coast. The French army marched in some disorder, with the cavalry ahead of Genoese mercenaries and French militia infantry, and in the late morning found the English army waiting for them between the villages of Crecy and Wadicourt. Most of Philip's advisers advocated caution, with due regard to the tiredness of the troops after several hours marching and the straggling bulk of the forces. However, Philip feared that his already damaged reputation could not risk another stalemate, and he opted to attack.

The Genoese probably represented the majority of the infantry which had managed to keep up with the cavalry, and they were placed to lead the attack. Most of the French cavalry formed up behind them. Edward's troops had dismounted, and formed up with the men-at-arms in the centre, flanked by longbowmen, many of them Welsh. Pits had been dug in front of the position, and baggage carts used to protect the flanks from the cavalry. Edward had also brought some early cannon with him, probably the first time that either the English or French had tried using them on the battlefield rather than in sieges.

The Genoese crossbowmen advanced in the late afternoon, just as it began to rain, but suffered heavy casualties from the faster-firing longbowmen, and were forced to retreat. The French cavalry, not appreciating the power of the longbow, took the withdrawal as a sign of cowardice rather than prudence, and led by the Count of Alencon, charged through them. The English arrows brought down many horses, and the noise of the cannon fire, while probably relatively ineffective as a weapon, panicked others. The disordered survivors reached the English lines, however, and bitter hand-to-hand fighting ensued, during which King Edward's 16 year old son Edward, the Black Prince, famously won his spurs. The Prince's standard briefly fell, but was rescued by Sir Thomas Daniel.

Philip's ally, the blind King John of Bohemia, ordered his men to lead his horse into a desperate attack, but was killed. With the French in full flight, Edward had the English horses brought forward, and his men mounted up to conduct a vigorous pursuit. The victory was capped the following morning when a detachment of 2,000 French troops arrived on the battlefield unaware of the disaster the previous day, and were massacred by the English cavalry. Philip had escaped with a handful of men, having been wounded in the face by an arrow.

The victory allowed Edward III to besiege Calais - it fell a year later. Philip, in a fit of anger, murdered most of the Genoese who had managed to survive.

1758: Fort Frontenac, a key French position on Lake Ontario, was captured by British troops from the American colonies under Lieutenant Colonel John Bradstreet, a native of Maine. Bradstreet masterminded an approach march of over 400 miles which caught the French garrison by surprise. The capture of the fort left Fort Duquesne cut off, and it fell to the British later in the year.

1914: The German advance came up against the British Expeditionary Force, dug in at Le Cateau. During the two-day battle, five Victoria Crosses were won:

Major Yates, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (posthumous)
Lance-Corporal Holmes, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
Captain Reynolds, Royal Field Artillery
Driver Drain, Royal Field Artillery
Driver Luke, Royal Field Artillery

1917: Corporal Day, Suffolk Regiment, led a bombing team on dangerous trench clearance work, then mounted a strong defence for nearly three days against determined counter-attacks. He received the Victoria Cross.

1918: A further four VCs were won during the Allied advance in France:

Lieutenant Rutherford, Canadian Mounted Rifles
Sergeant Judson, Auckland Regiment
Lance-Corporal Gordon, 41st (Queensland) Australian Battalion
Lance-Corporal Weale, Royal Welch Fusiliers

1940: Heavy Luftwaffe attacks were again launched.

On This Day ... in 1914 & Others

Royal Marines were landed at Ostend to help the Belgian defenders.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Harvey-Kelly of the Royal Flying Corps gained the first ever British victory in air-to-air combat despite flying an unarmed BE2 aircraft, managing to force a German Taube 2 to land purely by his aggressive flying.

According to 19 Squadron's history, in 1917 during an offensive patrol comprising three Spads being flown by Major Harvey-Kelly (by then having been awarded the DSO), Lieutenants Hamilton and Applin were engaged eleven Albatros's led by Baron Von Richthofen. Major Harvey-Kelly and Lieutenant Applin were killed in action, Major Harvey-Kelly being shot down by Lt Kurt Wolff of Jasta 11. Lieutenant Hamilton was shot down & taken as a POW.

On the ground, Lance-Corporal Wyatt, Coldstream Guards, won the Victoria Cross by fighting a blaze in a farm building which threatened to drive British defenders out of their position, all the time under German fire. He then ignored a serious head wound to remain in the front line.

1918: In France, Sergeant Colley of the Lancashire Fusiliers was mortally wounded while organising a determined defence against heavy German counter-attacks. Despite his injuries, he remained in command of his scratch force until he died. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

From his citation:

For most conspicuous bravery and initiative when in command of a platoon in support of forward platoons which had been ordered to hold on at all costs. When the enemy counter-attacked in force, he rushed forward on his own initiative to help the forward line, rallying and controlling the men holding it. The enemy by this time were advancing quickly, and had already obtained a footing in the trench. Sgt. Colley then formed a defensive flank and held it. Out of the two platoons only three men remained unwounded, and he himself was dangerously wounded. It was entirely due to Serjt. Colley's action that the enemy were prevented from breaking through, and were eventually driven off. His courage and tenacity saved a very critical situation.

1940: The main Luftwaffe attacks came in the early evening against south coast targets. That night, Bomber Command mounted its first raid on Berlin in retaliation for the bombing of London the previous night. Little damage was caused, except to Goring's pride, he having claimed that enemy bombers would never reach Berlin.

1942: The Royal Australian Navy cruisers HMAS Australia and HMAS Hobart were part of the US-led fleet which engaged the Japanese in the Battle of the Solomons. Japanese efforts to reinforce their troops on Guadalcanal were driven back with the loss of an aircraft carrier.

On This Day ... in 1217 & Others

Hubert de Burgh, commander of Dover Castle, led a squadron of 36 English ships against 80 French vessels under Eustace the Monk. The French had sailed from Calais, and are likely to have been headed for London, which was held by English rebels. De Burgh led his ships around the stern of the French squadron, and Eustace at first thought he was trying to raid Calais. However, de Burgh was in fact seeking the advantage of a windward position, and was able to start picking off the French ships from astern, starting with Eustace's own ship, which was heavily laden with a siege engine and straggling.

Eustace, a very successful pirate based on Sark who had fought for both sides in the previous decade. However as the battle ended with the English being victorious, several French nobles were ransomed, but Eustace was beheaded on the spot.

De Burgh was appointed Lord High Admiral in recognition of his leadership, which effectively ended French attempts to exploit the civil war to conquer England, and won the regent William Marshal time to secure the kingdom for the young Henry III.

1297: Edward I sailed to reinforce his Flemish allies against the French with an army of 9,000 aboard a fleet of 273 ships. However, on arrival off Flanders in the Swyn estuary, the perennial feud within his fleet between the Cinque Ports (73 ships) and Yarmouth (59 ships) spilled over into outright battle, which ended with seventeen ships destroyed.

1814: A brigade of veteran infantry from Wellington's Peninsular campaign was transferred to Canada to assist in the 1812-14 War against the United States. Under Major General Ross, the troops, reinforced by a naval landing party, were landed on the right bank of the Patuxent River, fifty miles from Washington, on 20 August. Marching up the river, they encountered 6,000 US troops drawn up at Bladensburg on 24 August. Although outnumbered, the British force charged, and the majority of the US troops broke, only a force of sailors, fighting ashore, offering any real resistance. By nightfall, Ross' men were in Washington. Coming under fire from a sniper, the troops retaliated by setting fire to the house from which the shots had come; the fire spread out of control, and ended with the Capitol in flames.

Ross then organized an attack on Baltimore, Maryland. His troops landed at the southern tip of the Patapsco Neck peninsula at North Point, twelve miles from the city, on the morning of September 12, 1814. During the march, and just prior to the Battle of North Point, the troops encountered American skirmishers and Ross rode forward to personally direct his troops. An American sniper shot him through the right arm into the chest. According to Baltimore tradition, two American riflemen, teenagers Daniel Wells and Henry McComas, aged 18 and 19, respectively, were credited with killing Ross; both were killed in the engagement. Ross died while being transported back to the ships.

After his death, the general's body was stored in a barrel of 129 gallons (586 l) of Jamaican rum and shipped on the British ship HMS Royal Oak to Halifax, Nova Scotia where his body was buried on September 29, 1814. It is thought that preparations for the Battle of New Orleans prevented his body from being shipped back to Britain.

He is commemorated by a 100 ft granite obelisk near his birthplace alongside Carlingford Lough in Ireland as well as by a monument in St. Paul's Cathedral, London. As an augmentation of honour his armorial bearings were given a second crest in which an arm is seen grasping the stars and stripes on a broken staff; and the family name was changed to Ross-of-Bladensburg.

1914: In Belgium, German troops fell upon the flank of 5th Division. However, 119 Battery, Royal Field Artillery, commanded by Major Alexander, and men from the 9th Lancers under Captain Grenfell, fought a superb defensive action to allow the Division to withdraw safely. Alexander and Grenfell both received the Victoria Cross.

1916: During a fierce action in Tanganyika, South African troops withdrew to regroup. However, Captain Bloomfield then realised that one of his men was missing. He returned across several hundred yards of bullet-swept ground to find the missing man who was lying wounded, and carried him back to safety.

1918: On the Western Front, Sergeant Forsyth of the New Zealand Engineers led successful attacks which eliminated three enemy machine-gun positions. A tank then attempted to aid him and his men in an attack on a further group of machine-guns, but it was knocked out and Forsyth wounded. However, the tank crew then joined him in a renewed attack on foot which proved successful. As they cleared the enemy positions, Forsyth was shot dead by a sniper.

Elsewhere on the front, Lieutenant MacIntyre, The Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders, distinguished himself repeatedly during the advance, clearing routes through barbed wire and taking out a machine-gun nest. Forsyth and MacIntyre were both awarded the Victoria Cross.

1919: In Northern Russia, during the Russian Civil War, Sergeant Pearse of the Royal Fusiliers cut his way through barbed wire under heavy fire, then charged single-handed a Bolshevik strongpoint, wiping out its garrison with grenades. Almost immediately afterwards he was hit and killed. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: Heavy air attacks continued in the south and south-east of the country. The most vulnerable airfield, RAF Manston, had to be evacuated after yet another pounding. The day also saw the first German bombs fall on central London.

1942: An RAF Spitfire Vc based near Alexandria in Egypt managed to climb to 42,000 feet to shoot down a Junkers Ju-86P reconnaissance aircraft. The specially modified Ju-86s, with pressurised crew cabins, had previously managed to fly at extreme altitude without fear of interception.

The Spitfire pilot had no pressurised cockpit to protect him at such a height.

1944: Off Norway, the aircraft carriers HM Ships Formidable, Furious and Indefatigable launched an air strike against the great German battleship Tirpitz sheltering in Altenfjord. Fleet Air Arm Barracuda dive-bombers attacked, escorted by Seafires, Hellcats, Fireflies and Corsairs. Tirpitz was hit, though not seriously damaged.

Meanwhile in the Far East, the carriers HMS Indomitable and HMS Victorious launched an air strike against Japanese facilities in Sumatra.

On This Day ... in 1338 & Others

English efforts to supply their beleagured duchy of Gascony received a setback when French and Castilian ships ambushed a food convoy off Talmont at the mouth of the Gironde; two of the largest ships were lost with their vital cargo.

1372: The Welsh exile Owain ap Thomas led a French galley squadron up the Charente in a surprise night raid that captured the Captal de Buch, Edward III's outstanding Gascon commander, and the strategically important castle at La Soubise.

1643: Parliamentarian attempts to conscript troops in Norfolk provoked a Royalist revolt in King's Lynn. The Earl of Manchester rushed a force from the Eastern Association to seal off the town, but was too weak to assault it, and could not persuade local militia to turn against their brethren. The town finally surrendered on 15 September.

1900: When Boers managed to cut off and surround a company of the King's Regiment, Private Heaton volunteered to break through their positions and report the unit's plight. He managed to get past the Boers at great risk, and successfully reached headquarters. A relief force arrived in time to save the company from being forced to surrender. Heaton received the Victoria Cross.

1914: At the Battle of Mons, the British Expeditionary Force, in its first action, temporarily held up the advance of General von Kluck's German First Army, despite being massively outnumbered. Some 1,600 casualties were suffered - considered very heavy at the time. The BEF fought a rear-guard action almost daily for the next four days as it withdrew. Four VCs were won:

Lieutenant Dease, Royal Fusiliers (posthumous)
Corporal Garforth, 15th Hussars
Lance-Corporal Jarvis, Royal Engineers
Private Godley, Royal Fusiliers
Dease and Godley manned a machine-gun to hold off overwhelming numbers of attackers at a key bridge. Dease was killed during the fight, and Godley taken prisoner when, two hours later, he ran out of ammunition. Garforth worked in the open, exposed to enemy fire, to cut an escape route through barbed wire for British cavalry. Jarvis similarly worked in the open for ninety minutes to lay demolition charges on a bridge and then successfully destroy it.

1918: The British continued to pursue the German army across France. A further three VCs were awarded. Lieutenant Joynt, 8th (Victoria) Australian Battalion, took command of his battalion when it had suffered heavy casualties and led a bayonet charge on a defended wood. Private McIver, The Royal Scots, having spotted a German scout, chased him back to his own lines. He followed the man into a strong-point, where he killed six of its defenders, and captured twenty prisoners and a pair of machine-guns. Later in the day, when a British tank mistakenly attacked friendly troops, McIver ran through its fire to warn the crew of their error. And Lieutenant McCarthy, 16th Australian Battalion, broke into a German trench and proceeded to clear it, killing 22 enemy, and capturing 50 men and five machine-guns.

1940: The day proved relatively quiet, with a number of raids by individual German aircraft

On This Day ... in 1139 & Others

Battle of the Standard was fought on Cowton Moor, near Northallerton.

It was the first major engagement between English and Scots since the Norman Conquest. It was one of just two major battles during the Civil War of Stephen and Matilda. In most cases in the 12th century the weaker side would avoid pitched battle and concentrate on small scale action and the control of territory through garrisons and their reduction by siege. But at Northallerton, for reasons that are not clear, King David forced a battle and the English met that challenge.

After perhaps no more than two hours of fighting, the Scots began to flee, leaving many of their number dead on the field. But the victorious English were unwilling or unable to follow up with an effective pursuit and execution of the broken enemy forces. If they had, then the destruction of the Scottish army would surely have been far more complete.

1336: Following Philip VI's rejection two days previously of diplomatic efforts to avoid war, four French warships raided Orford Roads, where they caught a large English ship, the Caterine, unawares. The crew were slaughtered in the first open act of hostilities.

1485: The Battle of Bosworth marked the end of the Wars of the Roses, Richard III falling in battle against Henry Tudor. The battle was decided by the opportunist Stanleys, who sat watching the battle before deciding which side to join.

Richard III may have been Shakespeare's greatest villain, and indeed probably had murdered his nephews, but his personal bravery and military skill were unquestioned.

1642: The formal start of the English Civil War was marked by King Charles I raising his Standard at Nottingham to muster an army to fight Parliament. Charles had no significant problems recruiting men, but properly arming his troops proved much more difficult, since Parliament controlled most of the major magazines and arms supplies.

1914: Sergeant Major Jillings was wounded, the first British airman to fall casualty during air warfare. An observer with 2 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, he was wounded in the leg by a rifle bullet fired from the ground during a reconnaissance sortie near Ath, Belgium. Later that day, the first British aircraft ever was lost in action: Lieutenants Waterfall and Bayly, of 5 Squadron, failed to return. Their Avro aircraft was shot down, again by ground fire.

1917: In France, Corporal Konowal, a Ukrainian serving with the British Columbia Regiment, led a section of men on the extremely dangerous task of clearing a network of strongpoints, on one occasion breaking into a machine-gun position alone, killing its crew, then bringing the captured weapon back to the British lines. He was severely wounded after using demolition charges to destroy another strongpoint. He received the Victoria Cross.

1918: As British troops advanced rapidly across France, Lance-Corporal Onions of the Devonshire Regiment was sent with just one man to make contact with the flanking battalion. However, Onions and his comrade found not the British unit, but a large body of German troops approaching. Undaunted, Onions decided to take them on alone. He and the private fired with such good effect that the German advance wavered then halted. Covered by the other man, Onions then dared to rush forward and induced over 200 enemy to surrender. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: The focus of operations returned to the Dover Straits, where a convoy was attacked by the Luftwaffe

On This Day ... in 1740 & Others

Admiral Edward Vernon, known as "Old Grogram" after the material from which his cloak was made, ordered sailors' rum ration to be served mixed with water. The mixture was quickly named grog.

1808: In Portugal, 15,000 British and Portuguese troops under Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, defeated 13,000 French under Junot at Vimeiro. However, his success was thrown away by the incompetence of his superior officers in the theatre, Dalrymple and Burrard, who offered the French free evacuation home in British ships.

1857: At the Residency in Lucknow, besieged by mutineers, Captain Gore-Brown led a sortie by British and loyal Indian defenders to eliminate a dangerous enemy gun battery. Although the guns were well protected behind field defences, Gore-Brown managed to break in and put them out of action. He and his men were credited with inflicting over 100 casualties during their raid, and Gore-Brown was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1860: British and French ships under Sir James Hope landed soldiers and Royal Marines to capture the Taku forts in China. Seven Victoria Crosses were awarded:

Lieutenant Rogers, 44th Regiment
Lieutenant Burslem, 67th Regiment
Lieutenant Lenon, 67th Regiment
Ensign Chaplin, 67th Regiment
Private McDougall, 44th Foot
Private Lane, 67th Regiment
Hospital Apprentice Fitzgibbon
At 15 years of age, Fitzgibbon was one of the two youngest holders of the VC.

1900: Two VCs were won during an action against Boers at Van Wyk's Vlei. Sergeant Hampton of the King's Regiment extracted his outnumbered force with great skill, despite having suffered a serious head wound. And Corporal Knight, with just four men, covered the withdrawal of a British company, holding off overwhelming numbers of enemy for over an hour, then carried a wounded man to safety over several miles.

1915: An offensive was launched by British forces at Suvla Bay, following the landings there on 6 August, in what proved to be effectively the last attempt to breakthrough on the Gallipoli peninsula; it failed. Two soldiers of the Berkshire Yeomanry fell wounded directly in front of the Turkish trenches. Having lain in the open for 48 hours with no prospect of help arriving, one of them, Private Potts, improvised a sledge from his shovel and webbing, and, despite his own leg wound and intense Turkish fire, slowly dragged his comrade back to the British lines.

1917: Flight Sub-Lieutenant Smart, flying a Sopwith Pup fighter, took off from a platform mounted aboard the light cruiser HMS Yarmouth and succeeded in shooting down a German Navy Zeppelin airship off the Danish coast.

1918: During the British Army's hugely successful offensive on the Western Front, another two VCs were won. Commander Beak, of the Royal Naval Division, led Drake Battalion with particular distinction in the attack, at one point taking command of the whole brigade after its commander was incapacitated by an injury. And Lance-Sergeant Smith, Lancashire Fusiliers, ignored grenades and machine-gun fire to storm single-handed an enemy position, then led his platoon to the assistance of another, capturing a second position.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched numerous small raids.

1941: The first of what was to prove many Arctic convoys set out for northern Russia carrying supplies to aid the Soviet war effort.

On This Day ... in 1336 & Others

The long-simmering rivalry between Philip VI of France and Edward III finally boiled over with the French King's declaration of his intent to invade England to aid his Scots allies, effectively marking the start of the Hundred Years War.

1765: John Harrison demonstrated his fourth chronometer to the Board of Longitude, set up at the Admiralty's behest to seek an accurate timepiece which could permit longitude to be measured accurately for navigation. An award of £20,000 was offered. Harrison's fourth chronometer design finally provided the breakthrough needed for precision timekeeping.

1914: German naval codebooks were recovered by the Imperial Russian Navy from the wreck of the light cruiser Magdeburg, and passed to the Royal Navy - one of the most important intelligence coups of the First World War. The Royal Navy's cryptographers in Room 40 were able to read German naval wireless signals for a considerable period of time thereafter, Royal Navy ships often being able to put to sea before German raiders had even left harbour.

1917: Although badly burnt by an enemy flamethrower, Second Lieutenant Hardy Falconer Parsons of the Gloucestershire Regiment mounted a single-handed defence with grenades against a German night attack long enough for reinforcements to arrive and hold the position. He died of his appalling injuries and was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross

His citation reads

For most conspicuous bravery during a night attack by a strong party of the enemy on a bombing post held by his command. The bombers holding the block were forced back, but Second Lieutenant Parsons remained at his post, and, single-handed, and although severely scorched and burnt by liquid fire, he continued to hold up the enemy with bombs until severely wounded.

This very gallant act of self-sacrifice and devotion to duty undoubtedly delayed the enemy long enough to allow of the organisation of a bombing party, which succeeded in driving back the enemy before they could enter any portion of the trenches. The gallant officer succumbed to his wounds.

Near Ypres, Second Lieutenant Moore, Hampshire Regiment led an assault on a formidable German position containing machine-guns and an artillery piece. At the start, the British attackers numbered seventy, but by the time Moore took the position and some thirty prisoners, only himself and five others remained. Nevertheless, they then held their ground for 36 hours. Another fifty to sixty men reinforced them, but the relentless German attacks reduced them back down to ten, and they were eventually forced to withdraw. Moore received the Victoria Cross.

1940: Luftwaffe activity remained at a low level, with the exception of one large raid in the afternoon.

On This Day ... in 1415 & Others

Henry V laid siege to Harfleur after landing in France. The town fell six weeks later. (The siege provides the backdrop for one of Shakespeare's best-known speeches, beginning "Once more unto the breach, dear friends...”)

1779: A well-led surprise attack by US revolutionary forces under Major Lee took a large number of prisoners at the British fort on the peninsula at Paulus Hook, at what is now Jersey City. The defenders were mostly local loyal New Jersey troops. The fort was saved by a small number of Hessian soldiers in British service, who held out in a redoubt. Lee retreated, having embarrassed the British but failed to destroy the fort or its guns.

1812: The frigate HMS Guerriere fought the large US frigate Constitution in the Gulf of St Lawrence. After a fierce fight lasting two hours, the British ship was forced to surrender.

1914: Two Royal Flying Corps officers, Lieutenant Mapplebeck in a BE2a biplane, and Captain Joubert de la Ferte in a Bleriot monoplane, flew the first British operational aircraft sorties ever: reconnaissance flights over German army positions.

1940: Luftwaffe activity was much reduced, with the emphasis on reconnaissance and harrassment raids.

1942: Allied forces, predominantly Canadian, attempted to seize the French port of Dieppe. Three Victoria Crosses were won, including one awarded to a Canadian Army chaplain, John Foote, who worked tirelessly to help evacuate wounded, then, rather than avoid capture, stayed behind to care for those who could not be rescued. Lieutenant Colonel Merritt, commanding the South Saskatchewans, was decorated for his unremitting gallantry, not least in an attack on an enemy held bridge. The third VC was awarded to Captain Porteous, a Royal Artillery officer who, although landed to serve as a liaison officer, took a leading role in an infantry attack on a coastal battery.

On This Day ... in 1759 & Others

Following the naval battle the previous day, de la Clue's French fleet headed for Lagos Bay hoping that Portuguese neutrality would save them. De la Clue's flagship Ocean and the Redoutable deliberately ran themselves aground, whilst two other ships anchored in the shelter of a Portuguese gun battery, but Boscawen ignored diplomatic niceties and pursued them inshore, capturing the two at anchor and burning the two aground. The remaining French ships, which had scattered in the night, fled to Cadiz.

1917: On the Western Front, three Victoria Crosses were won. Company Sergeant-Major Skinner, King's Own Scottish Borderers, despite being wounded in the head, captured three enemy strongpoints with just six men, taking over sixty prisoners. Sergeant Hobson, 1st Central Ontario Regiment, was posthumously decorated after he was killed single-handedly taking on a German attack. And Major Learmouth, Eastern Ontario Regiment, remained at his post mortally wounded, standing fully exposed on a trench parapet directing defensive operations until he collapsed.

1919: Commander Dobson led a small force of Coastal Motor Boats into the heavily defended Kronstadt naval base to attack Bolshevik shipping. Under heavy fire, torpedo hits were scored on two Bolshevik capital ships. Dobson and Lieutenant Steele were both awarded the Victoria Cross for their part in the action.

1940: The Luftwaffe returned to heavy attacks, particularly against Fighter Command bases at Kenley, Biggin Hill, Croydon, West Malling and Manston.

1944: During heavy fighting as German troops attempted to break out of the Falaise Pocket, Major Currie led a small Canadian battle group with particular distinction, taking a village to cut a German escape route, then holding it for 36 hours against ferocious counter-attacks. His force was credited with the destruction of seven enemy tanks and a dozen anti-tank guns. They inflicted several hundred casualties on the enemy, and took over a thousand prisoners. Currie received the Victoria Cross.

2001: The C-17 Globemaster made its operational debut in RAF service, flying heavy equipment to Macedonia for the advance party of Task Force Harvest.

On This Day... in 1424 & Others

During the Hundred Years War, an English force defeated a Franco-Scots army at Verneuil, killing the Scottish commander, the Earl of Douglas.

1759: The French fleet blockaded in Toulon had taken advantage of the withdrawal of the British fleet to Gibraltar for refit, and broke out into the Atlantic, heading for Brest, where it was supposed to cover French landings in Essex. Despite attaining a measure of surprise in running the Gibraltar Strait at night, de la Clue's fleet of twelve ships of the line was soon pursued by Sir Edward Boscawen's ships. The French line was overhauled on 17 August off Lagos Bay, Portugal, and a fierce action ensued. Boscawen's flagship Namur suffered heavy damage to her rigging and dropped out the fight - he transferred his flag to the Newark - but the rear French ship, Centaur, was forced to surrender. The coup de grace was delivered to the French fleet the following day.

1897: During a punitive expedition against the Afridis and Orakzais of the Tirah region on the North West Frontier, Lieutenant Colonel Adams, Lieutenant the Viscount Fincastle, and Lieutenant Maclean went to the rescue of a wounded officer lying under heavy fire in the open. They managed to reach him, but while carrying him back, the wounded man was again hit and killed, as was Maclean. Adams, Fincastle and Maclean were awarded the Victoria Cross for their efforts.

1915: Following his torpedo success on 12 August, Commander Edmonds sank a second Turkish ship. Flight Lieutenant Dacre also sank a Turkish vessel with a torpedo, albeit launched by the unorthodox means of taxiing on the water whilst experiencing engine problems.

1940: Luftwaffe activity was at a low level.

2001: British and Czech troops deployed to Macedonia, as the advance party for Task Force Harvest, a short operation to gather weapons from warring factions as part of the peace settlement process.

On This Day ... in 1652 & Others

Sir George Ayscue, with 40 warships, attacked a Dutch convoy escorted by de Ruyter with 39 warships off the Brittany coast. The only ship lost was an English fireship, but heavy damage was suffered on both sides: the Dutch Eendracht and English Bonaventure were in a particularly battered state, and Ayscue's flagship had over 60 cannon shot embedded in her hull.

1812: An action was fought at Fort Detroit during the British-American war of 1812-14. In July 1812, Brigadier-General Hull invaded Canada with 2,500 US troops, calling on the Canadians to join the United States. However, in the face of some 100 British regulars, 300 Canadian militia, and Indian allies led by Tecumseh, Hull retreated back across the Detroit river on 11 August. Attacked in Fort Detroit on 16 August by Major General Brock and Tecumseh, Hull surrendered, despite still enjoying a significant numerical advantage.

1880: In Afghanistan, Lieutenant Chase and Private Ashford rescued a wounded man under heavy fire, and managed to carry him to safety. Both received the Victoria Cross.

1917: In Belgium, a fresh British offensive was launched at Langemarck during the Third Battle of Ypres. The German defenders included one Adolf Hitler. The initial attack, launched behind a creeping barrage, proved successful by Western Front standards, with the village retaken and the British troops advancing half a mile beyond. Five VCs were won that day:

Company Quartermaster-Sergeant Grimbaldeston, King's Own Scottish Borderers
Sergeant Cooper, King's Royal Rifle Corps
Lance Corporal Room, Royal Irish Regiment
Private Edwards, King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry
Private Brown, Alberta Regiment (posthumous)

1940: Heavy Luftwaffe attacks continued along the south coast. The air defences claimed some 72 victories; 22 RAF fighters were lost. Flight Lieutenant James Nicholson, 249 Squadron RAF, attacked and shot down a German aircraft near Gosport, despite having a head wound and his Hurricane already being on fire. Baling out badly burnt, he then endured shots fired by over-zealous members of the Home Guard, which killed another RAF pilot also parachuting to the ground. Nicholson was awarded the only Victoria Cross won by Fighter Command during the Second World War. He died in a flying accident in May 1945.

1944: An attack by a company of the Welch Regiment on German positions in Normandy suffered very heavy casualties from enemy fire and booby-traps. The only surviving officer, Lieutenant Watkins, took command, and although his effective strength had been reduced to just 30 men, led them in a successful charge against nearly twice as many opponents. However, the company then found itself isolated. Before withdrawing, Watkins personally eliminated a dangerous enemy machine-gun position, then skilfully extracted his men during the night. He received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1416 & Others

Sir Walter Hungerford and the Duke of Bedford fought a French and Genoese fleet off Harfleur, saving the English garrison there.

1645: Fairfax's New Model Army, following its decisive victory over Charles I's field army at Naseby, stormed Sherborne Castle as Parliament proceeded to mop up Royalist garrisons.

1917: In France, at the notorious Hill 60, Private O'Rourke, a stretcher-bearer with the British Columbia Regiment, commenced what proved a marathon three-day effort tending to the wounded and recsuing casualties from No Man's Land, despite several times being blown from his feet or buried by artillery explosions. He received the Victoria Cross.

Out in the North Sea, an armed fishing boat, Nelson, was busy stowing her catch when a U-boat surfaced alongside and raked her with gunfire. The skipper, Mr Crisp, Royal Naval Reserve, was at work below deck and received a severe wound. Nevertheless, he returned to the deck and fought back until Nelson sank. The rest of the crew got off safely and were rescued, but Crisp was too badly wounded to be moved and went down with the boat. Crisp was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched its heaviest attacks thus far of the Battle of Britain, concentrating on RAF airfields and radar sites. The air defences claimed some 161 victories, although the real figure proved to be closer to 75; 34 RAF fighters were destroyed.

1942: The tanker Ohio, hit five times, under tow, and almost sinking, arrived in Malta with her priceless cargo of fuel at the end of Operation Pedestal. Fourteen merchantmen had set out to run the gauntlet of submarine and air attack to resupply the island, escorted by the Royal Navy's two most powerful battleships and four aircraft carriers. Without supplies, the island would have had to surrender in early September. In three days of constant attacks, nine of the fourteen merchantmen were sunk, along with the carrier Eagle, two cruisers and a destroyer. But four merchantmen plus the Ohio survived to deliver their cargo. Ohio's Master, Captain Dudley Mason, was awarded the George Cross for his heroism.

1944: Royal Navy and Royal Air Force units provided cover during the landing of US and Free French troops in southern France - Operation Dragoon.

1945: Following the drop of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August, Emperor Hirohito broadcast to the Japanese people while the Allies celebrated Japan's unconditional surrender and the conclusion of the Second World War.

On This Day ... in 1352 & Others

In one of the more important battles of the Hundred Years War, Sir Walter Bentley defeated the French under Guy de Nesle at Mauron in Brittany. The French cavalry broke the English archers on the right wing, but failed to follow up, whilst attacks on the centre and left wing failed. The English counter-attacked, and the French retreat turned into a rout, with de Nesle being killed. The battle preserved England's control of Brittany.

1385: A Portuguese force, including an allied English contingent, intercepted at Aljubarrota the Castilian army, which included an allied French contingent, marching on Lisbon. The Portuguese marshal, Nuno Alvares Pereira drew up his army in the same style that had proved so successful in recent years for the English against the French and Scots - dismounted men-at-arms in a strong defensive position flanked by English longbowmen. King Joao commanded the reserve. Castile's King Juan attempted to outflank the position from the south, but the Portuguese adjusted their deployment to counter this move and battle was joined in the afternoon in uncomfortably hot weather. An initial charge by the French cavalry suffered heavily from the English archery and broke to no effect on the Portuguese defences. The very large main Castilian force then advanced, but were disorganised by the terrain and their own weight of numbers. Despite very intense fighting, such that prisoners were slaughtered out of hand due to a lack of men to guard them, the Portuguese line held, and the Castilians finally turned and ran, suffering further grievous losses from the pursuit.

1598: At the Yellow Ford on the Blackwater, the Ulster rebels of Hugh O'Neill achieved their greatest success against the English, defeating Marshal Bagenal as he tried to relieve the besieged Blackwater Fort. O'Neill had prepared an ambush with very effective concealed defences on boggy ground, and the English column, which had become rather disjointed, suffered very heavy casualties, including Bagenal himself.

1779: A small Royal Navy squadron destroyed a large US transport force in the Penobscot River, Maine.

1900: The Peking Legations, besieged by "Boxers", were relieved by British, Japanese, Russian, US, French, German, Austrian and Italian troops under General Sir Alfred Gaselee. The Legations, under the leadership of Sir Claude Macdonald, and with their defences planned by the engineer, later US President, Herbert Hoover, had been besieged since 20 June. British personnel in the relief force included Indian troops, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy sailors.

1940: Heavy Luftwaffe attacks continued along the south coast. The air defences claimed some 30 victories; 11 RAF fighters were destroyed.

1944: During a daylight attack by 805 Bomber Command aircraft on German troop positions in Normandy, intended to open the way for an attack by Canadian troops, tragic confusion led to some of the bombers hitting the 12th Canadian Field Artillery Regiment. The Canadians set off yellow flares to try to warn off the aircraft, but this compounded the problem - whilst yellow was the colour normally used by friendly Allied ground forces to signal their presence to fighter-bombers (a fact unknown to the Bomber Command crews), it was also the colour of the target markers being used that day. Thirteen Canadians were killed, and 53 injured. To make matters worse, the same regiment was mistakenly strafed by USAAF and RAF fighters the following day.

On This Day ... in 1704 & Others

John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, and Prince Eugene of Savoy, with perhaps 52,000 British, Dutch, German, and Austrian troops defeated Marshal Tallard and the Elector of Bavaria, with 56,000 French and Bavarian troops, at the Battle of Blenheim, Marlborough having marched across Europe from the Netherlands to join Eugene on the Danube. It proved an extremely bloody contest, with the allies suffering some 12,000 casualties, but inflicting on the French and Bavarians losses of 20,000, plus taking 14,000 prisoners.

The battle also proved the passing of the old French superiority in cavalry: a turning point in the battle was marked by an attack by eight squadrons of the elite Gendarmerie on five squadrons of British horse under Colonel Palmes. Despite being outnumbered, Palmes counter-charged and routed the French. The allied cavalry went on to secure victory, when Marlborough threw in a carefully hoarded reserve of 80 squadrons, supported by infantry and artillery, which burst through the French centre.

As the armies fought on land at Blenheim, the navies met at sea off Malaga. Admiral Sir George Rooke commanded 51 British and Dutch ships of the line against 50 French and Spanish ships, plus 24 galleys, under the Comte de Toulouse. The Franco-Spanish fleet hoped to drive the Anglo-Dutch fleet from the Straits of Gibraltar to allow a blockade of the British garrison on the Rock. Sir Cloudisley Shovell won the action in the van, and was then able to support Rooke in the centre of the line, where several particularly powerful French ships had helped put most of the British vessels out of action. Heavy casualties and extensive damage were suffered on both sides, although no ships were actually sunk, and the Anglo-Dutch fleet almost ran out of ammunition. However, Toulouse chose not to renew the fight the following day, although the wind now favoured him, and the threat to Gibraltar was lifted.

1762: In an operation brilliantly planned by Lord Anson, a fleet under Sir George Pocock and troops commanded by the Earl of Albemarle captured the supposedly impregnable fortress of Havana, twelve ships of the line, 100 merchantmen, and two million dollars worth of booty, depriving Spain of the centre of its empire in the Americas.

1901: Sergeant-Major Young of the Cape Police won the Victoria Cross by spurring ahead during the pursuit of a group of Boers, and, ignoring enemy fire, riding down and capturing their commander.

1915: During a bombing raid on Turkish positions at Gallipoli, Private Lauder of the Royal Scots Fusiliers threw a grenade, but it hit the trench parapet and bounced back at the British bombing team. Lauder immediately ran forward and stamped his foot on the grenade. It exploded, taking off his foot, but the blast was sufficiently dampened that no-one else suffered injury. Lauder was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1921: The Australian Air Force was granted the Royal prefix.

1940: Having declared "Adler Tag" - Eagle Day - the Luftwaffe continued with a full assault along the south coast. Although the total later proved exaggerated, Fighter Command claimed at least 78 victories over enemy aircraft; 13 RAF fighters were lost in action.

At the same time, Bomber Command continued to send its Blenheim light bombers on unescorted daylight raids against targets in the Low Countries, including German airfields. A strike by 12 Blenheims of 82 Squadron against Haamstede airfield proved disastrous, only one aircraft making it back to base after the formation was caught by Luftwaffe fighters.

On This Day ... in 1812 & Others

Wellington liberated Madrid from French occupation.

1854: During the Crimean War, Lieutenant Bythesea and Stoker Johnstone, from HMS Arrogant, were landed on 9 August on Wardo Island in the Baltic to intercept a Russian courier team reported to be carrying important military dispatches. After three days in hiding, the pair successfully ambushed the five-strong Russian party, despite being armed only with pistols. They captured three of the Russians, and the mail-bags of the other two, dropped as they fled. They safely made it back to Arrogant with their prisoners and the captured documents. Both men received the Victoria Cross.

1857: During the Indian Mutiny, Captain Blair of the Bombay Light Cavalry mounted a successful lone assault on a house held by eight mutineers. Elsewhere, Lieutenant Crowe led Seaforth Highlanders in an attack on a fortified village; under his leadership, it was overrun in less than a minute. And at Lucknow, Private Dempsey ran through flames carrying a sack of gunpowder to allow engineers to blow a breach in the enemy defences. All three received the Victoria Cross.

1914: Britain declared war on the Austrio-Hungarian Empire. Meanwhile, the Royal Flying Corps prepared to deploy to France to support the British Expeditionary Force. An advanced ground party of personnel was sent ahead across the Channel, whilst 2, 3, 4 and 5 Squadrons gathered at Dover to prepare to fly their aircraft across; the first-ever flight over the Channel, by Bleriot, had only been five years before. The first aircraft, flown by Lieutenant Harvey-Kelly, landed safely in France on 13 August. 1 Squadron had only recently re-equipped with fixed wing aircraft, having previously operated airships and balloons, so did not deploy to France at this time.

1915: Flight Commander Edmonds of the Royal Naval Air Service conducted the first ever successful aerial torpedo attack. Flying a Short 184 seaplane from HMS Ben-My-Chree off the Dardanelles, he sank a Turkish supply ship in the Sea of Marmara.

1916: On the Somme, an Australian soldier, Private O'Meara, ventured into No Man's Land repeatedly over the period 9-12 August to rescue wounded men, as well as collecting ammunition from the rear and bringing it up to the forward positions. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1918: On the Western Front, three Victoria Crosses were won. Sergeant Statton of the 40th Australian (Tasmania) Battalion attacked no less than six machine-gun nests during the day, at times armed only with a revolver. Sergeant Spall, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, sacrificed his life to cover the retreat of his platoon when it became isolated, mounting a lone defence with a Lewis Gun until overwhelmed by his opponents. And Private Dinesen, a Dane serving with the Quebec Regiment, five times attacked on his own to knock out enemy positions holding up the advance.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched major attacks along the south coast, including raids on "Home Chain" radar stations and RAF Manston. Fighter Command claimed numerous victories over enemy aircraft; 15 RAF fighters were lost in action.

That night, eleven Hampdens from 49 and 83 Squadrons conducted low-level attacks on the vital Dortmund-Ems Canal, aiming for a pair of aqueducts which carried the canal over the River Ems near Munster. Following previous attacks, the Germans had positioned strong anti-aircraft defences around the aqueducts. Two Hampdens were shot down, but eight managed to bomb the target. By the time Flight Lieutenant Learoyd's aircraft made its approach at only 150 feet in the dark, the defences were fully alert, and searchlights found and held his aircraft. The Hampden was very badly damaged by anti-aircraft shells, but Learoyd held her steady for a good bomb run. He then nursed the crippled aircraft back to the UK, where he managed to circle until dawn to pull off a good landing at first light. Learoyd received the Victoria Cross. That stretch of the canal was put out of action for over a month.

1941: Bomber Command mounted a major daylight low-level raid by 54 Blenheim light bombers against the massive power stations near Cologne at Knapsack and Quadrath. As well as hitting a pair of important industrial targets, it was hoped that the raids might force the Luftwaffe to pull back some of its fighters from covering the invasion of the Soviet Union. Accurate bombing was achieved, but ten Blenheims fell victim to flak or fighters.

1943: During a Bomber Command raid on Turin, a Stirling bomber of 218 Squadron, piloted by Flight Sergeant Aaron, was hit by a burst of fire, probably from the rear turret of another RAF bomber by mistake in the dark. The navigator was killed, and Aaron suffered appalling wounds to the face, chest and right arm. With one engine knocked out, the flight engineer and bomb aimer, neither of them trained as pilots, took over the controls and turned the aircraft towards Allied airbases in North Africa. Upon reaching the African coast, Aaron insisted on returning to his seat and supervise the preparations for landing. Unable to speak with his jaw shattered, he wrote instructions for landing with his left hand. At the fifth attempt, the crew managed a good wheels-up landing on the airfield at Bone under his guidance. Nine hours later, Aaron died of his wounds in hospital. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. The flight engineer and bomb aimer each received the Distinguished Flying Medal.

On This Day ... in 1332 & Others

A group of Anglo-Scots gentry known as The Disinherited, who had lost their lands when Edward Balliol had fallen from the Scottish throne, mounted an effort to restore Balliol and regain their property upon the death of King Robert Bruce.

Led by Balliol and Henry Beaumont, they landed in Fife on 6 August, and five days later were met in battle near Perth at Dupplin Moor by the Earl of Mar, acting as Guardian for Bruce's five-year old heir David II. The Scots massively outnumbered the Disinherited, but the latter had the advantage of being largely professional English troops. The Scots infantry were mown down by the English longbows then defeated by the dismounted men-at-arms. The English then mounted their horses and followed up with a ruthless pursuit. 35 English soldiers were reported killed in the battle - thousands of Scots fell or were captured, including Mar.

1673: A combined English and French fleet fought the Dutch off the Texel. Although Prince Rupert's allied fleet enjoyed a numerical superiority of 3:2, with 89 ships to some 60 Dutch, their great admiral de Ruyter managed to out-manoeuvre Rupert, secure the advantage of the wind, and concentrate his attack on the English centre and rear. The situation was compounded by reticence on the part of most of the French ships under d'Estrees to join the fight, although de Martel's division fought well. Despite fierce fighting, no ships were lost on either side, and the fleets parted to repair the considerable damage suffered on each side. The battle, indecisive in itself, was effectively a Dutch success since their coast remained open for trade.

1780: The siege of Wandewash began. Hyder Ali, ruler of Mysore attacked the British forces in the Carnatic with some 100,000 Indian and French troops, and en route laid siege to Wandewash, an important position on the line of advance, defended only by Lieutenant Flint and 200 Indian sepoys. Despite the odds, the garrison improvised its own artillery, produced its own gunpowder, and held off all attacks until relieved five months later.

1917: On the Western Front, Private Loosemore of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment crawled through a barbed wire entanglement to set up a machine-gun and wipe out a German platoon. He then beat off a counter-attack, before proceeding to stalk and kill several enemy snipers and rescue a wounded colleague. He received the Victoria Cross.

1918: During the Amiens offensive, Lieutenant Tait of the Canadian Manitoba Regiment, distinguished himself over four days of fighting, before falling mortally wounded. Despite his injuries, he remained in the front-line commanding his men until he collapsed and died. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched major attacks on Portland, a pair of convoys, and barrage balloons protecting Dover. Heavy air fighting resulted; 25 RAF fighters were lost in action.

In Somaliland, Captain Wilson, serving with the Camel Corps, commanded a machine-gun position atop Observation Hill, a key defensive position. Although weakened by malaria, Wilson led his Somali troops in a five-day defence against repeated Italian attacks, suffering serious wounds from artillery fire. The Italians finally overran the position late on 15 August, and Wilson was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. However, he had in fact survived to be taken prisoner, and was released from captivity when Italian East Africa surrendered, allowing him to receive the medal in person from King George VI and render further distinguished service with the Long Range Desert Group in North Africa, and with the African Rifles in Burma.

1943: On patrol over the Atlantic, a Liberator piloted by Flying Officer Trigg, RNZAF, spotted a German U-boat and attacked. The submarine remained surfaced and fought back with its anti-aircraft guns, inflicting fatal damage on the aircraft. Nevertheless, Trigg and his crew held their course and hit the U-boat with their bombs from just 50 feet. The Liberator crashed with the loss of all aboard, and U-468 sank shortly afterwards. Her commander and five others survived in a dinghy, and were later rescued by a Royal Navy corvette. The German crew described the heroism of the Liberator attack, and thanks to their testimony, Trigg was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1653 & Others

Following a brief action off the Texel on the evening of 8 August, the English and Dutch fleets fought off Scheveningen at the climax of the First Anglo-Dutch War. George Monck commanded 104 warships, whilst Maarten Tromp and de With had 107 warships. Accounts of the battle are confused, but it is clear that the action was close, severe, and extremely bloody. The great Dutch admiral Tromp was killed, and between 14 and 20 Dutch ships sunk. The English lost one warship, burnt by a Dutch fireship, plus a fireship of their own used up in an attack. Although the English won, their fleet was in almost as damaged a state as the Dutch, and it withdrew to Southwold Bay to refit. The Dutch thus succeeded in their aim of breaking the English blockade of their coast. But when peace was negotiated in April 1654, Cromwell was able to command substantial concessions from the Dutch.

1813: US and British squadrons engaged on Lake Ontario. The US vessels Julia and Growler were captured.

1918: Over the Western Front, Captain West, of 8 Squadron RAF, spotted a major German troop concentration. He was then attacked by a formation of German aircraft, but despite suffering five wounds which partially severed his leg, he managed to return to base to report the enemy location and strength. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1919: In Northern Russia, four soldiers serving with the Allied forces which had intervened in the Civil War fell into a river whilst retreating from a superior Bolshevik force. Despite heavy enemy fire, Corporal Sullivan, Royal Fusiliers, dived into the river and rescued each of the four in turn. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe's main effort remained against coastal shipping.

On This Day ... in 1643 & Others

Charles I laid siege to Gloucester, beginning the construction of formal entrenchments and siege lines. The Parliamentarian presence at Gloucester controlled a key crossing of the River Severn and hindered Charles' communications with his bedrock of support in Wales. The Earl of Essex promptly set out with relief forces from London, and forced Charles to abandon the siege on 5 September.

1666: During the Second Anglo-Dutch War, Prince Rupert and George Monck, the Duke of Albemarle, commanding the English fleet off the Dutch coast, sent a squadron of light ships under the piratical Captain Holmes to raid the islands of Vlie and Schelling. "Sir Robert Holmes' Bonfire" was the result - 150 Dutch merchantmen ablaze, and cargo worth over £1 million up in flames. (The annual budget of the Royal Navy in peace at the time was about £400,000.)

1855: During the Crimean War, a British fleet sent to the Baltic bombarded the then Russian port of Helsinki.

1914: The German battlecruiser Goeben and light cruiser Breslau safely entered Turkish waters at the Dardanelles, having embarrassingly escaped the British Mediterranean Fleet. The ships acted as a catalyst for the Ottoman entry into the war and remained a thorn in the side of the Allies for the rest of the war.

1915: On Gallipoli at Lone Pine, the ANZAC forces continued in fierce fighting with the Turks. Five Victoria Crosses were won there, with a sixth elsewhere on the peninsula:

Captain Hansen, Lincolnshire Regiment
Captain Shout, 1st Australian (New South Wales) Battalion (posthumous)
Lieutenant Tubb, 7th Australian (Victoria) Battalion
Corporal Burton, 7th Australian (Victoria) Battalion (posthumous)
Corporal Dunstan, 7th Australian (Victoria) Battalion
Private Hamilton, 3rd Australian (New South Wales) Battalion

1916: On the Western Front, Captain Noel Chavasse, Royal Army Medical Corps, worked tirelessly for two days tending to wounded men and frequently venturing into No Man's Land to look for casualties and collect identity tags of those killed. He was wounded carrying a wounded man to safety, but stayed at his post, and is thought to have saved at least twenty lives. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. Almost exactly a year later, 31 July to 2 August, he again demonstrated remarkable courage and commitment, ignoring his own wounds to rescue and care for casualties. He finally succumbed to his injuries and died, but was awarded a posthumous Bar to his VC, one of only three men to win the award twice.

1918: Rawlinson's Amiens offensive continued to cut deep into the German positions. Five VCs were won:

Sergeant Harris, Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment (posthumous)
Sergeant Zengel, Saskatchewan Regiment
Corporal Brereton, Manitoba Regiment
Corporal Coppins, Manitoba Regiment
Private Beatham, 8th Australian (Victoria) Battalion (posthumous)

1940: The Luftwaffe maintained a relatively modest level of activity.

1942: A small Japanese cruiser squadron approached at night the US and Australian fleet covering the landing of US Marines on Guadalcanal. Off Savo Island, HMAS Canberra and USS Chicago were surprised by the Japanese attack. Canberra was sunk, and Chicago badly damaged. The US cruisers Astoria, Quincy and Vincennes were also lost as the Japanese expertise in night-fighting was painfully demonstrated.

1945: Lt Robert Gray, Royal Canadian Navy Volunteer Reserve, flying a Corsair fighter with the Fleet Air Arm in the Pacific, was killed pressing home an attack on Japanese destroyers off Honshu, despite his aircraft being set ablaze by anti-aircraft fire from five warships. He scored a direct hit and sank a destroyer before crashing. He was posthumously awarded the last Victoria Cross of the Second World War.

On This Day ... in 1653 & Others

A brief action was fought off the Texel on the evening of 8 August, between the English and Dutch fleets. The main battle was joined on 10 August after a spell of bad weather.

1758: A Royal Navy squadron under Commodore Howe, and troops under Lieutenant General Thomas Bligh, devastated Cherbourg during a raid.

1915: The Turkish battleship Haireddin Barbarossa was sunk by the submarine HMS E-11 in the Sea of Marmora.

1918: Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig unleashed Rawlinson's Fourth Army, 440,000 strong, and Debeney's French First Army in an assault on the Amiens sector of the Western Front. The Germans expected the attack to take place further north, and were taken by surprise. Similar in scale to the first day of the Somme offensive in 1916, it produced quite different results. Led by over 400 tanks, the thrust broke through the German trenches, and for the first time in the Great War, demoralised German units surrendered wholesale. General Ludendorff described 8 August as "the black day of the German Army of the war". Fourth Army included the Cavalry Corps, Australian Corps, Canadian Corps, and III Corps, plus two attached US infantry regiments. Five Victoria Crosses were won that day:

* Lieutenant Brillant, a French Canadian officer (posthumous)
* Lieutenant Gaby, 28th Australian Battalion (killed in action three days later)
* Corporal Miner, 2nd Central Ontario Regiment (posthumous)
* Corporal Good, Quebec Regiment
* Private Croak, Quebec Regiment (posthumous)

1940: The Luftwaffe launched repeated attacks against a convoy in the English Channel, resulting in three major air actions.

1944: RAF aircraft began long-range supply flights to drop supplies to the Polish Home Army engaged in the Warsaw Uprising. Polish aircrew flying with the RAF suffered particularly heavy casualties in the attempt, taking appalling risks to try to deliver aid.

On This Day ... in 1588 & Others

Following the inconclusive gunnery duels of the previous week, Lord Howard of Effingham

commanding the English fleet, launched a fireship attack on the Spanish Armada, anchored off Calais. Eight fireships descended on the Armada. Although they did little damage in themselves, the Armada scattered in haste, cutting their anchors. The Portuguese squadron maintained its discipline, but the rest of the Armada lost its vital cohesion, and any chance of winning the battle. The threat of invasion had passed.

1900: Two soldiers from the 17th Lancers were ambushed by Boers as they scouted near a British picket. One of their horses was shot dead, and its rider thrown and badly injured. His companion, Sergeant Brian Lawrence

put the injured man on his own horse and sent him to ride to safety. He himself then retreated on foot for two miles, all the time holding the Boers off with his carbine until other cavalry rescued him. Lawrence received the Victoria Cross.

The 17th's most significant action was at Modderfontein in September 1901. C Squadron of the 17th was ambushed by Boers whom they mistook for British troops, was surrounded, and refused to surrender, which resulted in about 35 Lancers killed and many wounded.

1915: On Gallipoli, as the British consolidated the new beach-head at Suvla Bay, the Australian Light Horse attacked at Nek, suffering appalling casualties. Private Keysor of the 1st New South Wales Battalion won the Victoria Cross for throwing back at the enemy two grenades which landed in his trench, then following up over the next couple of days with effective bombing attacks of his won.

The New Zealand Brigade had captured Chunuk Bair ridge, and the first New Zealand VC of the war went to Corporal (later Colonel) Cyril Bassett, a signaller, who worked in the open under heavy fire to lay telephone lines back from the new position to headquarters.

His citation reads

For most conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty on the Chunuk Bair ridge in the Gallipoli Peninsula on the 7th August, 1915. After the New Zealand Infantry Brigade had attacked and established itself on the ridge, Corporal Bassett, in full daylight and under a continuous and heavy fire succeeded in laying a telephone-line from the old position to the new one on Chunuk Bair. He had subsequently been brought to notice for further excellent and most gallant work connected with the repair of telephone-lines by day and night under heavy fire.

Elsewhere on the peninsula, Lieutenant Forshaw of the Manchester Regiment held a position against continual fierce Turkish counter-attacks for two days. He was also awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe continued only to probe British air defences with reconnaissance missions and minor attacks.

1944: A company of the Royal Norfolk Regiment, commanded by Captain Jamieson, succeeded in establishing a bridgehead across the River Orne in Normandy. The position became the immediate focus for counter-attacks by the 12th SS Panzer Division, which attacked with Tiger and Panther tanks. Two of the three British tanks supporting Jamieson were knocked out, but he and his men held on for 36 hours, repelling seven attacks.

Jamieson suffered two wounds, but refused to be evacuated until the position was safe. He received the Victoria Cross.

In This Day ... in 1914 & Others

The first Allied naval loss of the First World War - the cruiser HMS Amphion was sunk by a mine in the North Sea.

1915: British troops landed during the night 6/7 August at Suvla Bay at the northern end of the Gallipoli peninsula in an attempt to break the deadlock besetting the campaign there. Only a small bridgehead was established, and although this did eventually extend far enough south to link up with the ANZAC positions at Ari Burnu, it failed to achieve the desired breakthrough. To divert attention from the landings, the ANZACs launched a series of bloody attacks at Lone Pine, suffering 2,200 casualties and inflicting 5,000 losses on the Turks.

1916: Private Short of the Yorkshire Regiment took part in a bombing attack on German positions on the Western Front. He was wounded in the foot, but refused to retire. He was then caught in a shell explosion which shattered his leg. Unable to stand, he lay in a trench, preparing grenades for the other members of the bombing team until he died of his wounds. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1917: A Stokes mortar misfired in a British trench, the shell landing amongst British troops. Private Butler of the West Yorkshire Regiment used his body to screen the shell until his comrades had got clear, then picked it up and threw it out of the trench. It then exploded, causing damage to the trench, but no injury, save to Private Butler who suffered concussion. He received the Victoria Cross.

1940: Poor weather reduced Luftwaffe activity to reconnaissance missions and minor attacks.

1944: German troops attacked British positions in Normandy held by the Royal Norfolk Regiment. They overran some positions, but then encountered Corporal Bates, who charged them with a Bren Gun. He was wounded three times, but succeeded in driving the Germans back. He collapsed, and died of his injuries two days later. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1945: Hiroshima became the target of the world's first atomic airstrike.

In the early morning hours of August 6, 1945, a B-29 bomber named Enola Gay took off from the island of Tinian and headed north by northwest toward Japan. The bomber's primary target was the city of Hiroshima, located on the deltas of southwestern Honshu Island facing the Inland Sea. Hiroshima had a civilian population of almost 300,000 and was an important military center, containing about 43,000 soldiers.

The bomber, piloted by the commander of the 509th Composite Group, Colonel Paul Tibbets, flew at low altitude on automatic pilot before climbing to 31,000 feet as it neared the target area. At approximately 8:15 a.m. Hiroshima time the Enola Gay released "Little Boy," its 9,700-pound uranium bomb, over the city. Tibbets immediately dove away to avoid the anticipated shock wave. Forty-three seconds later, a huge explosion lit the morning sky as Little Boy detonated 1,900 feet above the city, directly over a parade field where soldiers of the Japanese Second Army were doing calisthenics. Though already eleven and a half miles away, the Enola Gay was rocked by the blast. At first, Tibbets thought he was taking flak. After a second shock wave (reflected from the ground) hit the plane, the crew looked back at Hiroshima. "The city was hidden by that awful cloud . . . boiling up, mushrooming, terrible and incredibly tall," Tibbets recalled. The yield of the explosion was later estimated at 15 kilotons (the equivalent of 15,000 tons of TNT).

On This Day ... in 641 & Others

At the Battle of Maserfelth, possibly near modern Oswestry, the pagan King Penda of Mercia defeated and killed King 'Bright Blade’ Oswald of Northumbria.

His last words were for the spiritual welfare of his soldiers, whence the proverb: "God have mercy on their souls, as said Oswald when he fell."

His head was taken from the battlefield to the church of St. Peter in the royal fortress at Bamborough, and was afterwards translated to Lindisfarne, where, for fear of the Danes, it was placed in 875 in the coffin of St. Cuthbert, which found its resting place at Durham in 998.

Oswald was regarded as a Christian martyr against the pagan, and honoured as a saint. His day is 5 August in the Roman Catholic tradition, 9 August in the Anglican.

910: The English under Edward of Wessex defeated the Danes of York at Tettenhall in Staffordshire.

1388: A Scots army under the Earl of Douglas defeated an English army under Henry Percy "Hotspur" at Otterburn. However, Douglas was slain by Hotspur before the latter was captured.

1583: Humphrey Gilbert entered St. John's and read the Charter claiming the lands 200 miles around for Elizabeth I; the first English colony in North America

1711: In what is often regarded as his most brilliant success, the Duke of Marlborough managed to break through the supposedly impregnable French Ne Plus Ultra line of fortifications in Flanders, without a major battle or siege being needed. A carefully prepared deception plan completely misled the French as to where he intended to attack, and a daring night march with his army saw him suddenly emerge at Arleux, totally unhinging the French defences.

1882: During a patrol in Egypt, an officer of the King's Royal Rifle Corps fell mortally wounded. He was lying under heavy fire in the open, but Private Corbett insisted on going to his aid and attempting to dress his wounds. Although this proved in vain, Corbett stayed with the dying man until the British troops were able to carry his body to safety. Corbett received the Victoria Cross, but later forfeited the award when convicted two years later of theft and embezzlement.

1914: The Royal Navy caught and sank the German minelayer Konigin Luise - the first naval loss on either side during the First World War.

1940: In Washington D.C., Lord Lothian, the British Ambassador to the US, provides President Franklin D. Roosevelt with a note concerning the facilities which the British were prepared to "extend to the United States Government." This formed part of the "destroyers-for-bases" agreement between the U.K. and US that would be announced in September

Once again, the main air combat occurred over the Dover Straits.

1941: The defense of the Soviet Black Sea port of Odessa from the invading Germans, began. The city was attacked by 18 German divisions, which had five times more troops and armor than Odessa defenders.

Over 73 days of fighting, the Germans lost 160,000 men. Only after the Soviet high command ordered Soviet troops move to the Crimea did the city fall

1953: The exchange of prisoners of war taken during the Korean Conflict (Operation Big Switch) begans

1963: Great Britain, the USA & USSR signed the nuclear test ban treaty

On This Day ... in 1265 & Others

By the 1250s King Henry III (1216-72) was running into difficulties with his nobility. They were angry at the cost of some of his schemes, such as the rebuilding of Westminster Abbey and a proposed campaign to make one of his younger sons King of Sicily. The Provisions of Oxford (1258), imposed on Henry by his barons, established a permanent baronial council which took control of certain key appointments. The leader of the baronial movement was Simon de Montfort, the Earl of Leicester. In 1259 the Provisions of Westminster reformed the common law. Henry eventually renounced both sets of provisions and challenged the barons. Civil war broke out in 1264, initially going well for Simon de Montfort. During the conflict he sought to boost his baronial support by summoning knights of the shires and burgesses to attend his parliament. This was the first time that commoners had been represented. Henry III's son Edward, subsequently Edward I, defeated the rebel army of Simon de Montfort near Evesham. De Montfort

1347: After a siege lasting exactly eleven months, Edward III captured Calais. Although Edward famously spared the burghers of the city at the request of his wife, the French inhabitants were expelled and replaced by English settlers, and the town remained an English possession for over two centuries until recaptured by the French in 1558. 1914: Great Britain entered the First World War after Germany refused to guarantee Belgian neutrality. Over the next four years, Britain lost some 888,000 men, while the Empire and Dominions also suffered heavy losses: India had 72,000 killed, Canada 65,000, Australia 62,000, New Zealand 18,000, South Africa 9,300, and Newfoundland 1,250. A further two million personnel from Britain and the Empire are believed to have been wounded. 1918: British troops occupied Baku. 1940: Luftwaffe activity proved very limited, with no combat resulting. 1944: Flying Officer Dean of 616 Squadron RAF was successful in the first ever jet-jet combat, destroying a jet-propelled V-1 fly

On This Day ... in 1692 & Others

During the Nine Years War, William III led a Dutch and English army against the French at Steenkirk. He initially surprised the Duc de Luxembourg, but the attack snarled up on narrow approach roads. Luxembourg recovered quickly and skilfully beat off the attack. The battle was marked by fierce hand-to-hand combat - unusual during this period, when musketry was usually preferred - along hedgerows. Although a French success, the English and Dutch infantry were praised for their performance.

1915: On the Western Front, a working party from the Scots Guards were repairing a communication trench when a German mortar bomb landed in their midst. Second Lieutenant Boyd-Rochfort immediately scooped it up and threw it out of the trench, where it promptly exploded. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1916: Commonwealth forces repelled an Ottoman attack under Kress von Kressenstein at Rumani in the Sinai.

1940: The Luftwaffe confined itself to reconnaissance work during the day, but was rather more active during the night with numerous nuisance raids.

On This Day ... in 1295 & Others

A squadron of French galleys, built at great expense by imported Mediterranean shipbuilders at a new naval base at Rouen, raided Dover and burnt part of the town.

1900: During an action with Boers, a sergeant from the Royal Berkshire Regiment fell wounded in the open. Private W. House left the safety of a position in cover to run through the enemy fire to his aid. Carrying the man back, House was himself severely wounded, but he insisted comrades remain in cover and eventually managed to get himself and the sergeant back to safety. He received the Victoria Cross.

1917: Squadron Commander E H Dunning of the Royal Naval Air Service made the first ever aircraft landing on a moving ship, setting his Sopwith Pup down on the deck of the modified battlecruiser HMS Furious, steaming at 26 knots. No arrestor system had as yet been conceived, and Dunning's landing was assisted by crew members seizing toggles on the aircraft as it touched down.

Sadly, Dunning was killed five days later on 7 August when attempting a similar landing, Dunning's aircraft stalled. This caused a heavy landing which burst a tyre & pitched the aircraft over the side of the ship.

Dunning was knocking out & drowned in his cockpit before help could arrive.

This disaster proved that for safe and successful landings to occur a deck free of obstructions was needed. Hence the Italian liner Conte Rosso was bought and converted into a ‘flat top’ aircraft carrier named HMS Argus while HMS Furious underwent further modification.

In July 1918 HMS Furious launched six Sopworth Cammels against the Tandem Zeppelin sheds on what became the first ever carrier strike.

1940: Sporadic Luftwaffe raids continued, mainly against shipping.

1943: The Battle of Hamburg ended with Bomber Command's fourth attack on the city within a week. The already devastated city was largely spared further damage that night thanks to the weather: the force of 740 bombers encountered an appalling thunderstorm over northern Germany. At least four bombers are known to have been brought down by ice, turbulence or lightning, and another 26 failed to return, some of which may also have been victims of the weather rather than German defences.

1990: Iraq invaded Kuwait, forcing in due course a huge coalition campaign to liberate the country.

On This Day ... in 1759 & Others

Duke Ferdinand of Brunswick commanded the Allied troops - British, Prussian, Hanoverian and Hessian - against the French at the Battle of Minden, near the River Weser, during the Seven Years War, in an an effort to reopen lines of communication with Hanover. The Allied victory was only achieved thanks to a confusion in orders which resulted in a brigade of British and Hanoverian infantry attacking the French cavalry: by rights, the infantry attack should have ended in disaster, but their discipline and courage won the day, repelling three cavalry charges.

The victory was marred by the refusal of Lord George Sackville to lead the British cavalry in an attack that would have turned the French retreat into a rout; he was subsequently court-martialled and dismissed from the Army.

1798: Nelson won his great victory of annihilation over Vice Admiral Brueys' French fleet at the River Nile. The huge 120-gun French flagship l'Orient blew up at the height of the battle, with the loss of almost all her crew, including Brueys. Nelson himself was wounded aboard his 74-gun flagship Vanguard, whilst the French captain Dupetit Thouars, despite losing both arms and a leg, continued to command his ship Tonant propped up in a tub until he died of his wounds. Only two French ships of the line escaped from Aboukir Bay, and Napoleon Bonaparte's Army of the Orient found itself cut off in Egypt.

1940: The Luftwaffe's main effort continued against shipping and on reconnaissance work.

On This Day ... in 1915 & Others

Captain John Liddell, 7 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, flying an RE5 reconnaissance aircraft, with Second Lieutenant Peck as his observer, was badly wounded during a fight with a German aircraft near Ostend. Despite his injuries, severe damage to his aircraft, and continuous heavy ground fire, he succeeded in returning to Allied lines. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but died of his wounds a month later.

His citation which as published in the London Gazette reads

When on a flying reconnaissance over Ostend-Bruges-Ghent he was severely wounded (his right thigh being broken), which caused momentary unconsciousness, but by a great effort he recovered partial control after his machine had dropped nearly 3,000 feet, and notwithstanding his collapsed state succeeded, although continually fired at, in completing his course, and brought the aeroplane into our lines half an hour after he had been wounded.

The difficulties experienced by this Officer in saving his machine, and the life of his observer, cannot be readily expressed, but as the control wheel and throttle control were smashed, and also one of the undercarriage struts, it would seem incredible that he could have accomplished his task.

1917: Field Marshal Haig launched his main offensive of the year in an attempt to take pressure off the French, suffering mutinies after appaling casualties during Nivelle's offensive in Champagne. The British attack was once again on the Ypres sector.

Three years of artillery bombardment had reduced the landscape, with a fragile and high water-table, to a quagmire. Gough's Fifth Army quite literally bogged down trying to take formidable German defensive positions, in what became perhaps the most terrible of all the British experiences on the Western Front: Third Ypres or Passchendaele.

By November, 320,000 casualties had been suffered. Thirteen VCs were won on the first day:

Brigadier-General Coffin
Lieutenant Colonel Best-Dunkley, Lancashire Fusiliers, posthumous
Captain Colyer-Fergusson, Northamptonshire Regiment, posthumous
Captain Ackroyd, Royal Army Medical Corps
Second Lieutenant Hewitt, Hampshire Regiment, posthumous
Sergeant Bye, Welsh Guards
Sergeant Edwards, Seaforth Highlanders
Sergeant Rees, South Wales Borderers
Lance-Sergeant Mayson, King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment
Corporal Andrew, New Zealand's Wellington Regiment
Corporal Davies, Royal Welch Fusiliers, posthumous
Guardsman Whitham, Coldstream Guards
Private McIntosh, Gordon Highlanders

1940: The Luftwaffe probed air defences along the south and east coasts, provoking several air actions. The night saw unusually heavy activity with raids over many different parts of the country, including South Wales.

1942: Bomber Command attacked Dusseldorf with 630 aircraft. The bombers inflicted significant damage, but at a high cost: 29 aircraft failed to return.

1945: The four-man midget submarine XE.3, commanded by Lieutenant Fraser, crept into the Johore Straits at Singapore to attack the Japanese heavy cruiser Takao, whilst XE.1headed for another cruiser, Myoko.

After 11 hours bumping along the bottom in often dangerously shallow water, Fraser managed to position XE.3 directly below Takao, and his diver, Magennis, squeezed out of a hatch which could only be partly opened, blocked by the cruiser's hull, to attach limpet mines to her underside. The task was made even more difficult by problems with his breathing apparatus. Once Magennis had returned to XE.3, Fraser released the submarine's main weapons - large explosive charges carried on each side of the vessel. However, one of the racks for the limpet mines would not release, upsetting the trim of the submarine; Magennis once more had to swim outside to help free it, which he managed after several minutes of difficult work. XE.3 was then able to make her escape.

Meanwhile, XE.1 could not find Myoko, so her crew decided also to attack Takao, even though there was now a risk that XE.3's charges might go off whilst they were underneath the cruiser. Charges dropped, XE.1 followed her sister out to sea. Takao was badly damaged by the explosions and never went to sea again. Fraser and Magennis both received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1813 & Others

The Duke of Wellington with 24,000 men successfully held off Marshal Soult with 36,000 French troops at the Second Battle of Sorauren, near Pamplona, following the First Battle on 28 July.

1857: As the Indian Mutiny spread, catching garrisons by surprise, eighteen British and Indian officials and railway engineers led fifty Sikh troops in a desperate defence of a billiard-hall at Arrah against three regiments of mutineers armed with artillery.

An attempt to relieve them on 30 July was repulsed and driven back to the river. Mr McDonell of the Bengal Civil Service led 35 troops as they looked for an escape across the river. Under fire, they found a boat, but the oars were missing and the rudder rendered useless by a heavy lashing. McDonell ignored the heavy fire and managed to slash away the lines, then got the men away in the boat across the river.

Elsewhere, his colleague Mr Mangles, although himself wounded, carried a wounded soldier for several miles through marshes. He too reached the river and found a boat, in which he and the casualty got away safely. McDonell and Mangles were awarded the Victoria Cross, two of only five civilians to be so decorated.

1915: Second Lieutenant Woodroffe of The Rifle Brigade led a determined defence against a German assault. Eventually forced to retreat, having exhausted ammunition, he skilfully extracted his men. Replenished, he then led a counter-attack but was killed out in the open trying to cut a path for them through barbed wire. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1916: A battalion of The Manchester Regiment had already lost five runners killed trying to get an urgent message back to headquarters, when Sergeant-Major Evans volunteered to make an attempt. He ran through heavy enemy fire, and although he too was hit, managed to deliver the message safely. Although advised to have his wound tended, he insisted on returning to his unit until the action was complete, and again ran the gauntlet of fire to rejoin them. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. A similar situation faced a battalion of the King's Own (Royal Lancaster) Regiment: Private Miller volunteered to carry a message back to Brigade headquarters, seeking assistance. He was less fortunate than Evans and was mortally wounded. Nevertheless, he reached the headquarters, delivered the message, then insisted on returning with the reply. He handed the response to his commanding officer, and immediately collapsed and died. He was awarded a posthumous VC.

1918: A U-boat torpedoed a merchant ship, Stock Force, in the English Channel, then made the mistake of surfacing to finish her off with gunfire. Stock Force was in fact a Royal Navy Q Ship, with concealed armament, commanded by Lieutenant Auten. He let the U-boat close to only 300 yards, then opened a devastating fire which sank the submarine. A torpedo boat arrived to rescue Auten and his men as Stock Force sank. Auten received the Victoria Cross.

1936: The Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve was formed to establish a pool of trained aircrew and technicians, as the RAF planned for expansion in the face of the German threat.

1940: The day saw sporadic engagements between Fighter Command and the Luftwaffe as the weather inhibited operations.

1943: Bomber Command turned its attentions to Remscheid, dispatching a relatively small force - 273 aircraft - on what proved one of the most effective raids of the war. The Pathfinders marked the target with exceptional accuracy, and 83% of the town was destroyed, including 107 factory buildings. Three whole months industrial output was lost, and industry never recovered fully during the war. Fifteen aircraft failed to return.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

At Oonao in India, Lieutenant Bogle led an assault on a house heavily defended by mutineers, which was holding up the advance of his regiment. The house was cleared successfully, but Bogle suffered a severe wound. He received the Victoria Cross.

1940: A large Luftwaffe formation of Stukas sent to attack Dover harbour early in the morning was roughly handled by Fighter Command.

Date: 29 July 1940
Weather: Fair all over Britain. Thames Estuary and Dover hazy.
Day: Convoy off Dover raided.
Night: Activity on a reduced scale over land.
Enemy action by day
The main activity was as follows:

Detailed Summary
With reference to the report of 28th July, it is now reported that 25 HE bombs were dropped at Newcastle-upon-Tyne and six houses were destroyed, and a school and other houses damaged. There were few casualties.
Referring to the same report, it is now reported that 115 incendiary bombs fell in Newcastle-under-Lyme with a radius of 1/4 mile. Nineteen houses were set on fire but the damage caused was slight and there were no casualties.
During the early morning of July 29th, bombs were dropped at Altcar (Lancashire), near Crewe, in Essex, Gloucestershire, Cheshire, Midlothian and Berwickshire, causing little or no damage.
Bombs were also dropped near the aerodromes at Yatesbury and Hawarden.
The only raid reported during daylight on 29th July was at Dover, where a naval auxiliary was sunk, and the oil pipeline broken. Buildings were damaged by splinters and blast.
There was only slight enemy activity during the night of 29th/30th July and no damage has been reported.
It is reported that Acklington aerodrome was bombed at 0235 hours on 30th July.

1943: Bomber Command returned with 777 aircraft to Hamburg for the third raid in Operation Gomorrah, aiming for those parts of the city which had escaped the devastating firestorm two nights previously. Two-thirds of the city's population had fled, and the raid caused further widespread damage. 28 aircraft failed to return.

On This Day ... in 1066 & Others

Duke of Normandy William the Bastard, later known as William the Conqueror, landed at Pevensey near Hastings. The battle with Harold was fought on 14 October. Suitably enough on the anniversary of William the Conqueror's invasion, Henry I of England defeated his brother Robert Curthose, Duke of Normandy, at Tinchebrai, and took possession of Normandy

1542: Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego

1781: American forces, backed by a French fleet, began the siege of Yorktown Heights during the American War of Independence

1809: Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley held off further attacks by French forces under Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, and Marshals Victor and Jourdan on the second day of the Battle of Talavera. Wellesley was made Baron Douro and Viscount Wellington for his victory.

1813: Following the French advance through the Pyrenees on 25 July, the Duke of Wellington with 24,000 men faced Marshal Soult with 36,000 French troops at the First Battle of Sorauren, near Pamplona. Soult's attack was repulsed, but he renewed the battle on 30 July.

1914: Squadron Commander Longmore carried out the first Royal Navy aerial torpedo drop, during experimental work with the help of Short Brothers. A 14" torpedo was launched from a Short seaplane. The work bore fruit 13 months later when the Royal Naval Air Service mounted the first ever aerial torpedo attack on a Turkish ship in the Dardanelles.

1915: In Mesopotamia, Kut-el-Amara fell to the British forces under the command of Major-General Townshend. The troops were supported by a naval flotilla of river gunboats and steamers, including HMS Comet, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Cookson.

Cookson took Comet in to attack a string of dhows blocking the Tigris. Under heavy machine-gun fire, Cookson leapt aboard a dhow and attempted to sever the cables with an axe. He immediately drew the full fire of the defenders and fell dead from multiple injuries. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross

1916: Sergeant C. Castleton of the 5th Machine Gun Company, won the Victoria Cross at Pozieres, France

1923: US Navy aircraft took first and second places in international Schneider Cup Race

1939: Estonia concluded a treaty of mutual assistance with the Soviet Union. Under the treaty, the Red Army and Navy received numerous bases in Estonia. In return the Soviet Union gave assurances that it wouldn’t interfere with the Estonian internal affairs.

1940: The main Luftwaffe attack of the day was launched at Dover, where it was met by four Fighter Command squadrons who shot down seven enemy aircraft at a cost of two Spitfires.
The days events are recorded here

1941: The entire population of Malta crowded the shoreline to cheer as three cruisers led a vitally needed convoy into the Grand Harbour of Valetta today.

Few convoys had such a powerful escort; three battleships (HMS Nelson, Rodney & Prince of Wales), an aircraft carrier (HMS Ark Royal), five cruisers and 18 destroyers. They were shepherded nine fast merchant ships, totaling 81,000 tons, with 2,600 troops divided among the transports and warships.

Three days out from Gibraltar the convoy, code named Operation Halberd, came under fierce air attack, with HMS Ark Royal's fighters stretched to the limit. A torpedo hit slowed HMS Nelson down.

Despite reports that the Italian fleet had left port, no ship-to-ship encounters took place, although the convoy came under further torpedo attacks from the air with one transport, Imperial Star hit, but her troops were taken off before she sank

1944: U-307 landed weather report team ashore in Spitsbergen. They formed the weather station Haudegen which did not formally surrender to the allies until 4 Sept 1945

1953: Khrushchev was elected the first secretary of Central Committee of the Soviet Communist Party

On This Day ... in 1214 & Others

At Bouvines in France, Otto IV's German army, including an English contingent led by the Earl of Salisbury, confronted Philippe II's French army. The German infantry in the centre initially enjoyed some success, but the French knights recovered the situation. Salisbury's men on the right wing attempted to come to the Germans' aid in the centre, but were themselves hit in the flank by the French left wing and Salisbury was captured. The Emperor Otto fled, and the allies collapsed. Although he was not present, the defeat was a humiliation for King John of England: his efforts to restore the Angevin Empire in France were ruined, and the expense of the war provoked his nobles at home into revolt.

1778: Vice Admiral Keppel with thirty ships of the Channel Fleet, fought the Comte d'Orvilliers, with thirty French ships, at the Battle of Ushant. The action was indecisive, and first Keppel, then Rear Admiral Palliser, who had commanded the rear division of the fleet, subsequently faced courts martial. Both were acquitted but resigned their commissions. A pro-Keppel mob ripped the gates off Admiralty House.

1809: Lieutenant General Sir Arthur Wellesley fought off successive attacks by French forces under Joseph Bonaparte, King of Spain, and Marshals Victor and Jourdan on the first day of the battle of Talavera.

1940: Sporadic Luftwaffe attacks continued, mainly over the Channel.

1943: The second of a series of four attacks by RAF Bomber Command on Hamburg - Operation Gomorrah - was launched with 787 aircraft. The weather was particularly warm that night, with low humidity. These factors, combined with a prolonged absence of rain and a particularly concentrated bombing attack came together in a completely unexpected and devastating manner: a firestorm in the Hammerbrook district, violently drawing in oxygen to feed itself, reaching temperatures estimated in excess of 1,000 degrees Celsius. It only subsided after three hours, when every item of potential fuel in the area had been consumed. Some 40,000 deaths are believed to have been caused in the city that night. 1.2 million people fled the city. Seventeen RAF aircraft were lost.

On This Day ... in 1340 & Others

The French army under Philip VI marched to relieve the Duke of Burgundy, besieged in Saint-Omer by Robert of Artois who commanded some 1,000 English and perhaps 10,000 Flemish troops. Some of the French garrison in Saint-Omer, rather than wait patiently for Philip's arrival, sortied to attack the Anglo-Flemish army. The attack was driven off, but then some of the Flemish troops, from Ypres, led an equally ill-judged pursuit, abandoning their strong defensive position.

The French rallied and a fierce fight commenced. The Duke of Burgundy and the Count of Armagnac brought out reinforcements from the garrison. Armagnac's men routed the Ypres troops, who were trapped against the river and slaughtered. Meanwhile, Burgundy led his men against the better disciplined English and Bruges troops. This proved disastrous: the English and Brugeois charged Burgundy's cavalry while they were still forming up, and chased them back into Saint-Omer. The victorious English and Brugeois marched back, meeting as night fell the equally victorious troops of Armagnac returning to the town. Both sides tacitly avoided anything much beyond taunts. However, when a horrified Artois discovered that he had lost 8,000 Flemish troops to Armagnac and that Philip was fast approaching, he had no choice but to beat a hasty retreat.

It proved an equally dismal day for the English at sea in the Channel, when a French squadron under Robert Houdetot caught a convoy of thirty English merchantmen carrying the wool exports so vital to Edward III's war economy. The merchant crews were slaughtered.

1346: Edward III's army arrived at Caen early in the morning after a night march. Although the inner defences of the town and its castle were formidable, the French garrison under the Count of Eu felt obliged to try to defend the suburb of the Ile Saint-Jean. A detachment of troops under the Earl of Warwick seized an opportunity to rush one of the town gates, and fierce street fighting developed, drawing in most of the French garrison. Edward III initially tried to recall his troops, fearing their undisciplined rush would lead to disaster. But it proved impossible to disengage, and so instead reinforcements were sent in. The French were overwhelmed, with only a few escaping to the safety of the castle.

1643: Prince Rupert launched an all-out assault on the Bristol, the second most important city in England after London. The Parliamentarian forces had constructed extensive fieldworks on the hills around the city. The elite Cornish regiments of the Royalists suffered heavy casualties attacking in the south-east sector, but Rupert's main force broke through the defences at Windmill Hill and Brandon Hill in the west, and took the city. The victory gave the King a vital port and, perhaps even more important, access to the city's armament factories. The Royalist forces, previously short of muskets, became increasingly well-supplied with arms.

1877: Near a barracks at Quetta, three raiders attacked a pair of British officers, killing one and wounding the other. Captain Scott and a Sepoy rushed to their aid, the Sepoy sheltering the wounded officer whilst Scott took on the attackers, bayonetting two of them. Further sepoys arrived on the scene and killed the third as he attempted to escape. Scott was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1897: Large numbers of Pathan tribesmen attacked the British posts at Malakand and Chakdara on the North-West Frontier. The fighting at Chakdara lasted until 2 August, when the raiders withdrew, having lost 2,000 men at the hands of 240 defenders from the 11th Bengal Lancers and 45th Sikh Regiment; their own casualties numbered just fifteen. A further 1,700 tribesmen died at Malakand in four days of fighting against a garrison of the 22nd Punjab Infantry. During the initial surprise attack, a Lance-Havildar fell wounded in the open, out on the barrack's football pitch. Seeing a mob of sword-armed tribesmen heading for the casualty, Lieutenant Costello ran out, covered by two Sepoys, and managed to carry the man back to safety just in time. Costello received the Victoria Cross.

1918: Major Mannock, the RAF's most successful fighter pilot of the First World War with 73 victories, was shot down and killed over France. He was the antithesis of the popular stereotype of the fighter pilot of the period: born in poverty in Ireland, consumed with hatred for the enemy, utterly ruthless, racked with ill-health. He had been imprisoned in Turkey on the outbreak of war, but was later repatriated, his captors assuming he was too unfit to serve in the war. Despite being partially blind, he proved not only a talented pilot, but an even more talented leader and tactician, taking great pains to nurture young inexperienced pilots. He was tormented by nightmares of being shot down in flames; tragically, this proved to be his fate. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: Bad weather once again limited the Luftwaffe to minor raids and reconnaissance work, with occasional skirmishes with Fighter Command.

On This Day ... in 1812 & Others

At the Maya Pass in the Pyrenees, 6,000 troops under Lieutenant-General Sir William Stewart fought a skilful defensive action, holding off 20,000 French for a whole day before withdrawing. Another small British formation put up a similarly creditable performance at the Roncesvalles Pass. The Duke of Wellington counter-attacked towards Sorauren, forcing battles there on 28 July and 30 July.

1915: The Royal Flying Corps' first dedicated air combat formation, 11 Squadron, was equipped with the two-seat Vickers Gunbus. Meanwhile, Captain L G Hawker, 6 Squadron, flying a Bristol Scout with an improvised machine-gun mounting, damaged one German reconnaissance aircraft, forced another down, and destroyed in flames a third, during a single sortie over the Ypres salient. Hawker was awarded the Victoria Cross and went on to become the RFC's leading fighter pilot. He was killed in action on 23 November 1916, during a dogfight with Leutnant Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen: he was the Red Baron's eleventh and most distinguished victim.

1940: The Luftwaffe launched significant attacks on Dover harbour and a Channel convoy; each was intercepted by Fighter Command.

1943: Bomber Command returned from an overnight raid on Hamburg, Germany's most important port, having lost only twelve aircraft from a force of 791 bombers; the raid, the start of the Battle of Hamburg, had marked the first use by the RAF of Window : vast quantities of aluminium foil strips, backed with paper and blackened so as not to shine in searchlight beams, had been dropped by the bombers. The foil strips had been cut to the correct length to act as dipole reflectors for the German radar wavelengths as they slowly fluttered to earth. The result was unprecedented confusion in the Luftwaffe's air defence system, as radar screens were swamped by a mass of returns. The raid inflicted heavy damage on the city.

Target-markers dropped by the Pathfinders were sufficiently accurate to allow 2,284 tons of bombs to fall on the centre and north-west suburbs of the city in 50 minutes. However, a far more devastating raid was to follow a couple of days later.

Keen to exploit the advantages of Window before the Luftwaffe learnt to cope with it, the evening of 25 July saw Bomber Command set out for another high priority target, Essen, home to the vast Krupps armament complex. The Krupps works received its most damaging attack of the war; indeed, Dr Gustav Krupp was so horrified by the state of the factory the next morning that he suffered a stroke.

On This Day ... in 1900 & Others

Captain Howse, an Australian Medical Officer, won the Victoria Cross for going to the aid of a cavalryman wounded in action with the Boers. Howse's own horse was shot from under him, but he continued on foot, dressed the casualty's wounds, then carried him back to the British lines, all the time under fire.

1915: Commonwealth troops under Major General Gorringe defeated an Ottoman force at An Nasiriyah on the Euphrates, in modern Iraq.

1916: At Pozieres Ridge, Private Cooke of the Australian infantry conducted a lone defence with a Lewis Gun against a German counter-attack. The assault was driven off, but when relieving troops reached his position, they found him dead beside his machine-gun. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1918: On the Western Front, New Zealand infantry were held up by a formidable barbed wire obstacle, well covered by German guns. Sergeant Travis crawled forward alone and succeeded in demolishing the obstacle with grenades. He went on to destroy an enemy machine-gun nest. His bravery earned him the Victoria Cross, but he was killed in action the following day.

1920: During fighting against Arab rebels in Mesopotamia, Captain Henderson, of The Manchester Regiment, led repeated charges against a difficult position, despite being wounded. The final charge succeeded, but cost Henderson his life. He was awarded a posthumous VC.

1940: A major air combat was fought above a pair of convoys off North Foreland.

1941: Following the immediate limited response the previous evening to the discovery that Scharnhorst had moved south from Brest to La Pallice, Bomber Command launched a much larger attack against both the battlecruiser and her erstwhile consorts Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen. 100 bombers were sent to attack them in Brest, while 15 Halifax aircraft headed for Scharnhorst. The Brest raid was led by three of the newly received US-built Flying Fortresses at very high altitude: it was hoped that these would attract the attention of the German fighters, leaving a clear run for the main force, since only three squadrons of Spitfires with drop tanks were available for escort duties. Blenheims meanwhile launched a diversionary attack on Cherbourg.

The Brest attack went broadly as planned, although the German fighters were not as distracted as hoped: the Flying Fortresses returned safely, but 12 Wellingtons and Hampdens were lost. Hits were claimed on Gneisenau. The La Pallice raid succeeded, but at a high price: one-third of the Halifaxes were lost, and the other ten all received damage. Five bombs hit Scharnhorst. Although the damage was relatively light, she did suffer extensive flooding and the attack convinced the Germans that she was safer at Brest, where the defences and repair facilities were far better.

1945: On Bougainville Island in the Solomons, Australian troops mopping up Japanese positions encountered a bunker network which caused heavy casualties. Private Partridge was badly wounded, but pressed on alone to break into two bunkers in succession, killing their occupants, before collapsing from his wounds. He received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1340 & Others

During a campaign in the Garonne valley, an English army (largely in fact recruited from local Gascons), stormed the market town of Mezin. However, after this success, the campaign slowed, and they failed to take the more important town of Condom before French reinforcements arrived.

1916: British and Australian troops began an offensive at Pozieres Ridge during the Battle of the Somme. The village of Pozieres itself fell to Australian troops in the first hour, but the ridge, heavily fortified, took another two weeks to fall. Two Australians were awarded the Victoria Cross for their gallantry on the first day: Second Lieutenant Blackburn led a succession of difficult attacks which took over 350 yards of German trench-lines, while Private Leak distinguished himself as a bomber, at one point eliminating at close-quarters a rival enemy grenade team.

1940: Luftwaffe activity continued to be rather sporadic both by day and night.

1941: Reconnaissance detected that the Scharnhorst had left her consorts Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen in Brest, and had slipped south to the small port of La Pallice. An attempt had been made to conceal her absence by the substitution of a large tanker, covered with camouflage netting. Fearing that she might be about to attempt an Atlantic raid, six Bomber Command Stirlings braved the German defences in an unsuccessful evening attack; one failed to return.

1944: After two months concentrating its efforts on supporting the Normandy landings, Bomber Command resumed operations against German cities and industry, launching 629 aircraft against Kiel. The German defences were caught off-guard by the change in focus, and further confused by effective radio counter-measures conducted by the specialist aircraft of 100 Group. Only four Lancasters were lost. The bombing was particularly effective, with every major U-boat yard hit.

On This Day ... in 1298 & Others

Edward I's army met with William Wallace's Scots forces at Falkirk. The English army had suffered shortages of supplies during its campaign north of the border, but remained a formidable force. Wallace's defensive schiltrons of spearmen resisted the initial charge by the English cavalry, but a Scots contingent under John Comyn quit the field, and the remaining troops fell victim to a combination of Welsh archery and renewed cavalry attacks. Wallace was one of the few to escape, fleeing into obscurity for seven years before finally being captured and executed.

1812: Advancing into Spain, Wellington's allied army manoeuvred around encountered Marshal Marmont's French troops near Salamanca. Well matched in strength, the two armies manoeuvred for several weeks, each seeking a tactical advantage. On the morning of 22 July, Marmont thought he detected an opportunity and attacked. However, Wellington was well prepared: he held Pakenham's 3rd Division and the cavalry in reserve, and seeing that the French were over-extending themselves in the advance, unleashed them. Additional troops were thrown in, although the French defeated attacks by Cole's 4th Division and Pack's Portuguese. Marmont had fallen wounded, and Clausel assumed command. He attempted one last counter-attack, but this broke upon Clinton's 6th Division. Although overshadowed by Waterloo, Salamanca was perhaps Wellington's most accomplished display of tactical skill. He lost some 5,000 men, inflicting losses of 14,000 on the French.

1940: The Special Operations Executive was established, "to set Europe alight", under the direction of the Minister for Economic Warfare, Hugh Dalton.

Luftwaffe activity during the daytime was less than previous days, but reached significant levels during the night, with both widespread bombing and extensive minelaying operations.

1942: Thwarted in their attempts to take Port Moresby in New Guinea by amphibious landing, the Japanese attempted to advance across the Owen Stanley Mountains along the Kokoda Trail. They encountered determined resistance from Australian troops in what proved a long and appalling fight in the most difficult of terrain; mountainous rain forests. The Japanese advanced to within 30 miles of Port Moresby in September, before being driven back. Fighting continued until November.

In the Western Desert, Australian troops encountered heavy machine-gun fire as they advanced. Private Gurney attacked alone, and bayoneted in turn the crews of two machine-gun nests. He then disappeared from sight, heading for a third. His attacks made possible an advance by his comrades, who found his body some hours later. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... 1336 & Others

Edward III launched a pre-emptive attack on Scotland before Philip VI of France's plans to reinforce his Scottish allies could be brought to fruition. With less than a thousand men, Edward hurried north towards Aberdeen, thought the most likely port for the French to head for. The Scottish troops under Murray were caught completely off guard and had to abandon their seige of Lochindurb, held for Edward by the Countess of Atholl. Having burnt Forres and Elgin, Edward reached Aberdeen on 21 July and razed it to the ground.

1855: Corporal John Ross, Royal Engineers, was put in charge of a working party to undertake the dangerous task of digging at night a siege trench close to the Russian fortifications at Sevastopol. By dawn, he and his men had established a protected position offering some security from Russian fire. For this and subsequent acts during the siege, including reconnaissance work, he received the Victoria Cross.

1940: A Channel convoy was the main focus of attacks by the Luftwaffe. Fairey Battles which had survived the debacle in France commenced attacks on German barge concentrations.

On This Day ... in 1304 & Others

Stirling Castle surrendered to Edward I after a four-month siege, marking his successful conquest of Scotland. However, this was only to remain unchallenged for less than two years when Robert the Bruce rebelled.

1916: On the Western Front, five Victoria Crosses were won.

Major Congreve, Rifle Brigade, was killed after a fortnight's distinguished leadership in the front line as a Brigade Major, leading medical teams and reinforcements during heavy barrages and gas attacks.

Private Veale, Devonshire Regiment, found a man wounded in No Man's Land. An initial rescue attempt failed, so Veale led out a second rescue party after dark, and himself fought off a German patrol while his comrades carried the casualty back to safety.

Corporal Davies, Royal Welch Fusiliers, showed outstanding leadership when his section became separated from the rest of the unit and were surrounded by Germans. They beat off two German attacks, then attacked the Germans themselves, routing them.

Private Hill of the same battalion similarly found himself on his own facing at least 20 Germans. He killed most of them and drove the rest away, then rescued a wounded officer from No Man's Land.

Private Faulds of the South African Infantry, who had two days earlier rescued a wounded man from No Man's Land, again went out into the open under heavy artillery and small arms fire to bring back to safety a casualty.

1918: In France, Sergeant Meikle, Seaforth Highlanders, despite only being armed with a revolver and a stout stick, charged a German machine-gun and killed its crew. He then took a wounded man's rifle and charged a second machine-gun, but was killed as he reached the position. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: The Luftwaffe continued to mount attacks on shipping and the Channel ports.

1941: BBC radio adopted its V-for-Victory callsign for broadcasts to Occupied Europe, using - with a fine sense of irony - the opening bars to Beethoven's Fifth.

On This Day ... in 1333 & Others

Sir Archibald Douglas led a Scots army in an attempt to relieve Berwick, besieged by the English under Edward III, who was fighting to place his preferred candidate, Edward Balliol, on the Scottish throne. However, an assault on the English position atop Halidon Hill, proved a massacre; the Scots attacked across a bog and up the hillside in the face of English archers. The English reputedly lost just fourteen men, the Scots lost nearly 600 nobles and gentry, including Douglas himself, plus an unknown number of common soldiers, many of whom were killed in a ruthless pursuit or drowned trying to flee into the sea.

1553: 15-year-old Lady Jane Grey was deposed as Queen of England after claiming the crown for nine days. King Henry VIII's daughter Mary was proclaimed Queen

1812: British forced launched an unsuccessful attack on Sacketts Harbor during the War of 1812

1940: Fighter Command fought two major engagements with the Luftwaffe in the Dover area: the first tragically demonstrated the vulnerability of the Boulton-Paul Defiant turret-fighter, six being lost to German fighters.

In the Mediterranean, the Italian cruisers Bartolomeo Colleoni and Bande Nere, en route to the Dodecanese, sighted four Royal Navy destroyers in the early morning and pursued them north in very rough seas. The Italians were unaware that the Australian cruiser HMAS Sydney and a fifth RN destroyer lay in wait off Cape Spada, Crete.

On spotting the additional ships, the Italians turned to run south, while all six RN and RAN vessels attacked. Colleoni's steering was damaged and, unable to manoeuvre effectively, she was sunk by torpedoes. Bande Nere escaped damaged to Benghazi, as Sydney's ammunition ran low.

In the USA, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the second Naval Expansion Act. The "Two Ocean Navy Expansion Act" will provided an additional 1,325,000 tons of warships and 15,000 naval aircraft.

The US fleet would then number 35 battleships, 20 carriers and 88 cruisers

On This Day (Part 2) ... in 1969

A car driven by Edward M. Kennedy who was drunk at the time, plunged off a bridge on Chappaquiddick Island near Martha's Vineyard. The only passenger in the car Mary Jo Kopechne died. Kennedy has never faced charges over the incident, but much hilarity has ensued ever since

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

During fighting at Delhi, Lieutenant Richard Wadeson of the 75th Regiment twice went to the aid of wounded men, killing the mutineers who were attacking them.

His citation reads

"Richard Wadeson, Lieutenant, 75th Regiment. Date of Act of Bravery: 18th July, 1857. For conspicuous bravery at Delhi on the 18th July, 1857, when the regiment was engaged in the Subjee Mundee, in having saved the life of Private Michael Farrell, when attacked by a sowar of the enemy`s cavalry, and killed the sowar. Also on the same day for rescuing Private John Barry, of the same regiment, when wounded and helpless, he was attacked by a cavalry sowar, whom Lieut. Wadeson killed."

Wadeson went on to reach the rank of Colonel

Colour Sergeant Coughlan of the same Regiment had previously distinguished himself by rescuing a wounded man in June. On this day he led an attack through heavy fire, broke into a position held by mutineers, and wiped them out, then went back through the enemy fire to bring up stretcher-bearers to carry away the wounded.

An account of his bravery on 18 July in the London Gazette read: "Colour Sgt Coughlan encouraged a party who hesitated to charge down a lane raked by a cross-fire, then entering with the said party, into an enclosure filled with the enemy, destroyed every man; for having also on the same occasion returned under a cross-fire to collect dhoolies [early stretchers] to carry off the wounded." Queen Victoria felt moved to write a personal letter to Sgt Major Coughlan on hearing about his act of bravery.

Both men received the Victoria Cross.

1940: The Battle of Britain saw occasional skirmishes around the UK coastline.

1944: Land, air and sea power were brought together for Operation Goodwood, an attempt by the British Second Army to break through the German defences in Normandy. Bomber Command, supported by some USAAF aircraft, was tasked with conducting a massive air bombardment on German troops in the target area east of Caen, with warships and artillery units shelling enemy anti-aircraft defences to suppress them.

942 RAF bombers dropped over 5,000 tons of bombs on the 21st Panzer Division and 16th Luftwaffe Field Division at dawn. Only six aircraft were lost to anti-aircraft fire, despite the relatively low altitude at which the attack was conducted.

The initial thrust led by the Guards, 7th and 11th Armoured Divisions made good progress through the shattered German positions, but then found itself constrained by minefields and bottle-necks at bridges, and facing mounting resistance. After two days heavy fighting and the loss of 413 tanks, the attack was called off. It had, however, helped distract the Germans while US forces mounted their break-out under Operation Cobra.

On This Day ... in 1337 & Others

The first French success in their attack on the English-owned province of Aquitaine came with the capture of Puymirol, when the townspeople surrendered in return for a promise from the French Crown of a right to hold an annual fair on St Foy's Day.

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.

On This Day ... in 1779 & Others

Shortly after midnight, some 1,200 American revolutionary troops under General Wayne launched a successful surprise attack on the British positions at Stony Point, north of New York.

Wayne, marching south from the West Point area, split his forces into three sections. The main attacks came from the north and south with a diversionary center skirmish. General Wayne commanded the soldiers to attack with weapons unloaded and fixed bayonets in order to prevent an untimely shot from destroying the element of surprise. His men wore pieces of white paper pinned to their hats so they could tell each other apart in the darkness. The lightly armed Americans forced the surprised British garrison to surrender in less than an hour.

A few days later, the Continentals, not having enough men to defend the new position, were forced to abandon the fort though capturing large amounts of stores, cannon, and winning a resounding political victory. The British reoccupied the post only to abandon it shortly after as the Revolution transitioned to the southern colonies. For this exploit, General Wayne was awarded a medal by congress, one of the few issued during the Revolution.

1857: During a fierce action at Cawnpore, the British infantry had suffered heavily at the hands of mutineer artillery. One mutineer heavy gun remained in action as the infantry prepared to advance once more. To encourage the men, Lieutenant Havelock rode his horse slowly forward at their head, placing himself deliberately in the gun's path. Despite its fire, he and his survived unscathed and the troops following closed and rushed the gun. Havelock was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: Bad weather continued to hamper Luftwaffe operations. RAF Blenheims attacked German airfields and barge concentrations.

Directive No. 16 was issued by Hitler. "I have decided to begin to prepare for, and if necessary to carry out, an invasion of England."

In the Mediterranean, Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy ships bombarded the Libyan port of Bardia, a key Italian position. Malta was again attacked by Italian bombers, and, after a month of operations, one of the defending Gladiators was shot down. The pilot, Flt Lt Keeble, was killed, the first RAF pilot to be killed in action in defence of the island.

1941: 36 Blenheims from Bomber Command attacked the docks at Rotterdam at very low level. Four were lost to intense anti-aircraft fire, but 22 ships were damaged.

1944: In Italy, the British 6th Armoured and 2nd New Zealand Divisions took the German defensive position at Arezzo during heavy fighting.

1945: Allied scientists successfully completed the first atomic bomb test at Alamogordo, New Mexico

1979: Saddam Hussein became president of Iraq

On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

Having constructed himself a punt and an explosive mine, Bosun's Mate Sheppard, serving with the Naval Brigade ashore in the Crimea, attempted to penetrate the Russian harbour defences at Sevastopol. He avoided the patrolling gunboats, but then encountered a large number of boats, whom it was impossible to get past undetected and was forced to turn back. He made another attempt on 16 August, but was similarly frustrated. However, he was awarded the Victoria Cross for his gallant efforts.

1940: Bad weather forced a low level of Luftwaffe activity, with limited raids around the coast.

1942: Sergeant Elliott led a platoon of New Zealand infantry in an attack on Axis positions in the Western Desert. They were met by machine-gun fire, and Elliott was wounded in the chest. However, he and his men pressed home the attack at bayonet point, capturing four machine-guns and an anti-tank gun, killing seven opponents and capturing 130 enemy. Elliott received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1099 & Others

The First Crusade, led by Godfrey de Bouillon, Duke of Lower Lotharingia, took Jerusalem by storm. After the capture of the city, the Crusaders killed all of its Muslim and Jewish residents, despite previous promises that they would be spared.

1916: On the Western Front, an attack by a battalion of the Northamptonshire Regiment on an enemy-held wood became pinned down by a German machine-gun, suffering heavy casualties. Sergeant Boulter, despite being wounded, pressed on in the open against the German position and used hand grenades to force the enemy gun crew to retreat. The battalion was then able to resume its advance and captured the wood successfully. Boulter was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: During the Battle of Britain, Channel convoys remained the Luftwaffe's main target.

On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

In the Gulf of Finland, during the Crimean War, the Royal Navy launched an attack with small boats on the Russian fort at Viborg. A cutter from HMS Arrogant was badly damaged by enemy fire, and drifted out of control, her crew killed or wounded. A wounded sailor, George Ingouville, dived into the water and, despite his injuries, tried to pull the boat out to sea.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant Dowell of the Royal Marines had spotted the cutter's plight, and set out with a boat from HMS Ruby. Under fire, he succeeded in rescuing the wounded men from the cutter, pulled Ingouville from the water, then towed the damaged boat to safety. Ingouville and Dowell each received the Victoria Cross.

1900: The Naval Brigade, comprised of sailors and Royal Marines fighting ashore, attacked rebel Chinese positions at Tientsin during the Boxer Rebellion. A rating fell wounded in the open, and Midshipman Guy stopped to tend his wounds. Guy then tried to carry the man to safety, but was unable to lift him. He therefore went back to fetch help and returned with a stretcher party, all the time under fire. They managed to get the casualty into the stretcher, but as they carried him away, he was hit again and this time killed. Guy's efforts were rewarded with the Victoria Cross.

1940: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe again targeted shipping in the Channel convoys, leading to several combats with Fighter Command patrols.

On This Day ... in 1691 & Others

William III's troops won the Battle of Aughrim against French and Irish troops, finally securing the defeat of the Jacobite cause in Ireland.

1801: Off Algeciras, Sir James Saumarez avenged the loss a few days before of HMS Hannibal during a fight with shore batteries. Although his other ships had also suffered damage, he succeeded in repairing them with remarkable speed at Gibraltar, and returned unexpectedly to Algeciras. There he caught a Franco-Spanish squadron at night and took three ships of the line, including two Spanish First Rate three-deckers.

1940: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe continued their offensive against Channel convoys, while one lone bomber raided Aberdeen before being shot down.

1943: 295 Lancasters from Bomber Command raided Turin, flying the long return route across France and the Alps. Good weather allowed accurate bombing. Thirteen Lancasters failed to return, including that piloted by Wing Commander Nettleton, who had won the Victoria Cross fifteen months previously during the low-level Augsburg Raid.

On This Day ... in 1708 & Others

The Duke of Malborough marched his 80,000 strong British, Dutch, Hanoverian and Prussian army to the aid of the garrison of the key fortress of Oudenarde in Belgium, which the French commanders de Vendome and Burgundy aimed to take with 80,000 French and Spanish troops. Marlborough did not wait for his full strength to arrive before forcing the start of the action, both armies deploying off the march.

The terrain, particularly the presence of two rivers, limited both sides' scope to manoeuvre during bloody fighting. The French and Spanish flanks collapsed, and they were forced to withdraw, losing substantial numbers of men as prisoners.

1882: A Royal Navy squadron commanded by Admiral Sir Beauchamp Seymour bombarded Alexandria, following the rise to power of Colonel Arabi, opposed to European influence in Egypt; a riot in the city in June claimed the lives of fifty Europeans. The Royal Navy guns won the duel with the Egyptian shore batteries, and Arabi evacuated his troops from the city. Seymour landed seamen and Royal Marines three days later to restore order.

During the action, HMS Alexandra was hit by a 10 inch shell which failed to explode on impact. Israel Harding, a gunner, rushed to the shell, which had come to rest above the companionway leading to the magazine, picked it up and threw it in a tub of water to render it safe. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, his action having probably saved the ship from a catastrophic explosion.

1900: At Krugersdorp, Captains Younger and Gordon of the Gordon Highlanders led a small party to rescue artillery equipment under heavy Boer fire. They managed to drag an ammunition caisson under cover, but Younger was mortally wounded attempting then to rescue the guns themselves. Gordon then abandoned the attempt and succeeded in getting other wounded men back to the British lines. Both officers were awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: During the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe mounted significant attacks on the naval facilities at Portland and Portsmouth.

1941: After five weeks of fighting, which cost 3,900 British, Indian, Australian and Free French casualties, the Vichy French forces in Syria surrendered.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

Lieutenant William Alexander Kerr of the 24th Bombay Native Infantry won the Victoria Cross during the Indian Mutiny.

The 27th Bombay N.I. mutinied in July 1857, and a large body of them made for the stronghold of Kolapore, midway between Belgaum and Satara. Lieutenant Kerr, then Adjutant of the Southern Mahratta Horse, quickly followed them up for eighty miles. On reaching the mutineers place of defence, he with a few of his men, made a dash at the gate and broke it down. All within it were killed, wounded or captured, a result due to his heroic dash and bravery. The mutiny was thus practically at one stroke stamped out on the Malabar Coast.

Had there been more men of calibre at some of the military stations in India at that time, the Mutiny would probably have been checked at its outbreak and might never have assumed such awful proportions in so short a time.

1911: The Royal Australian Navy was formed, the first of the Dominion and Commonwealth navies. Australia had previously maintained an assortment of minor warships for local maritime defence since the 1850s.

1940: The Battle of Britain is generally regarded to have begun on 10 July, as the Luftwaffe stepped up its attacks on coastal shipping in the Channel.

1941: In one of the closing actions against the Vichy forces in the Lebanon and Syria, Private Gordon of the 2/31st Australian Battalion stalked a French machine-gun that had pinned down fellow troops, and wiped out its crew. He received the Victoria Cross.

1943: As dawn broke over Sicily, British and Commonwealth troops from Eighth Army landed in the east of the island, whilst Patton's Seventh US Army landed in the west. While the US troops faced a dangerous armoured counter-attack, Montgomery's forces quickly established themselves ashore, taking the port of Syracuse on the first day.

1944: During an attack on German positions in Italy, a section led by Naik Yeshwant Ghadge, 5th Mahratta Light Infantry, came under sudden heavy machine-gun fire, which killed or wounded every man in the unit except the Naik himself. He immediately charged the machine-gun, and knocked it out with a grenade. He then proceeded to eliminate the crew in a vicious close-quarter fight - when his magazine ran out, he clubbed the two remaining defenders to death with his rifle butt. Having taken the position, he was spotted by an enemy sniper and shot dead. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

During the siege of Delhi, mutineer cavalry attacked a position held by Second Lieutenant Hills.

He counter-charged alone on his horse, but was overwhelmed and dismounted. He continued to fight on foot, but was wounded in the head. He was rescued by the arrival of Major Tombs,

who slew two of Hills' opponents. Both men were awarded the Victoria Cross, as was Private Thompson who rescued his company commander when surrounded by a large number of enemy. Hills was promoted Lieutenant General 20 January 1886 & Tombs achieved the rank of Major General

1917: The battleship HMS Vanguard blew up at Scapa Flow, with only three survivors from the 670 personnel on board. The cause of the blast was never ascertained and the ship is now subject to the Protection of Military Remains Act, passed in 1986.

1941: After heavy fighting in the Lebanon, the Vichy French base at Damour was taken, opening the way for an advance on Beirut. The Vichy forces sought an armistice.

1943: 2,590 Allied ships headed for Sicily to mount the first amphibious assault on Occupied Europe - Operation Husky - while transport aircraft and gliders from North African bases inserted troops from the British 1st Airborne and US 82nd Airborne Divisions, beginning half an hour before midnight. Montgomery's Eighth Army was to land the following morning in the east of the island, its principal objective being the key port of Syracuse, while Patton's Seventh Army was to land in the west to secure key airfields. The weather was not friendly, a gale starting to build, causing much discomfort to the troops embarked on the ships, and playing havoc with gliders, paratroopers and the smaller classes of landing craft. Of 147 British gliders, only 12 landed anywhere near their target, two were shot down, and 69 were lost with their occupants over the sea; 252 men drowned.

1944: In Burma, Major Blaker of the Highland Light Infantry, commanding a Gurkha company, led an attack through very heavy machine-gun fire against a key Japanese position. Despite being severely wounded, he pressed home the attack, falling mortally wounded in front of the machine-guns, where he continued to urge his men on. The Gurkhas took the position and Blaker was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1758 & Others

Major General James Abercromby attempted to capture the French Fort Carillon at Ticonderoga on Lake Champlain.

Next morning, (July 8th), he again advanced the attack, his operations being hastened by information obtained from the prisoners that General Levi, with 3000 men, was advancing to succour Ticonderoga. Alarmed at the report of this unexpected reinforcements, the General determined to strike a decisive blow before a junction could be effected. When the troops marched up to the entrenchments, they were surprised to find a regularly fortified breast-work, which could not be approached without the greatest exertions, particularly as the artillery had not yet been brought up. Unexpected and disheartening as these obstructions were, the troops displayed the greatest resolution, though exposed to a most destructive fire, from an enemy well covered and enabled to take deliberate aim, with little danger to themselves. The Highlanders, impatient at being left in the rear, could not be restrained, and rushing forward from the reserve, were soon in the front, endeavouring to cut their way through the trees with their broadswords.

No ladders had been provided for scaling the breast-work. The soldiers were obliged to climb up on each other's shoulders, and by fixing their feet in the holes which they had made with their swords and bayonets in the face of the work, while the defenders were so well prepared that the instant a man reached the top, he was thrown down. At length, after great exertions, Captain John Campbell, with a few men, forced their way over the breast-work, but were immediately dispatched with the bayonet. The General, despairing of success, gave orders for a retreat; but, the Highlanders in particular were so obstinate, that it was not till after the third order from the General that the commanding officer, Colonel Grant, was able to prevail upon them to retreat, leaving on the field more than one-half of the men, and two-thirds of the officers, either killed or desperately wounded.

The attack failed disastrously against an alert defence amidst difficult terrain, despite British numerical superiority.

1941: Bomber Command conducted the first ever operational sorties of the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress. A small number of the Mark C model had been delivered by the United States under Lend-Lease, equipping 90 Squadron. There were hopes that the aircraft, with its heavy defensive armament, would be suitable for unescorted daylight raids. Three aircraft were dispatched on 8 July to bomb Wilhelmshaven. Two achieved accurate bombing on the docks, and all three returned safely.

1942: One year on, Wilhelmshaven was once again the target for a Bomber Command raid, this time conducted at night with 285 aircraft.

Some damage was done, but many of the bombs fell to the west of the town.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

During an Indian Mutiny action, Gunner Connolly of the Bengal Horse Artillery was hit in the leg by a musket ball. Despite his wound, he stayed in action, driving his gun team forward to a new firing point. He was wounded again, but continued to help load the gun until a third wound rendered him unconscious. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Elsewhere, at Lucknow, Lieutenant Lawrence led an attack on an enemy held building from which it was feared a mine was being dug forward under the British positions. He also received the VC.

1846: Commodore John D. Sloat USN landed at Monterey and claimed California for US

1858: Frederick N. Gisbourne started laying underwater telegraph cable from Ireland to Newfoundland

1865: Four people were hanged Washington DC for conspiring with John Wilkes Booth to assassinate President Lincoln

1898: The USA annexed Hawaii

1917: In Belgium, intelligence was received that a German raid was planned on British positions held by the Durham Light Infantry. Although wounded, Second Lieutenant Youens immediately set about organising a Lewis Gun team to repel the attack. Whilst so doing, a German grenade landed amongst the men. Youens immediately picked it up and threw it safely aware. However, a second grenade followed, and when Youens picked this up, it exploded in his hand, fatally wounding him. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1940: French Admiral Godefroy agreed to allow his ships to be demobilized in British controlled Egypt. The battleship Lorraine, 4 cruisers, 3 destroyers and a submarine surrendered themselves.

While this was going on the Alexandria, Admiral Cunningham sailed from the same port with HMS Warspite, HMS Malaya, HMS Royal Sovereign, HMS Eagle, cruisers and destroyers to cover convoys from Malta to Alexandria and to challenge the Italians to action

Meanwhile, the French battleship Richelieu was attacked in Dakar by British forces and damaged.

1941: As part of the continuing campaign against enemy shipping conducted by Coastal Command, reinforced by 2 Group of Bomber Command, Blenheims of 105 and 139 Squadrons attacked at very low-level a heavily defended convoy off the Dutch coast. Two ships were sunk, for the loss of three of the Blenheims.

The anti-shipping missions of the period proved some of the most dangerous that RAF pilots undertook during the war: attacks were pressed home at below mast height without fighter escort in the face of special flak-ships and Luftwaffe fighters. Loss rates amongst the attackers often reached 25%. The campaign took its toll, however, of ships supplying Germany with vital commodities which could only come by sea, such as iron ore from Sweden and fish products from Norway.

That night, during a raid on Munster, Sergeant Ward, Royal New Zealand Air Force, of 75 (NZ) Squadron RAF, crawled out on the wing of a Wellington bomber over Germany to extinguish a fire in the starboard engine. He had to punch holes in the wing's fabric to hold onto in a 150mph slipstream. The aircraft returned safely to the UK and he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Ward was killed on operations in September 1941.

1944: In the Marianas, carrier based aircraft from Task Group 53.7 (five escort aircraft carriers) and Task Force 58, began the first of daily systematic attacks against Japanese installations on Guam.

1958: President Eisenhower signed the Alaska statehood bill

1978: The Solomon Islands gained their independence from the United Kingdom.

On This Day ... in 1782 & Others

Rear Admiral Edward Hughes and the French commander Suffren clashed once again in the Indian Ocean, in an action off Cuddalore.

1904: To counteract feared Russian influence in Lhasa, the Younghusband expedition was dispatched to Tibet in may 1904. On 6 July, a company of Gurkhas in the force stormed a gorge, having to attack up a cliff-face, down which rocks were constantly hurled at them. The route up was only wide enough for one man at a time. Lieutenant Grant and a Gurkha NCO made it to the top, but were promptly thrown back down the incline and injured. Undaunted, they tried again, and this time managed to drive the defenders back. Grant was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1908: Commander Robert Peary sailed from New York in the Roosevelt to explore Arctic.

1917: Arab forces led by T.E. Lawrence captured the port of Aqaba from the Turks.

1918: On the Western Front, Corporal Brown of the 20th Australian (New South Wales) Battalion attacked a machine-gun post on his own and with the threat of a grenade, forced the surrender of its twelve defenders. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1923: The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was formed.

1938: Russia and Great Britain signed hew naval protocol because of reported Japanese naval construction.

1940: The French navy announced that because of the Royal Navy’s attack on their ships, French naval officers were prohibited from wearing British medals.

1941: Following a similar experiment the previous day, Bomber Command dispatched a small formation of the new Stirling heavy bombers

in daylight against Lille and the shipyards at Le Trait with a strong fighter escort provided by Hawker Hurricanes

In the Lebanon, fierce fighting continued between Commonwealth and Free French forces on the one side and Vichy troops on the other. Lieutenant Cutler of the Australian artillery suffered a severe wound which cost him a leg. For his distinguished gallantry on repeated occasions over the previous three weeks, including defeating a tank attack and repairing a vital field telephone line during a barrage, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

The American transports USS Munargo and USAT Cheaeau Thierry arrived at Tungugdliarfik Fjord, Greenland, to begin construction of an air base at Narsarssuak; this was designated Bluie West One (BW-1).

Bluie was the code name for Greenland and W-1 indicated that this was the first base constructed on the west coast of Greenland; bases on the east coast were designated BE-numeric.

Also debarking from the freighter SS Siboney were a small cadre of Army Airways Communications System (AACS) personnel. AACS had been tasked with supporting the Air Corps Ferrying Command's flights across the North Atlantic by providing communications services to disseminate weather information and navigational aids. AACS detachments had already established sites at Gander, Newfoundland, in March 1941 and Goose Bay, Labrador; BW-1 went on the air on 21 August. By November 1941, AACS had established stations as far to the east as Reykjavik, Iceland.

1945: Nicaragua became the first nation to formally accept the United Nations Charter

On This Day ... in 1900 & Others

In South Africa, a troop of Canadian cavalry from Lord Strathcona's Horse skirmished with a superior number of Boers. One man fell badly wounded from his horse, but was rescued under heavy fire by Sergeant Richardson, who was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1916: On the Somme, advancing troops from the Yorkshire Regiment came under heavy fire from a German machine-gun at close range. Second Lieutenant Bell stalked the gun and knocked it out with revolver, then led an attack which secured fifty prisoners. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but died in action five days later. He is the only professional footballer ever to receive the VC, having played for Crystal Palace, Newcastle and Bradford before enlisting in 1914.

A posthumous Victoria Cross was also awarded to Lieutenant Wilkinson of the Loyal North Lancashire Regiment, who was killed rescuing a casualty from No Man's Land, having previously defeated an enemy counter-attack, and struggled forward with a machine-gun to the German trenches to secure the advance.

1942: A Coastal Command Wellington scored the first sinking of a U-boat with the Leigh Light. Although the development of airborne radar allowed Coastal Command aircraft to detect U-boats recharging their batteries on the surface at night, the minimum range of the early radars often exceeded the maximum visual range at which the submarine could be identified and attacked. Squadron Leader Leigh successfully developed a powerful airborne searchlight that could be fitted beneath a Wellington, and, cued by the radar operator, switched on to illuminate the target on the attack run.

On This Day ... in 1776 & Others

Representatives of the thirteen American colonies in rebellion against the rule of George III signed a declaration of independence at Philadelphia, formalising the revolution which had commenced 15 months previously.

1879: Lord Chelmsford's army of 5,300 British and African troops attacked Cetshwayo's capital at Ulundi, advancing in a square formation. Some 20,000 Zulus charged to protect the kraal, but the superior British firepower inflicted about 6,000 fatalities, for the loss of only ten British troops. The power of the Zulu kingdom was destroyed.

1901: In South Africa, Trooper Crandon of the 18th Hussars went back to help a comrade who had been wounded along with his horse. Under heavy Boer fire, Crandon gave the casualty his own horse, and had to run back over 1,000 yards on foot to safety. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1915: South-west of Ireland, the military horse transport Anglo-Californian, commanded by Lieutenant Parslow RNR, was attacked on the surface by a U-boat. Knowing that escorts had been dispatched to his aid, Parslow refused to abandon ship and although defenceless, prolonged the fight as long as he could. Exposed on the bridge, he was hit by enemy fire and killed. He was awarded a posthomous VC.

1918: Australian troops attacked at Hamel Wood, two Victoria Crosses being won. Private Dalziel, a machine-gun loader, went forward with just a revolver to take out successfully a fortified German strong-point which was holding up the advance, then, despite being wounded, braved enemy fire to bring up to the front line additional ammunition. He was eventually wounded in the head and evacuated. Lance-Corporal Axford mounted a similar lone attack on a group of enemy machine-guns, killing ten gunners with the bayonet and taking the rest prisoner.

1940: As German aircraft increased their attacks on shipping in the English Channel, raids began to be mounted on Channel ports as well. At Portland, HMS Foylebank came under heavy attack. A bomb explosion smashed one of Leading Seaman Mantle's legs, but he ignored his injuries to continue manning his anti-aircraft gun until he died of loss of blood. He was awarded a posthumous VC.

His citation reads:
Leading Seaman Jack Mantle was in charge of the Starboard pom-pom gun when HMS Foylebank was attacked by enemy aircraft on the 4th of July 1940. Early in the action his left leg was shattered by a bomb, but he stood fast at his gun and went on firing with hand-gear only: for the ship's electric power had failed. Almost at once he was wounded again in many places. Between his bursts of fire he had time to reflect on the grievous injuries of which he was soon to die but his great courage bore him up till the end of the fight, when he fell by the gun he had so valiantly served.

1941: RAF Blenheims were dispatched on daylight raids against Norderney, a power station and chemical works at Choques, and Bremen. The Bremen raid, undertaken by twelve aircraft led by the Australian commanding officer of 105 Squadron, Wing Commander Edwards, encountered heavy anti-aircraft fire. Despite the loss of four aircraft, Edwards pressed home the attack at 50 feet. He was awarded the Victoria Cross for his steadfast leadership.

1942: Bomber Command helped the USAAF units beginning to arrive in Britain to mark Independence Day by mounting their first significant operation, lending six Boston light bombers to US aircrews awaiting delivery of their own aircraft from the USA. The six US crews joined six RAF crews in very low-level attacks on German airfields in the Netherlands. Met by intense anti-aircraft fire, two US and one RAF Bostons were lost.

1943: An RAF Liberator transport aircraft, carrying General Sikorski, the Polish Prime Minister in exile, crashed on take-off from Gibraltar. The only survivor was the pilot.

On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

One of the main Russian supply routes to the Crimea ran across a pontoon bridge at the Genitchi Straits in the Sea of Azov. Previous attempts by the Royal Navy to destroy the bridge had failed, but Seaman Trewavas of HMS Beagle was sent in a small boat to mount another effort. Rowed by colleagues to the bridge, he jumped aboard the bridge and proceeded to hack the cables holding it together, despite heavy fire from Russian sentries. Despite being wounded, he managed to break the bridge in two, and escaped in the boat. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1879: Following the disaster at Isandlwana, Lord Chelmsford led another force into Zululand against Cetshwayo's capital at Ulundi. Reconnaissance patrols skirmished with Zulu forces on 3 July, just outside the kraal. At one point, a British horse fell, trapping its rider. As Zulus rushed at the man, Captain the Lord Beresford of the 9th Lancers and Sergeant O'Toole of the Frontier Light Horse spurred to his aid and got him up behind Lord Beresford. The man was concussed, however, and had to be held in place by O'Toole galloping alongside as they headed for the British lines.

Captain d'Arcy of the Frontier Light Horse went to the aid of another rider similarly thrown from his horse. But when he tried to get the man into the saddle behind him, d'Arcy's horse objected and threw both of them off. D'Arcy tried frantically to get the other man onto the horse, but his double fall had left him unconscious, and d'Arcy reluctantly had to abandon him and save himself when the Zulus closed in. Beresford, d'Arcy and O'Toole all received the Victoria Cross for their heroic efforts.

1901: During a Boer War action, Lieutenant English of the 2nd Scottish Horse won the Victoria Cross for his outstanding leadership and courage, including a dash across open ground in front of Boer riflemen only 30 yards away to fetch more ammunition for his troop.

1915: At Gallipoli, Lieutenant James of the Worcestershire Regiment, who had already distinguished himself in action a few days previously, led a bombing party to spearhead an attack on a Turkish position. They took part of the Turkish trenches, but all of his men were killed or wounded. Alone, James held off enemy counter-attacks until the British forces had consolidated the defence of the newly won position behind him. He received the Victoria Cross.

1916: During the continuing heavy fighting of the Somme offensive, a bombing party from the Worcestershire Regiment was forced to retire by heavy German opposition. The officer leading the team had been badly wounded, and Private Turrall insisted on staying behind with him. Turrall both dressed the officer's wounds and fought a dogged single-handed battle with the enemy, holding them at bay for three hours. A British counter-attack then won an opportunity for Turrall to carry the officer back to the British lines. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: The Royal Navy reluctantly mounted Operation Catapult on the orders of Winston Churchill, to destroy the French fleet at Mers-el-Kebir and Oran on the Algerian coast to prevent it falling into German hands. The French Navy had refused four alternatives offered to them: to join the British outright; be interned in British ports; sail to French ports in the West Indies; or scuttle their own ships. The bombardment sank three battleships and cost some 1,300 French lives. The French ships and shore batteries returned fire, but failed to hit any British ships.

Along the Channel coasts, RAF Bomber Command Blenheims made their first attacks on barge concentrations, as the Germans began to muster shipping for a possible invasion of Britain.

1941: RAF Blenheims mounted daylight raids across the Channel, attacking a power station at Comines.

1942: The advance of Rommel's Axis forces into Egypt towards Alexandria and the Suez Canal was finally halted after three days of heavy fighting at the First Battle of El Alamein by General Auchinleck's Commonwealth troops. Unable to breach the British defences, and with supplies running short, the German and Italian troops began to dig their own defensive positions.

1950: Fleet Air Arm Firefly and Seafire aircraft from HMS Triumph and aircraft from USS Valley Forge flew the first naval air strikes of the Korean War. The Fleet Air Arm attacked Haeju airfield.

On This Day ... in 1944

After six days of painstaking and extremely dangerous work, a bomb disposal team led by Major Hudson, Royal Engineers, and two civilian scientists from the Ministry of Supply, Dr Dawson and Mr Hurst, succeeded in defusing a V-1 "doodlebug" that had crashed intact on a farm in Sussex. Three separate fuses in turn had to be made safe, one of them of a previously unknown design. Dawson and Hurst were awarded the George Medal, while Hudson received a Bar to the George Medal which he had been awarded for previous bomb disposal work.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

When mutineers launched a surprise attack at Indore, Colonel Travers led five men in a desperate attack on the enemy artillery, which won sufficient time for a loyal Bhopal regiment to muster for the defence, and European refugees to reach safety. Travers was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1914: The Naval Wing was separated from the Royal Flying Corps, adopting the title Royal Naval Air Service.

1915: Two Victoria Crosses were won at Gallipoli. Captain O'Sullivan, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, stood exposed on an enemy parapet to throw grenades with greater accuracy, eventually falling wounded. Sergeant Somers, from the same battalion, was also decorated for a bombing attack, during which he repeatedly braved enemy fire to run back to the British lines to fetch more grenades for his men.

1916: The Somme offensive was launched. Originally planned as a joint British-French attack, the continuing slaughter at Verdun in the south significantly reduced the French forces available to participate. Rawlinson's Fourth Army led the assault, supported by Allenby's Third Army in the north. Despite a huge preliminary bombardment, much of the German barbed wire and defences remained intact to meet the attackers with murderous fire. Some 60,000 casualties were suffered on the first day, 19,000 of them fatal: the bloodiest day in the British Army's history, and the worst losses suffered by any one side in a single day during the First World War.

Kitchener's New Army of volunteer battalions bore the brunt of the losses. Probably the worst hit, in percentage terms, was the 10th Battalion of the Prince of Wales' Own West Yorkshire Regiment, which lost 710 men killed and wounded. Newfoundland's small contingent suffered horrendously disproportionate losses: the Newfoundland Regiment suffered 91% casualties in less than 45 minutes.

Nine Victoria Crosses were won that day:

Major Loudon-Shand, The Yorkshire Regiment, mortally wounded whilst in the open helping his men climb over a German trench parapet to relative safety.

Captain Bell, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, was killed after mounting four successful lone attacks to eliminate German strong-points.

Captain Green, Royal Army Medical Corps, was killed attempting to bring in from No Man's Land a casualty, whose wounds he had previously dressed while under heavy fire in the open.

Sergeant Turnbull, Highland Light Infantry, was killed leading a grenade attack, having previously distinguished himself defending a captured position against repeated German counter-attacks.

Corporal Sanders, the Prince of Wales' Own West Yorkshire Regiment, who, cut off with a group of thirty men under his command, took an enemy position and organised a brilliant defence against heavy attack for thirty-six hours.

Private McFadzean, Royal Irish Rifles, who flung himself on two grenades which lost their safety pins whilst being handed out in a crowded trench. He was blown to pieces, but his body absorbed sufficient blast to ensure only one other man was wounded.

Private Quigg, Royal Irish Rifles, who over a seven hour period in No Man's Land rescued in turn seven wounded men despite the enemy barrage.

Drummer Ritchie, Seaforth Highlanders, who stood exposed on an enemy trench parapet, playing the Charge to rally men in the appalling confusion of No Man's Land.

In the air, Major Rees, 32 Squadron Royal Flying Corps, was attacked by ten German aircraft whilst flying a DH2 fighter. He drove off three opponents damaged, then attacked another pair until he ran out of ammunition, despite being badly wounded in the process and temporarily losing control of his aircraft. He returned safely.

1940: An RAF Hampden piloted by Flying Officer Guy Gibson dropped Bomber Command's heaviest bomb of the war to date - a 2,000 lb weapon - in a night dive-bombing attack on the Scharnhorst at Kiel. The bomb overshot and fell on the town.

1945: A major amphibious operation put the Australian 7th Division ashore at Balikpapan in Borneo.

On This Day ... in 1315 & Others

The Anglo-Irish defenders of Dundalk sortied from the town to attack Edward Bruce's Scots and Irish forces encamped outside. The men of Dundalk were driven back into the town and Bruce's men, following on their heels, were able to force their way in. Indiscriminate slaughter then ensued, fuelled by the Scots' consumption of large stocks of looted wine.

1643: Some 10,000 Royalist troops under the Earl of Newcastle advanced on Lord Fairfax's 4,000 Parliamentarians holding Bradford. Despite the odds, Fairfax led his troops out against Newcastle's men on Adwalton Moor, east of the town, and initially had the best of the fight. However, the Royalists broke his left wing, and a general rout ensued.

1857: Lieutenant Cubitt of the Bengal Native Infantry was awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the lives of three soldiers during an Indian Mutiny action. Corporal Oxenham of the 32nd Regiment also received the VC for rescuing a civil servant helping man the the defences at the Residency in Lucknow, after enemy fire brought part of the roof down on them.

1866: In the Gambia, British troops stormed the fortified town of Tubabecelong. Two soldiers from the 4th West Indian Regiment volunteered to lead the attack, and armed with axes, chopped a breach in the stockade. Heavy enemy fire killed one of them, but the other, Private Hodge, managed to widen the gap enough to allow his commanding officer to lead an assault party inside the defences. Hodge stayed with the colonel, and demolished with his axe two sets of gates to allow reinforcements to join them, despite being severely wounded in the process. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1916: In France, Company Sergeant Major Carter of the Royal Sussex Regiment led one of the follow-up waves during an assault on the German lines. Despite heavy casualties amongst his men, they passed through the first set of German trenches, captured by a previous wave, and attacked the second line of defences. They caused serious damage, and Carter, armed only with a revolver, killed a machine-gun crew. However, the British troops were forced back to the first line by weight of enemy numbers. Carter carried several wounded men to safety before being mortally wounded. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

His citation reads:

For most conspicuous bravery. During an Attack he was in command of the fourth wave of the assault. Under intense shell and machine gun fire he penetrated, with a few men, into the enemy's second line and inflicted heavy casualties with bombs. When forced to retire to the enemy's first line, he captured a machine gun and shot the gunner with his revolver. Finally, after carrying several wounded men into safety, he was himself mortally wounded and died in a few minutes. His conduct throughout the day was magnificent.

The following is a part of a letter written by Lieutenant Howard Robinson, Carter's Company Commander to Kathleen Carter, Nelson's wife.

When I last saw him he was close to the German line, acting as leader to a small party of four or five men. I was afterwards told that he had entered the German second line, and had brought back an enemy machine gun, having put the gun team out of action. I heard that he shot one of them with his revolver. I next saw him about an hour later ( I had been wounded in the meanwhile and was lying in our trench ). Your husband repeatedly went over the parapet. I saw him going over alone and carrying in our wounded men from 'No Man's Land'. He brought them in on his back, and he could not have done this had he not possessed exceptional physical strength as well as courage. It was in going over for the sixth or seventh time that the was shot through the chest. I saw him fall just inside our trench.

Somebody told me that about a month previously your husband carried a man about 400 yards across the open under machine gun fire and brought him safely into our trench. For this act I recommended him for the Military Cross. On every occasion, no matter how tight the hole we were in, he was always cheerful and hopeful, and never spared any pains to make the men comfortable and keep them cheery.

Colour Sergeant Nelson Carter is buried in the Royal Irish Rifles Churchyard, Laventie, France.

On This Day ... in 1942

US Army Air Force personnel joined the RAF in action against the Germans for the first time, when Captain Kegelman and three crewmen of the 15th Bombardment Squadron manned an RAF Boston bomber during an attack by 226 Squadron on the marshalling yards at Hazebrouck.

The twelve Bostons, escorted for the first time by the new Hawker Typhoon fighter

bombed from 13,000 feet, scoring hits on the yard itself, some sidings and a railway embankment. All the aircraft returned without loss.

Kegelman subsequently led with distinction the first formal US bombing mission on 4 July 1942, when six US crews joined six crews from 226 Sqn in attacks on German airfields in the Netherlands

On This Day ... in 1916 & Others

Private Hutchinson of the Lancashire Fusiliers was the first man into the German trenches during a raid on the Western Front, and he successfully led the way in the very dangerous work of trench clearance, killing several of the defenders at close quarters. When the raiders retired, Hutchinson acted as the rearguard, providing covering fire for the evacuation of the wounded, despite heavy enemy fire. He received the Victoria Cross.

1917: Lieutenant Wearne of the Essex Regiment led a trench raid which succeeded in capturing a German position. They then faced a heavy counter-attack, which threatened to take their left flank. Lieutenant Wearne left the safety of the trenches to attack the Germans with grenades. Despite being wounded, he inflicted heavy casualties and stabilised the defences until he suffered another two wounds which proved fatal. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1918: A German machine-gun inflicted heavy losses during an attack in France by Australian infantry. Corporal Davey braved the enemy fire to get close enough to attack the machine-gun position with grenades. He killed half the crew, but then had to withdraw to get some more grenades. Replenished, he worked his way back into range, but the machine-gun crew had by then been reinforced. Nevertheless, his attack this time proved successful, wiping out all the defenders. He then moved to the position and turned the machine-gun on German reinforcements that were moving up, staying in action until he suffered a severe wound. He received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1743 & 1942

King George II, commanding 35,000 British, Hanoverian and Hessian troops, defeated the French army of the Duc de Noailles, 26,000 strong, at Dettingen in Bavaria. It was the last time that a British monarch led an army in the field.

The French army held a strong defensive position, but the Duc de Noialles, bored of waiting for an attack, rashly launched one himself.

The battle was marked by ferocious cavalry actions. Cornet Richardson of the 7th Dragoon Guards suffered 37 wounds defending his Regiment's Standard. The flag survives to the present day, the oldest in the British Army, in the Regimental Museum of the Royal Dragoon Guards.

Trooper Thomas Brown of the 3rd Dragoons also distinguished himself in defence of Colours. Seeing his Regiment's standard being carried away in triumph by a French cavalryman after a fierce melee which left over half the Dragoons dead or wounded, and despite having had part of his left hand severed by a sword blow, Brown managed to retrieve the flag and fight his way back alone through the French lines, suffering six further wounds to the head and body. He was knighted on the spot by King George, along with the Earl of Stair and Colonel Campbell of the Scots Greys; the last time that knighthood was conferred on the field of battle.

Handel wrote the Dettingen Te Deum to celebrate the victory. The campaign was also marked by the agreement between the two sides to treat military hospitals as neutral sanctuaries, largely due to the efforts of Sir John Pringle, often regarded as the founder of modern military medicine.

1942: At Mersa Matruh in the Western Desert, a battalion of the Durham Light Infantry came under tank attack. Fire from the enemy tanks killed or wounded all the crew of a 2 pdr anti-tank gun. Nevertheless, one of them, Private Wakenshaw, despite having had his left arm blown off, continued to load and fire the gun alone, scoring hits on the tanks until a further enemy shell physically blew him away from the gun.

Wakenshaw crawled back to it, but then a third shell scored a direct hit on the ammunition stock, killing him and destroying the gun. Wakenshaw was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

His citation reads ...

No. 4270383 Private Adam Herbert Wakenshaw, The Durham Light Infantry (Newcastle-on-Tyne).

In the evening after the action, the body of Private Wakenshaw was found stretched out at the back of the breach block beside the ammunition box. This act of conspicuous gallantry prevented the enemy from using their light gun on the infantry Company which was only 200 yards away. It was through the self sacrifice and courageous devotion to duty of this infantry anti-tank gunner that the Company was enabled to withdraw and to embus in safety.

On This Day ... in 1306 & Others

Following Robert Bruce's murder of his rivals John & Robert Comyn, during negotiations in Greyfriars' Church at Dumfries, & subsequently crowning himself King of the Scots at Scone, Edward I had dispatched Aymer de Valence & Henry Percy into Scotland with advance forces. Meanwhile Edward mustered the royal army to deal with what was seen as not just rebellion against English overlordship but also an appalling offence against Christian & chivalric standards. De Valence caught Bruce's army at Methven & a surprise cavalry attack destroyed the Scots army as it settled down for the night, Bruce barely escaping.

1900: In South Africa, an outpost manned by a small detachment of the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry was surrounded by an overwhelming force of Boers, & suffered heavy casualties. Private Charles Ward volunteered to make a dash for a signal station a few hundred yards away to summon help. Despite very heavy fire from the Boers, he made it safely & got the signal away. Ward then returned to the outpost, but was severely wounded. However, thanks to his efforts a relief force arrived in time to save the detachment.

He was the last winner of the VC to be decorated by Queen Victoria & later achieved the rank of Company Sergeant-Major.

1944: From the London Gazette of 5 October 1944 ...

Burma, 26 June 1944, Rifleman ( acting Naik ) Agansing Rai, 2nd Bn, 5th Gurkha Rifles ( Frontier Force ), Indian Army.

Agansing Rai was invested with his Victoria Cross by the Viceroy of India, Field Marshal Lord Wavell, in Peshawar, India, on the 23rd January 1945.

On This Day ... in 1916

The Kaiser knows the Munsters, by the Shamrock on their caps,
And the famous Bengal Tiger, ever ready for a scrap,
And all his big battalions, Prussion Guards and grenadiers,
Fear to face the flashing bayonets of the Munster Fusiliers

Lieutenant A.H.H.Batten-Pool led a raid by the 2 Royal Munster Fusiliers on German trenches. Early in the attack, a grenade blast shattered his right hand, but he continued to lead the attack with distinction until, half an hour later, he suffered two more wounds and collapsed. He received the Victoria Cross.

The same night, Australian infantry conducted a similar trench raid at Armentieres. The attack was a success, destroying two German ammunition stores and securing some prisoners. However, while making their way back to the Allied lines, several men in the group fell wounded in No Man's Land. Private Jackson went back and brought in one man successfully. He then went out again, with Sergeant Camden, to bring in another casualty. As they were carrying the wounded man back in, however, they were caught by a shell blast that knocked the sergeant out, fatally wounded the casualty, and took off Jackson's right arm below the elbow.

Despite the loss of his arm Private Jackson managed to return to his trenches, claiming he only felt "a numbing sensation". An officer applied a tourniquet to his arm, using a piece of string and a stick, and Jackson returned to No-Man’s Land for another half an hour until he was satisfied there were no wounded men left on the battlefield.

The hospital ship St. Patrick took Jackson from Boulogne to England where the remainder of his right arm was amputated. While recovering in an Australian military hospital near London it was announced that Private Jackson had been awarded the Victoria Cross "for his great coolness and most conspicuous bravery while rescuing his wounded comrades while under heavy enemy fire". Approval of Jackson’s VC was gazetted on 8 September 1916, just five days prior to his nineteenth birthday. Sergeant Camden was also awarded the DCM for his part in the rescue of wounded soldiers that night.

On This Day ... in 1314 & Others

Robert Bruce's Scots army met the invading English under Edward II at Bannockburn near Stirling Castle, where an English garrison was holding out. Bruce killed the English knight Sir Humphrey de Bohan in a famous single combat in front of the two armies. Bruce's men, despite being outnumbered 2:1, then held their ground against inept English attacks, eventually securing a decisive victory. 37 English nobles were killed in the fighting, and about 500 knights captured.

1497: John Cabot arrived in Newfoundland on the Matthew with his sons, after a 35 day voyage. He named the region St. John's Isle which is where the current city’s name originates from.

1762: The Marquis of Granby caught a French army at Wilhelmstahl. The French withdrew, covered by a rearguard that paid a heavy price, being cut to pieces by Granby's forces.

1850: Horatio Kitchener, later Lord Kitchener was born. During his military career, he conquered the Sudan, commanded Empire forces during the Boer War and was Minister of War during the early stages of World War I. He was killed when HMS Hampshire, on which he was sailing to Russia, hit a German mine near the Orkney Islands in 1916.

1900: A few days after the start of the Boxer Rebellion in China, a mob attacked the British Legation in Peking, managing to seize some of the buildings. Captain Halliday of the Royal Marine Light Infantry led a counter-attack with just six men, and despite suffering severe wounds, overcame the rebels in a vicious close-quarter action He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1917: A night raid by British troops across No Man's Land had to painstakingly cut its way through thick barbed wire, coming under heavy fire as it did so. Second Lieutenant Dunville, of the 1st Royal Dragoons, shielded with his own body a Royal Engineer busy cutting through the wire. The raid proved a success, but Dunville died of wounds sustained whilst covering the sapper. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1927: The Menin Gate Memorial was opened at Ypres. On it are the names of 56,000 British & Commonwealth servicemen killed in the fighting for the Ypres Salient whose bodies were never found.

Every evening without exception, at 20:00, the Gate is closed to traffic while buglers from the local volunteer fire brigade play Last Post. It was first sounded on 1 July 1928 and a daily ceremony was carried on for about four months. The ceremony was reinstated in the spring of 1929 and the Last Post Committee was established. Four silver bugles were donated to the Last Post Committee by the Brussels and Antwerp Branches of the Royal British Legion.

Since 11 November, 1929 Last Post has been sounded at the Gate every night and in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20 May 1940 to 6 September 1944. The daily ceremony was instead continued in England at the Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey. On the very evening that Polish forces liberated Ypres the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate, in spite of the heavy fighting still going on in other parts of the town.

1942: Rommel’s Afrika Korps attack on Egypt opened, forcing the 8th Army back to El Alamein, where one of the pivotal battles of the war was fought later in the year.

1944: During an anti-submarine patrol near the Faroe Islands, a Canadian Canso aircraft piloted by Flight Lieutenant Hornell sighted a U-boat and attacked. The U-boat, well-armed with anti-aircraft weapons, fought back and crippled the Canso. Nevertheless, Hornell and his crew pressed home their attack and sank the U-boat.

The Canso then crashed, and only one dinghy aboard proved useable. Since it was too small to hold all the aircrew, they took it in turns to await rescue in the water They were eventually found 21 hours later. The exposure proved too much for Hornell, who died very shortly after being picked up. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

Over France, Bomber Command returned to a major V-weapon target which they had been trying to destroy for several days: a huge underground depot in a quarry at Wizernes

Cloud had previously prevented the precision bombing needed against such a target. However, on 24 June, the Lancasters of 617 Squadron were able to score several direct hits with their specialised 12,000lb Tallboy deep penetration bombs, designed by Barnes Wallis.

The site was devastated. Three Tallboy bomb exploded in the tunnels, one burst under the edge of the dome, and one hit in the mouth of V2 launch rail tunnel. The entire hillside collapsed, effectively destroying the facility although the dome remained intact. The whole area around the site was churned up so that it was unapproachable, and the bunker was jeopardised from underneath, with landslides making further work impossible.

In the Pacific, carrier-based aircraft of the USN's Task Group 58.1, the aircraft carriers USS Hornet and USS Yorktown and light carriers USS Bataan & Belleau Wood attacked Japanese airfields, fuel supplies and barracks on Iwo Jima. Over 140 Japanese aircraft rose to the challenge but US Navy Hellcat pilots claimed 116 enemy aircraft destroyed

1948: The Russian blockade of West Berlin started. With all land and river access ways closed, the United States and Great Britain used transport aircraft to mount the Berlin Airlift

On This Day ... in 1372 & Others

A squadron of twelve Castilian galleys, dispatched north under Fernan Ruiz Cabeza de Vaca and Ruiz Diaz de Rojas to support their French allies, surprised an English flotilla under the Earl of Pembroke, anchored off La Rochelle. Pembroke, en route to take command in Poitou, was carrying a pay-chest of 20,000 in gold. The English ships were caught wholly off-guard, and captured or burnt, Pembroke and his gold falling into enemy hands. The Castilians then joined forces with a French squadron under the Welsh exile Owain ap Thomas, returning from a raid on Guernsey, to blockade La Rochelle. The city fell two months later, on 15 August.

1757: Bengal had enjoyed a close relationship with the East India Company until the accession of Suraj Dowlah as Nabob in 1756. He turned against the EIC, and infamously imprisoned Company personnel in the "Black Hole of Calcutta", from which only 23 out of 146 were said to have emerged alive.

Robert Clive was dispatched with a tiny British and Indian army against the Nabob. He took Calcutta, captured for good measure the French stronghold of Chandernagore, then met the Nabob in battle at the village of Plessey. Clive had just 1,000 British and 2,000 Indian troops, against the Nabob's 50,000. The Nabob also had French-manned artillery, but he misused these in a fruitless opening bombardment. When Clive's men advanced, most of the Bengali army fled. For the loss of only around 70 men, Clive's victory secured Bengal for the British and drove the French from northern India.

1855: At Sevastopol, Private McCorrie of the 57th Regiment ran to a Russian shell which had landed in a British trench and managed to throw it clear before it exploded. He received the Victoria Cross.

1857: Colour Sergeant Garvin of the 60th Rifles won the Victoria Cross by leading a successful assault on a well-defended building in Delhi from where mutineers were firing on a British artillery battery. In another action around the city, Private McGovern of the 1st Bengal Fusiliers braved artillery fire to rescue a wounded man. He also was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1944: During an attack on a Japanese-held bridge in Burma, a Gurkha rifle section was reduced to just three men. Despite their losses, they made a second attempt, but two of the three fell badly wounded. This left just Tulbahadur Pun. Armed with a Bren Gun, he pressed home the attack alone through intense fire, killing or putting to flight the enemy section and capturing a pair of machine-guns. Close by, Captain Allmand, who had distinguished himself on 11 June leading an assault on another bridge, also single-handedly charged a Japanese machine-gun position, but fell mortally wounded.

Also in the Far East, Corporal Sukanaivalu of the Fijian Regiment rescued two wounded men lying in the open on Bougainville island. However, when he went out to try to reach a third casualty, he was hit by Japanese fire and fell badly wounded, unable to move his legs. Several of his comrades then attempted to rescue him in turn, but suffered casualties. Knowing that they would persist in taking risks to rescue him while he was still alive, Sukanaivalu deliberately dragged himself into full view of the Japanese and was promptly killed by a burst of fire.

Allmand, Tulbahadur Pun and Sukanaivalu were all awarded the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1916 & Others

On the Western Front, British engineers were digging a mine underneath the German trenches when the enemy detonated their own counter-mine beneath the British shaft. Five of the miners were trapped in the tunnel by the resulting cave-in. A rescue party worked for a whole day to try to reach them, and eventually made contact through a small shaft. Three of the trapped men were able to crawl to safety, but a fourth man was too seriously injured to get through the hole.

Sapper Hackett, the fifth member of the team, insisted on staying with him rather than taking the opportunity to escape. There was another cave-in shortly afterwards, and by the time a fresh tunnel had been dug three days later, both men had died. Hackett was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

The VC was also awarded to Sergeant Erskine of the Cameronians, who rescued three wounded men under heavy fire from No Man's Land.

1940: Three RAF Blenheim bombers and six Hurricane fighters reached Malta after an epic flight across France and French North Africa which had begun on 16 June. Twelve Blenheims and twelve Hurricanes had been dispatched, but the journey had been plagued by bad weather and a disastrous series of accidents which cost the lives of nineteen aircrew. Two other Hurricanes, from a reinforcement flight intended for North Africa, also ended up on the island, and although the Blenheims and three of the fighters were subsequently sent on to Alexandria, five of the Hurricanes were retained on Malta. There they backed up the six Gladiator biplanes which had thus far been the island's only fighter defence.

On This Day ... in 1596 & Others

Having displayed exemplary operational security (unlike Hawkins' and Drake's disastrous West Indies expedition the previous year), Lord Howard's royal expedition made a surprise descent on the port of Cadiz, sinking or capturing the Spanish warships in the outer harbour and landing an assault force under the Earl of Essex.

The city was taken after a few hours fighting, the only local leader to have shown any resolve being the bishop. The only failure was to secure the ships of the immensely valuable West Indies flota, sitting in the inner harbour; these were looted by their own crews and then set alight - Queen Elizabeth was not pleased at the lost opportunity to seize the cargo valued at some £3.5 million, equal to ten years' normal revenue for the English crown.

The English remained in Cadiz for a fortnight, without facing any significant effort by the Spanish to oust them, before heading home with what was still a huge quantity of loot Lord Howard's chaplain had stolen from the Jesuit library and donated his ill-gotten gains to Hereford Cathedral, while the Earl of Essex gave the Bishop of Faro's library to the new Bodleian Library at Oxford.

Spain's reputation as the greatest power in Europe suffered disastrously from her failure to protect one of her most important ports. Don Pedro de Zubiaur was ordered to lead a new Armada in a reprisal against England in October, but luckily for the English, whose ships were now in dock refitting, the Armada was caught by a gale off Galicia and forced to return home having lost thirty ships.

1813: At Vittoria, Wellington who had advanced with his Allied army of 80,000 men from Portugal into Spain towards southern France, was confronted by Joseph Bonaparte with 66,000 French troops.

The battle opened with General Hill's British and Spanish troops on the right taking the Heights of Puebla. A couple of hours later, a column led by General Graham emerged in the French rear, having force-marched through the mountains, cutting off their line of retreat. On the main battlefield, the Light Division and Picton's 3rd Division led the attack over three bridges across the Zadorra. The village of Margarita was taken after fierce fighting, and the coup de grace was delivered by an attack from Cole's division which broke the final French line of defence.

The French ran, abandoning all but two of their 153 guns, and a vast hoard of Joseph Bonaparte's personal treasure. The subsequent orgy of looting disgusted Wellington, who famously described his troops as the "scum of the earth". Wellington was, however, rewarded with promotion to Field Marshal.

1854: During a bombardment of Russian coastal fortifications on the Aland Islands in the Baltic, a shell landed aboard HMS Hecla, its fuze still burning. Mr Lucas, a Mate, ran to it and threw it overboard: it exploded before it hit the sea, but thanks to his action caused no injury. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1864: Troops of the 43rd and 68th Regiments and 1st Waikato Militia successfully stormed the Te Ranga pa - a Maori fortification - to draw the Bay of Plenty campaign to a close. Sergeant Murray mounted a lone bayonet attack on a position held by ten Maoris, killing them all. Murray, along with Captain Smith who had also distinguished himself in the assault, was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: An RAF Anson, fitted with special radio receivers, managed to detect over Derby the transmissions of the German Knickebein bomber navigation system used during the Blitz, allowing jamming equipment - codenamed Headache and Aspirin - to be rapidly developed.

1941: Commonwealth and Free French troops took Damascus from Vichy control.

On This Day ... in 1306 & Others

At Methven, the English under Aymer de Valence, enjoyed a victory over Robert the Bruce, newly crowned King of Scots. He was forced to flee into hiding in the Western Isles, with many of his closest allies captured and executed.

1347: In Brittany, Charles de Blois had laid siege the previous month to the English stronghold of La Roche-Derrien on the north coast of the peninsula, defended by Richard Totesham. Charles' aim was probably to draw out the small army of Sir Thomas Dagworth, the senior English captain in the province. Dagworth responded by mustering about 300 men-at-arms and 400 archers from his other garrisons and marching to an abandoned monastery a few miles from the siege. Scouts having reported that Charles' much larger army was potentially vulnerable, spread quite thinly around La Roche-Derrien, Dagworth set out on a night march and hit the French army before dawn. The first attack failed, with Dagworth himself being captured in the confusion. But as dawn came up, Totesham's garrison was able to see the situation, and sortied, accompanied by some of the Breton townsmen. Their attack caught Charles' troops in the rear and rescued Dagworth. A detachment of Flemish mercenaries in English pay then cornered Charles himself and eventually took him prisoner after a ferocious fight which left de Blois with seven wounds. His army had lost over half its men, and most of his senior nobles and gentry had been captured or killed.

1783: Off the coast of Decca, Rear-Admiral Sir Edward Hughes and Chef d'Escadre de Suffren fought a further round in their epic series of battles for control of the Indian Ocean.

1858: At Gwalior, Lieutenant Waller led loyal Indian troops in a successful assault on a fort held by Mutineers. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1943: Sixty Lancaster aircraft of Bomber Command's 5 Group attempted a night precision attack against a factory at the Zeppelin works on the shores of Lake Constance, constructing German radar sets. Following the success of Wing Commander Gibson's direct control of 617 Squadron's attack on the Ruhr dams the previous month, a further experiment was made with a pilot acting as "master of ceremonies" over the target - a technique that was to be fully developed into the Master Bomber methods used later in the war. Heavy anti-aircraft fire forced the attackers to bomb from a higher altitude than planned, and the target itself could not be picked out. But by conducting a timed run from an identifiable landmark on the lake shores, the Lancasters still managed to get 10% of the bombs directly onto the factory, which was badly damaged. The aircraft then flew on to land at bases in North Africa, avoiding German night-fighters massing over France expecting a return flight to the UK.

1982: South Thule was liberated as the last act in the Falklands campaign.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

At Delhi, Troopers Hancock and Purcell, with the aid of a Indian irregular cavalryman, rescued a brigadier under heavy fire after his horse had been shot. Hancock was badly wounded in the process. Both Hancock and Purcell were awarded the Victoria Cross, as was Private Turner, who later that evening, during a vicious night action, carried to safety a badly wounded officer, despite himself receiving a severe sabre wound. Sadly the officer subsequently died of his injuries.

1896: A revolt spread amongst the Mashona people in June, much of it fostered by spirit mediums who promised the rebels invulnerability to bullets. One group of rebels surrounded miners and their families at the Alice Mine in Mazoe Valley. Captain Nesbitt of the Mashonaland Mounted Police set off with a 13-man patrol and on 19 June managed to fight his way through to rescue them and get them all safely back to Salisbury, despite suffering three fatalities and five other casualties amongst his tiny force. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1912: The world's first dedicated military flying training establishment, the Central Flying School, opened at Upavon. Its first commandant was Captain Paine of the Royal Navy.

1944: The worst storm suffered in the English Channel since the turn of the century threatened the huge naval supply operation supporting the Allied troops ashore in Normandy. One of the prefabricated Mulberry harbours off the French coast suffered particularly severe damage.

On This Day ... in 1429 & Others

The French, led by Jeanne d'Arc, defeated the English at Patay, capturing John Talbot, the Earl of Salisbury.

1815: Napoleon attacked the Duke of Wellington's Allied Army deployed along the ridge line of Mont Saint Jean, near the village of Waterloo, south of Brussels. Less than half of Wellington's troops were British, the majority being Dutch, Belgian, and Germans from Hanover, Brunswick and Nassau. The Emperor was confident of victory, expecting Marshal Grouchy, with the right wing of the French Armee du Nord both to keep Blucher and Gneisenau's Prussians from joining forces with Wellington, and to attack the Duke's left flank.

The initial French infantry attack became bogged down around the chateau of Hougomont, defended by light infantry from the Foot Guards, Nassauers and Hanoverians. However, following a massed artillery barrage, another massive French infantry attack against Wellington's centre broke the Dutch and British infantry lines there.

However, just as victory appeared to be France's, the Earl of Uxbridge led the heavy cavalry of the Household and Union Brigades into the confusion. Uxbridge led the 2nd Life Guards in person, routing French cuirassiers preparing to exploit the infantry's success. The Scots Greys, unable to advance at faster than a walk due to the terrain and men in the way, pushed through the routed Highlanders of the 92nd Foot and simply hacked their way into the victorious French column. Having destroyed it, they pressed on to attack a second French column.

This had the time to prepare its defence, and the Scots Greys attacked in vain, but then a squadron of the Royal Dragoons hit the French, and completed the destruction of an entire French corps. The British heavy cavalry then suffered grievous losses from a counter-attack by the French cavalry. But they had delivered the fatal blow to Napoleon's prospects of victory.

His infantry decimated, Napoleon resorted to massed cavalry charges led by Marshal Ney. The allied infantry formed squares, and although these proved excellent artillery targets, with some suffering heavy losses, Napoleon failed to give Ney the support of close range horse artillery necessary to let the cavalry break into the squares. Three successive charges by 9,000 French cavalry suffered badly from British and Netherlands' artillery, broke on the squares with little effect, and then were hit by the Allied cavalry waiting in the rear. Blucher and Gneisenau's Prussians were also arriving on the French right flank, drawing off increasing numbers of French reserves, including the Young Guard, to hold them at bay.

However, troops were then seen to be approaching behind Wellington's flank. Thinking these to be Grouchy's men, Napoleon threw in the Old and Middle Guard to lead a last push at Wellington's damaged centre. The Old Guard had never been defeated on the field of battle. But as the columns pushed back three weakened British and Brunswick battalions, a Dutch battery caught them with enfilading fire. General Detmers led a charge by his Netherlands brigade which routed the French Grenadiers. Maitland's brigade of Foot Guards famously rose from a cornfield to stop the Chasseurs. Sir John Colborne then swung the 52nd Light Infantry round onto the flank of the Imperial Guard to complete their defeat.

As the French realised that the Imperial Guard had, unthinkably, failed, General Ziethen, whose Prussian troops were those seen behind Wellington's flank, ignored orders from Blucher to reinforce him further south on Napoleon's extreme right, and instead led his men to punch through the French line and deliver the coup de grace. The French army turned and ran, only the remaining battalions of the Imperial Guard attempting to withdraw in good order.

1855: No less than twelve Victoria Crosses were won at Sevastopol, during an unsuccessful assault on the Russian Redan fortress.

1915: On the hundreth anniversary of the victory at Waterloo, Australian engineers working under enemy fire completed Watson's Pier at Gallipoli Cove. To mark the occasion, they held a dinner that night at the pier-head Since that occasion the Royal Australian Engineers have held an annual Waterloo Dinner.

1916: Oberleutnant Max Immelmann, one of the first German aces, with 15 victories to his credit, was finally brought down and killed whilst attacking an FE2b of 25 Squadron Royal Flying Corps.

1944: A German V-1 flying bomb hit the Guards Chapel at Wellington Barracks during a service. 119 troops and civilian worshippers were killed, with another 102 wounded: the worst casualties to be inflicted by a single V-1.

On This Day ... in 1775 & Others

Perhaps some 4,000 American revolutionary soldiers under Colonel William Prescott advanced onto the Charlestown Peninsula on 16 June to seize the hills overlooking Boston Harbour. Their orders were to take Bunker Hill, the highest and most easily defended of the heights. Instead, they occupied Breed's Hill, nearer to the harbour, and hastily constructed defensive positions there. Their presence was detected on the morning of 17 June by the British forces across the water in Boston. Royal Navy ships began a bombardment, while General Howe landed 3,000 troops on the southern shore of the Peninsula.

Two determined charges were launched up Breed's Hill, but were driven off by rebel fire. Reinforcements arrived, allowing a third bayonet assault. Rebel ammunition supplies were now low, and Prescott was driven from the hill. His men suffered heavy losses in their flight north.

The British had lost over 1,000 men, mainly in the first two attacks on the hill, the revolutionaries losing over 400 men, mainly in the retreat. The battle is normally known as Bunker Hill, despite being fought on the neighbouring heights.

1815: Lord Uxbridge's cavalry fought a running battle with French troops as they covered the retreat of Wellington's army from Quatre Bras to Mont Saint Jean, south of the little village of Waterloo.

1858: British troops under Sir Hugh Rose routed Indian mutineers at Kotah-ki-Serai. Lakshmi Bai, the Rani of Jhansi, one of the most capable of the Indian leaders, was killed; she was mortally wounded attacking the 8th Hussars. Captain Heneage, Farrier Hollis, Sergeant Ward and Trooper Pearson of that regiment all received the Victoria Cross for leading the charge which broke the Rani's troops.

1919: Lieutenant Agar, Royal Navy, assigned to support intelligence operations along the Russian coast, took a tiny torpedo-armed Coastal Motor Boat from a base in Finland to attack the Bolshevik naval forces at Kronstadt. He evaded patrolling destroyers, but the CMB was damaged by gunfire. Agar managed to effect repairs, and returned to the attack, sinking a cruiser. Although his mission was unauthorised, he was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1940: Britain suffered her worst ever maritime disaster when German bombers caught and sank the troopship Lancastria as she evacuated troops and refugees from Saint Nazaire The number of people aboard will never be known, but was in the order of 6-9,000. Fewer than 2,500 survived.

On This Day ... in 1487 & Others

At Stoke, Henry VII led some 6,000 troops against about 9,000 Yorkist and Irish rebels under the young Lambert Simnel, who claimed to be Edward, the son of the Duke of Clarence, and had claimed the English throne in Dublin the previous month.

Simnel's army was marching on Newark, when Lord Oxford mounted the first Royal attack. However, this was roughly handled by the rebels until Henry engaged with his main force. The best part of Simnel's force comprised some German mercenaries under Martin Schwartz, and they held Henry's men at bay for some considerable time before the rebels collapsed and were slaughtered.

Although the victor, Henry lost perhaps a third of his men. Unusually, the defeated Simnel, only about ten and very much the puppet of the Yorkist nobles, was shown clemency, and famously given a job in the Royal kitchens.

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte's French army, advancing into Belgium, encountered their opponents in strength for the first time. The Prussians under Blucher fought the Emperor at Ligny. To the west, Marshal Ney's troops encountered Netherlands troops at the strategically important cross-roads of Quatre Bras. The Dutch and Belgian troops were progressively reinforced by Wellington as he rushed to concentrate his forces, and the covering action at Quatre Bras allowed him to withdraw a short distance up the road to a prime defensive position at Waterloo.

1858: During an Indian Mutiny action, Private Rodgers of the 71st Regiment single-handedly attacked seven well-armed mutineers. He received the Victoria Cross.

1898: In Cuba, during the Spanish American War, a US naval squadron bombarded Santiago.

1915: In France, Lance-Corporal Tombs of the King's Regiment braved intense enemy fire to rescue in turn four wounded men lying out in No Man's Land He received the Victoria Cross.

1942: Operation Vigorous continued, the eastern convoy to re-supply Malta. The 11-ship convoy with its close escort had departed from Haifa and Port Said on 12 June. They were met off Tobruk on 13 June with a covering force of seven light cruisers and 17 destroyers, commanded by Rear Admiral Sir Philip Vian. The force now comprised 11 merchantmen, one dummy battleship, eight cruisers, 26 destroyers, four corvettes, two minesweepers and two rescue ships. However, many air attacks from Crete occurred during the 13th and 14th, sinking two cargo ships and damaging two others.

On the evening of 14 Jun, Admiral Vian learned that a strong element of the Italian battle fleet, with two 15-inch battleships (Vittorio Veneto and Littorio), two heavy cruisers(Goriza, Trento) and two light cruisers (Giuseppe Garibaldi and Aosta), plus ten destroyers, had sailed south from Taranto. Vian’s covering force could not possibly confront such a powerful task group and early on 15 Jun the convoy reversed course back for Egypt.

During the night, as convoy ‘Vigorous’ headed eastward, German S-boats damaged the Southampton-class light cruiser Newcastle and sank the H-class destroyer Hasty.

At approximately 0700, when the Italian task group was 200 miles to the northwest, the convoy turned back to the west for Malta. This move drew the Italian fleet closer and made air attacks from Malta-based Beaufort torpedo-bombers possible. Nine aircraft were launched at 0415 and came upon the Italian force in the early pre-dawn light.

Despite the favorable conditions, a lack of experienced aircrews resulted in the attack being uncoordinated. Only one hit was scored, which disabled the heavy cruiser Trento. She was sunk later on 15 Jun by the British U-class submarine, HMS Umbra.

The Italian formation, expecting the approaching aircraft to be their own air escort, did not fire on their attackers initially and retired eventually in disarray. All nine of the attacking Beauforts were able to return to Malta although several were heavily damaged and two were forced to make crash landings.

The battleship Littorio was hit by a later torpedo attack but was able to reach port safely.

Meanwhile the convoy reversed course to the east at 0940 and, once the air attack was completed and it was known the Italian force had withdrawn, turned back again for Malta at 1200.

During the afternoon of 15 June, many intense air attacks were launched against the convoy. The Southampton-class light cruiser HMS Birmingham was damaged and the escort destroyer HMS Airedale was sunk by German Ju 87 Stuka dive bombers. The Australian destroyer Nestor was also disabled by Ju-87s and was taken in tow. After the tow parted twice and after receiving warnings of further S-boat activity, it was decided to scuttle Nestor.
On the evening of 15 June, Admiral Vian made the final decision to withdraw the convoy to Alexandria, because of low anti-aircraft ammunition levels in all the escorts.

The final blow against ‘Vigorous’ came on 16 Jun, when the British Dido-class light anti-aircraft cruiser Hermione was sunk by the German submarine U-205.Only six of the original 11 merchant ships returned to base

1943: In the Solomons, the Japanese launched their its largest air raid since 7 April 1943, dispatching an estimated 50 Val bombers and 70 Zeke fighters against USN vessels at Guadalcanal and Tulagi who preparing for Operation Toenails: the invasion of New Georgia Island in the central Solomon Islands.

A coastwatcher sighted the attacking force just after 1200 and 104 Allied aircraft including Kittyhawks, Lightnings, Airacobras, P-40s, Corsairs and Wildcats were scrambled to meet the raid.

Numerous dogfights ensue over Savo and Tulagi Islands, and Cape Esperance and Koli Point on Guadalcanal; Allied aircraft claimed 79 aircraft shot down with the loss of six Allied fighters and five pilots; AAA claimed a further 17 enemy aircraft.

The Japanese did however succeed in damaging three ships and causing considerable destruction on Guadalcanal Island. However, this was to be the last daylight raid launched by the Japanese against Guadalcanal

1944: Carrier-based aircraft from the USN's Task Groups 58.1 and 58.4 again mounted attacks on Iwo Jima, in the Volcano Islands, and Chichi Jima and Haha Jima, in the Bonin Islands, during the afternoon. Targets included airfields, fuel supplies and barracks. Two Hellcats and their pilots were lost. After the attacks, both task groups retired to the Mariana Islands

In response to the sighting of the Japanese First Mobile Fleet sailing from the Philippines towards the Mariana Islands by a US submarine, Admiral Raymond A. Spruance, commander of the Fifth Fleet, ordered that the antiaircraft screens around USN carriers be augmented by drawing additional cruisers and destroyers from fire-support and shore-bombardment groups.

The entire burden of ground-support missions and on-call air-support shifted from the fast carriers of Task Force 58 to the escort aircraft carriers of the Fifth Fleet. Carrier-based aircraft of Task Groups 58.2 and 58.3 attempted to neutralize all of the airfields on Guam and Tinian. The airmen maintained that the naval big guns should also be used against these targets but their suggestions were ignored.

1948: Lasting a total of 13 years, the Malayan Emergency was declared.

On This Day ... in 1215 & Others

King John put his seal to Magna Carta (the Great Charter) at Runnymede Green

1520: Pope Leo X threatened to excommunicate Martin Luther if he didn’t recant his religious beliefs

1846: Great Britain ceded its claims to the Pacific Northwest by signing the Treaty of Oregon

1859: Lyman Cutlar starts the so-called Pig War between US and Great Britain

1864: US Secretary of War Edwin M. Stanton signed an order establishing a military burial ground, which became Arlington National Cemetery. The site was formerly the plantation of General Robert E Lee prior to the American Civil War

1901: A small South African Constabulary patrol of eight men came under attack from around 50-60 Boers. Whilst retreating, the horse of the Lieutenant in command of the patrol was shot. Sergeant Rogers rescued him and carried him to safety. However, by then, two more of the patrol had lost their horses, so Rogers returned under heavy fire to cover them while they made their way back. He received the Victoria Cross .

1915: During an attack in France by the Western Ontario Regiment, Lieutenant Campbell commanded the battalion's machine-gun detachment. Advancing across No Man's Land, to German trenches that had just been captured, most of the men in the detachment fell casualty With the survivors, Campbell was able to man one machine-gun. The Germans launched a fierce counter-attack, but Campbell 's fire drove them back. However, he was also hit and died in hospital a few days later. He received a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1918: During heavy fighting on the Italian front, the Allied lines were breached at Asiago. Lieutenant-Colonel Hudson of the Sherwood Foresters hastily organised headquarters personnel to mount a counter-attack With just two men he took one enemy position, then pressed on to clear others. He suffered a severe leg wound from a grenade, but stayed in action. By the end of the day, he and his men had taken about 100 prisoners and half a dozen machine-guns.

A few miles away, Second Lieutenant Youll of the Northumberland Fusiliers, who had been covering the withdrawal of his patrol, became separated from his unit. He made his way to another section of the line, where he organised a force from other stragglers. An enemy machine-gun crew had worked its way behind their position, and suddenly opened fire.

Youll charged the gun and knocked it out. He then led his scratch force in a series of counter-attacks which stabilised the position. Youll and Hudson both received the Victoria Cross.

1940: A small Bomber Command detachment established itself at the French airbase at Salon in Provence to attack Italian targets. Eight Wellingtons set off for Genoa that night, but only one was able to find its target.

On This Day ... in 1645 & Others

The battle which decided the outcome of the English Civil War was fought at Naseby. Sir Thomas Fairfax commanded Parliament's New Model Army against King Charles' Royalist forces. Whilst the outnumbered, Royalist infantry held their own in the centre, Prince Rupert's cavalry swept away the Parliamentarian horse on one flank. However, Oliver Cromwell's cavalry proved equally effective on the other flank. Unlike Rupert, Cromwell was then able to swing his horsemen round to decide the infantry battle in the centre.

1917: During continuing fighting around Messines, a concealed German machine-gun opened up on the rear of troops from the South Lancashire Regiment. Private Ratcliffe charged the position and wiped out its crew in a bayonet fight. He then carried the weapon forward to supplement his own unit's firepower. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1941: Reinforced by precious deliveries of new tanks shipped from the UK, British and Commonwealth forces in the Western Desert launched Operation Battleaxe against Rommel's Axis troops in an effort to relieve Tobruk. However, the British armour suffered heavily from a skilful German anti-tank defence, and the operation concluded on 17 June without success.

1942: Aircraftsman First Class O'Neill was one of a party of personnel from the newly formed RAF Regiment aboard the merchantman SS Aagtekirk en route for Malta. The ship was unable to remain in the safety of the convoy, and was diverted towards Tobruk. It came under heavy air attack. O'Neill manned an anti-aircraft gun, until a bomb blast destroyed it and left him seriously wounded. He nevertheless helped the ship's captain attempt to rig hand steering gear .When the ship finally sank, he saved the lives of two colleagues in the water before being rescued. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, a unique award to an RAF Regiment member.

1982: General Menendez, commanding Argentine forces in the Falklands, surrendered to Major-General Moore.

On This Day ... in 1174 & Others

The Battle of Alnwick marked a failed attempt by King William the Lion of Scotland to invade England to support barons rebelling against Henry II. William was captured and forced to recognise Henry as his liege lord.

1857: Private Shaw won the Victoria Cross during an Indian Mutiny skirmish for a hand-to-hand struggle with a rebel, whom he eventually killed, despite suffering a severe sword wound himself.

1941: A sharp action was fought at Jezzine in the Lebanon as Commonwealth and Free French troops moved against Vichy French forces.

1942: Heavy fighting raged around the "Knightsbridge" positions in the Western Desert near Gazala, as Rommel's Axis forces successfully counter-attacked following successive British assaults.

1944: The first V-1 jet-propelled flying bombs, or "doodlebugs", were fired by the Luftwaffe against London, although their impact was lessened thanks to a major air effort previously by the RAF and USAAF against launching sites as they were constructed along the French coast.

1945: Australian troops of the 9th Division liberated Brunei.

1982: British forces attacked Argentinean positions on Mount Tumbledown.

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

As the Indian Mutiny continued to rage, at Delhi Lieutenant Thomas Cadell, serving with the 2nd European Bengal Fusiliers, rescued a wounded bugler under the most severe fire. Later the same day while the Fusiliers were retiring, Cadell once again went forward, this time accompanied by three men to rescue a severely wounded man who was under heavy fire from the advancing enemy.

He was awarded the Victoria Cross, and went on to serve with the Royal Munster Fusiliers, achieving the rank of Colonel. Cadell was the cousin of Major Samuel Hill Lawrence of the 32nd Regiment who won the VC a month later, during the bitter fighting around Lucknow.

1915: On the Western Front, Lance-Corporal Angus of the Highland Light Infantry went to the aid of an officer lying wounded in front of a German trench. His proximity to the Germans meant that Angus was hit repeatedly by rifle fire and grenade fragments, suffering 40 wounds. But despite his appalling injuries, he managed to get the wounded man back to the British lines. Angus received the Victoria Cross.

1940: British and Italian troops fought their first skirmish along the border between Egypt and Libya. 62 Italians were captured.

1943: Bomber Command demonstrated its rapidly improving ability to hit even targets completely covered by cloud at night, thanks to precision bombing aids such as Oboe, with an effective attack on Bochum which caused severe damage to the town centre.

1944: Only six days after the first troops came ashore in Normandy, the Mulberry harbours at Arromanches and St Laurent were declared operational. The Dieppe Raid in 1942 had shown the difficulty of seizing a port in a direct amphibious assault, and the Germans had been confident that the Allies would be unable to receive adequate supplies across the beaches they had taken on D-Day. However, numerous huge concrete caissons had been constructed in British dockyards to be towed across the Channel and sunk to form two prefabricated harbours, each the size of Dover. Floating trackways were installed, capable of allowing fully loaded trucks to be driven straight off transport ships to the shore.

Bomber Command continued to support the land campaign with 671 aircraft, whilst another 303 bombers went after a synthetic oil plant at Gelsenkirchen as the Allies launched a concerted effort to cripple German fuel supplies.

A Canadian Lancaster of 419 Squadron RCAF was caught by a German night fighter near Cambrai and set on fire. As the crew baled out, Pilot Officer Mynarski, the mid-upper gunner, realised that the rear gunner was trapped in his turret, and went to his aid Mynarski ignored the flames around him as he struggled in vain to free the man, the aircraft all the time descending out of control. The rear gunner waved him away to save himself, but by then Mynarski's clothes and parachute were on fire. He jumped, and was found by French civilians, but died of his injuries soon after. By a miracle, the rear gunner survived the crash when the Lancaster came down, and was able to report Mynarski's heroism - he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

In Burma, Japanese tanks attacked a company of the 7th Gurkha Rifles Rifleman Ganju Lama went forward alone with a PIAT anti-tank launcher, and successfully stalked two of the vehicles, despite suffering wounds to both hands and a broken wrist, knocking them out at point-blank range, then wiping out the crews as they attempted to escape. He received the Victoria Cross.

1982: On Mount Longdon, Sergeant McKay assumed command of a platoon of the 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, after the platoon's officer had fallen wounded during the fighting on Mount Longdon. The troops were pinned down by heavy fire from an Argentine position, and suffering further casualties. Sergeant McKay charged the enemy alone, and was killed, but his attack allowed the platoon to disengage safely. McKay was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1900 & Others

An attempt by the Boers under Botha to retake the capital of the Transvaal, Pretoria, was defeated by British and Dominion forces twenty miles east of the city, at the Battle of Diamond Hill (Donkerhoek).

Forty-four years after the battle, British General Ian Hamilton opined in his memoirs that "the battle, which ensured that the Boers could not recapture Pretoria, was the turning point of the war". Hamilton credited Winston Churchill with recognizing that the key to victory would be in storming the summit, and risking his life to signal Hamilton accordingly

1940: Following the previous day's declaration of war by Italy, Bomber Command aircraft set out on their first raid against their country. 36 Whitley bombers refuelled in the Channel Islands before heading south across France, but 23 were unable to get past the Alps in bad weather. Of the others, nine bombed Turin and two bombed Genoa - there was not even a blackout at the latter, raids being so unexpected. Two Whitleys crashed in France.

The same day also saw the first Italian air raid on Malta. 55 Savoia SM79 bombers were launched from bases in Sicily, escorted by 21 Macchi MC200 fighters Their targets were the RAF airfield at Hal Far, the Naval dockyards at Valetta, and the RAF seaplane base at Kalafrana.

Other than the anti-aircraft batteries of the Royal Malta Artillery, the island's only air defences were a single radar set and a flight of six Sea Gladiator biplane fighters. The Fleet Air Arm had left twelve crated-up Sea Gladiators on the island as spares for one of its aircraft carriers. When it became clear that Italy was likely to enter the war, the RAF organised a local defence flight manned by pilots serving on other duties around the island. Six of the Gladiators were prepared for operations, while the other six were cannibalised for spares.

On 11 June 1940, three of the Gladiators were scrambled to intercept the Italian raid, and, despite the appalling odds of 25:1, attacked It was thought at the time that they succeeded in shooting down one Italian fighter, but this proved not to be the case. The bombers caused widespread but relatively minor damage. An Italian reconnaissance mission over the island was driven off by a Gladiator, and the afternoon saw a second bombing raid, which suffered several aircraft damaged by accurate anti-aircraft fire. Malta's ordeal, which was to last nearly two and a half years, had begun.

The Gladiator flight was rarely able to put more than three aircraft into the air at any one time, giving rise to the legend of Faith, Hope and Charity.

For 10 days (11 to 21 June) the Sea Gladiators represented the Island's sole air defence, before some Hurricanes were impressed into service. The Italians staged only three air raids on the island during this period. Due to a shortage of ammunition, the Sea Gladiators were used to break up the bomber formations, rather than pick off individual targets. Some months later, a Maltese newspaper published a report on the Sea Gladiators which ensured that the names Faith, Hope and Charity (never actually applied to the aircraft) entered aviation mythology.

A slightly different version is here

In the Western Desert, the British Army launched its first operation against the Italians Eighteen elderly Rolls-Royce armoured cars of the 11th Hussars broke through the barbed wire entanglements along the border between Libya and Egypt and conducted night patrols on the Italian side, successfully capturing seventy Italian troops in ambushes The Italian prisoners were understandably unhappy - their commanders had omitted to inform them that they were now at war with the British....

1944: Bomber Command launched a devastating attack on Dusseldorf, whilst a smaller force trialled new Pathfinder techniques over Munster.

1982: British forces successfully attacked Mount Harriet, Mount Longdon and Two Sisters in the Falklands

On This Day ... in 1370 & Others

French galleys once again prowled the Channel unchallenged, raiding and burning Gosport.

1380: An English naval squadron enjoyed a minor success at Kinsale, catching a number of Castilian and French ships in the port.

1527: Captain John Rut of the Royal Navy, sent by Henry VIII, left Gravesend on the Mary Guildford and the Samson on an expedition to find a passage to Asia.

1610: The first Dutch settlers started to colonize Manhattan Island, having arrived from New Jersey.

1770: A Spanish force of 5 frigates and 1600 troops captured the British settlement at Port Egmont on the Falkland Islands

1801: Tripoli declared war on the United States in a dispute over safe passage of merchant vessels through the Mediterranean

1855: Private Lyons of the 19th Regiment ran to a shell that had landed in a British trench at Sevastopol and threw it clear over the parapet just before the fuse burnt down He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1898: During the Spanish-American War, US Marines landed in Cuba

1940: Italy declared war on Britain and France, anticipating easy victories as the Germans overran France and the British struggled to replace the losses suffered at Dunkirk. The Royal Navy begins Operation 'Cycle'; the evacuation of 11,000 British and Allied troops from Le Havre.

HMCS St Laurent & Restigouche exchanged fire with a German artillery battery at St Valery-en-Caux during the evacuation of the British 51st Highland Division. These were the first shots fired in anger by the RCN during World War II

1941: 104 aircraft from Bomber Command attacked the three German capital ships - Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Prinz Eugen - sheltering in Brest, but without success.

1942: Operation Harpoon commenced to re-supply the beleaguered island of Malta from Gibraltar to Malta. Under the command of Admiral Curtis, his escort forces included 1 battleship, 2 carriers, 4 cruisers, 17 destroyers and 6 merchant ships. There are also several merchant ships sailing independently.

Admiral Vian was dispatched from Alexandria with another convoy for Malta comprising 8 cruisers and 26 destroyer escorts and 11 merchantmen under the codename, Operation Vigorous.

1944: Bomber Command dispatched 432 aircraft to attack railway targets throughout France to hamper further German efforts to rush troops to Normandy, as Allied troop numbers landed on the beaches topped 326,000, with some 54,000 vehicles. US forces succeeded in linking Omaha and Utah beaches, whilst efforts continued to push through to secure the gap between the the US and British/Canadian sectors.

Following intensive work by Royal Engineers and RAF ground crews, the first RAF Advanced Landing Ground became operational within the beach head at St Croix sur Mer, allowing Typhoons and Spitfires to be based forward in Normandy and thus provide immediate support to the troops on the ground.

1945: Troops of the Australian 9th Division landed in Brunei to secure the vital oil fields and rubber plantations.

1967: The Six Day War between Israel on one hand and Syria, Jordan, Iraq & Egypt on the other, ends. As a result of the conflict, the USSR broke off diplomatic relations Israel. They were only re-established in 1991

On This Day ... in 1866 & Others

A train carrying ammunition between Quebec and Montreal caught fire near Danville. The truck with the fire was quickly disconnected, but troops and railway staff were in a quandary as to how to deal with it. Seeing the indecision, Private O'Hea of the Rifle Brigade ran to the wagon, opened it and set about fighting the fire. Others then helped him, and the fire was extinguished safely.

Most unusually, O'Hea received the Victoria Cross for heroism in a non-combat situation -the only VC won on Canadian Soil.

1898: China leased Hong Kong's new territories to Great Britain for 99 years

1940: King Haakon of Norway and the Prime Minister order loyal Norwegians to cease fighting

The heavy cruiser USS Vincennes and destroyers USS Truxtun & Simpson arrived at Casablanca. The Bank of France's gold reserves, some 200 tons had been brought to Casablanca by a French auxiliary cruiser for onward shipment to the US.

1942: The Japanese declared that the Philippine Islands had been secured

On This Day ... in 1857 & Others

Near Delhi, Lieutenant Jones of the 9th Lancers led an attack that captured an artillery gun, then he and his men turned it on the Mutineer forces and bombarded a position until the enemy retreated. Jones received the Victoria Cross.

1918: A heavy German barrage fell on French-Canadian troops holding a position on the Western Front, and was followed by a infantry attack. Corporal Kaeble had only one man from his section still fit for duty after the barrage, but he nevertheless mounted a most determined defence. He left the safety of the trench to take on at least fifty German soldiers. Armed with a Lewis Gun, he inflicted heavy casualties but was hit repeatedly and fatally wounded. He continued to fire his gun as he lay dying, and was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1944: Bomber Command used Barnes-Wallis' 12,000lb Tallboy "earthquake" bomb for the first time, 617 Squadron attacking a railway tunnel near Saumur, through which trains carrying German tanks were expected to pass on their way to Normandy. 83 Squadron illuminated the target with flares, three Mosquitoes laid target-markers in a low-level run, then 617's 25 Lancaster bombers made their attack. Delivered with precision, the Tallboys wrecked the tunnel All the aircraft returned safely.

1982: Argentinean aircraft caught British ships unloading at Fitzroy and Bluff Cove. HMS Plymouth was damaged, though not severely, but the Royal Fleet Auxiliaries Sir Tristram and Sir Galahad were badly hit. Some 45 men, mainly Welsh Guards, died aboard Sir Galahad, with another 150 were wounded.

2006: Abu al-Zarquawi, leader of "Al-Qaida in Iraq" was killed in an airstrike by US forces.

On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

At the seige of Sevastopol, the French assaulted the fortifications on Mamelon hill and the "White Works" defensive line, whilst the British succeeded in taking some quarries near the Redan fort, in preparation for an assault on the fort itself. This was scheduled for the fortieth anniversary of Waterloo, where Lord Raglan had lost an arm. During the assault Gunner Arthur, Private Hughes, Captain Jones and Bombardier Wilkinson all won the Victoria Cross.

1915: Flight Sub-Lieutenant Warneford of the Royal Naval Air Service achieved the first air-to-air victory over a Zeppelin, destroying LZ37 by dropping six small bombs on top of the airship in a night action over Ghent. He was awarded the Victoria Cross, but was killed twelve days later when his aircraft broke up in mid-air.

1917: Sir Herbert Plumer's Second Army launched a successful offensive against the German positions atop Messines ridge. The preparatory artillery bombardment was conventional in Western Front terms, having started on 21 May with 2,600 guns and mortars.

But at 0310 on 7 June, the British detonated nineteen huge mines underneath the German front line. Painstaking tunnelling efforts by British, Canadian and Australian miners had been required for over a year to dig the mines, which between them contained some 600 tons of high explosive. The explosions ripped apart the German defences, threw the British infantry waiting to attack 400 yards away off their feet, and was heard distinctly in London. Each of the nineteen mines produced a vast crater - the smallest 105 feet across, the largest 260 feet in diameter. Nine divisions of British infantry swept forward behind a poison gas barrage and within three hours the supposedly impregnable ridge had been captured.

An additional two mines were not detonated, and during the German advance the following spring, the plans of their location were lost. Subsequently, they were never disarmed. One exploded in a thunderstorm on 17 July 1955, the only casualty thankfully being a single cow The other mine is still there.

Captain Grieve of the Australian 37th Battalion and Lance-Corporal Frickleton of the New Zealand Brigade were both awarded the Victoria Cross in recognition of their heroic attacks on separate pairs of German machine-guns during the course of the infantry assault, which left both men wounded.

At sea in the North Atlantic, a German U-boat torpedoed the disguised HMS Pargust, one of the Royal Navy's Q-ship anti-submarine decoys. The ship's "Panic Party" took to the lifeboats, convincing the U-boat commander that it was safe to surface and finish off his victim, whilst Lieutenant Stuart remained aboard the sinking vessel with his gun crews.

Pargust's guns were hidden behind heavy steel covers, and the torpedo explosion tore loose one of these, which started to swing down and threatened to reveal the guns too soon Seaman Williams threw himself under the cover, and, taking its full weight on his body, managed to hold it in place until the U-boat had surfaced and was a sitting target only 50 yards away. Lieutenant Stuart then ordered the guns to open fire, and a devastating salvo sank the U-boat. Stuart and Williams each received the Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1855 & Others

In the Crimea, Sergeant George Symons, Royal Artillery, was awarded the Victoria Cross for braving enemy shellfire, which left him badly wounded, to alter the sandbag parapets of an artillery battery to allow it to fire on a different bearing as the direction of an enemy attack became apparent.

He was later commissioned into the Military Train, but transferred back to the Royal Artillery in 1862, reaching the rank of Captain.

1900: During an assault on a stockaded village during the Third Ashanti Expedition, Sergeant Mackenzie of The Seaforth Highlanders first commanded a pair of machine-guns to good effect despite being wounded, then volunteered to lead the assault on the stockade, which he successfully captured. He received the Victoria Cross and rose to the rank of Major, but was killed in France fifteen years later.

1944: A few minutes after midnight, British airborne forces began landing in Normandy as the spearhead of Operation Overlord. The first to land were the Pathfinders of 22nd Independent Parachute Company to mark drop zones, and six gliders of the 6th Airborne Division, carrying D Company, 2nd Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, under Major Howard .

The latter were tasked with seizing vital bridges over the River Orne and the Caen Canal. The bridge over the Canal, the first part of France to be liberated, has ever since been known as Pegasus Bridge. The 9th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Otway, was tasked with neutralising the coastal battery at Merville. Despite only being able to muster 150 men after the confusion of a night parachute descent in high winds, Otway led an assault across a minefield and into machine-gun fire to storm the bunkers.

The bombardment by Allied naval forces began at 0530, and the first US troops came ashore on Utah and Omaha beaches an hour later Another hour later, British troops began landing on Sword and Gold beaches, whilst the Canadians attacked Juno beach. By the end of the day, despite fierce German opposition, some 75,200 British and Canadian troops, and 57,500 US soldiers had been landed by amphibious assault from over 6,000 ships, and 23,400 Allied airborne forces had been flown in.

As the troops pushed inland, Company Sergeant-Major Hollis of The Green Howards went to investigate two pill-boxes that had been bypassed. They proved to be still heavily defended, but Hollis rushed each in turn, capturing them single-handed. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

On the other side of the world in Burma, Sergeant Turner commanded a platoon of the West Yorkshire Regiment which came under attack from Japanese forces Turner pulled his men back a few yards, then held the new position all night against overwhelming odds. The next morning, he went over to the attack, six times going out alone armed with grenades. He inflicted very heavy casualties, before falling in action on his sixth raid. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1646 & Others

At Benburb, O'Neill's Irish army fought Colonel Munro's Scots Covenanter troops, who had left Belfast to forage for supplies. The Scots were far better equipped, particularly with firearms, but the Irish withstood their fire then went over to the attack. The Scots retreated, and confusion as night fell turned the withdrawal into a rout, leaving artillery and muskets to be seized by the Irish.

1794: The US Congress passed the Neutrality Act, which prohibited Americans from enlisting in the service of a foreign power

1879: British forces made another unsuccessful attack on Moorosi's Mountain, the stronghold of the Phuti clan of the Basuto, who had rebelled over taxes. The Cape Mounted Riflemen played a leading role in the assault, and Surgeon Major Hartley was awarded the Victoria Cross for the rescue of a badly wounded corporal, who he carried down the mountain-side under heavy fire. Hartley then returned back up the slope to dress the wounds of other casualties.

1915: At Gallipoli, part of the 2nd Battalion, The Hampshire Regiment, was pushed back by a successful Turkish assault which had claimed the lives of the officers commanding that sector. Second Lieutenant Moor ran some 200 yards in the open from a neighbouring position to take charge. Having rallied the men, he organised a counter-attack which retook the lost ground. Moor received the Victoria Cross.

1916: The armoured cruiser HMS Hampshire, taking the Secretary of State for War, Lord Kitchener, to Russia for a strategic conference, struck a German mine off Scapa Flow and sank 650 men, including Lord Kitchener, were lost, Hampshire's wreck is now protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act.

1917: A forward position in Egypt was surprised by a Turkish raid and suffered heavy casualties. Second Lieutenant Craig, Royal Scots Fusiliers, organised a rescue effort, all the time under heavy fire. The medical officer with him was then wounded, along with another soldier. Craig got both men back under cover, but was wounded himself. Despite his injury, he managed to scrape a hole in which to shelter the casualties until all had been got safely away. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1942: In the Western Desert, Sergeant Smythe of the Royal Natal Carabineers had to take command of his platoon after the officer was killed, although he himself was suffering from a severe head wound. The platoon coming under flanking fire from an Axis machine-gun, Smythe attacked alone and succeeded in capturing the crew. He then proceeded to stalk an enemy anti-tank gun, which he again attacked alone and destroyed. He received the Victoria Cross.

1944: General Eisenhower having decided at 1600 that, despite poor weather which had already delayed the operation by 24 hours, the invasion of Normandy had to proceed whilst the tide was favourable for landing operations and airborne drops could be made by moonlight, the vast mass of men and material involved in Operation Overlord began to head for the French coast.

The first British airborne landings were scheduled for midnight. 1,012 Bomber Command aircraft attacked ten coastal batteries that night, dropping over 5,000 tons of bombs - the most dropped in a single night of the war to date. 16 Lancasters of 617 Squadron and 6 Stirlings of 218 Squadron flew demanding precision manoeuvres over the Dover Straits, dropping clouds of Window - aluminium foil strips - to fool German radar into believing the invasion fleet was headed for the Boulogne area. Meanwhile, 36 Halifax and Stirling bombers dropped dummy parachutists away from the invasion area as an added diversion.

1947: US Secretary of State George C. Marshall gave a speech at Harvard University in which he outlined an aid program for Europe that came to be known as The Marshall Plan

1963: The Secretary of War John Profumo resigned his post following revelations that he had lied to the House of Commons about his sexual affair with Christine Keeler, an alleged prostitute. At the time of the affair, Keeler was also involved with Yevgeny "Eugene" Ivanov, a Soviet naval attaché who some suspected was a spy.

Although Profumo assured the government that he had not compromised national security in any way, the scandal threatened to topple Prime Minister Harold Macmillan's government

1975: Egypt reopened the Suez Canal to international shipping, eight years after it was closed because of the 1967 Six Day War

On This Day ... in 1666 & Others

The last day of the Four Days battle saw Prince Rupert's squadron, delayed by contrary winds, finally returning to the fleet, and took over the fight. Led by Rupert's Vice-Admiral, Christopher Myngs,

who was killed during the battle, the fleet stood on against those of de Ruyter's ships still fit to fight. De Ruyter attempted to close for a boarding action, but this gave Prince Rupert the chance to break the line and gain the advantage of the wind Fierce fighting ensued, and Rupert's flagship Royal James suffered severe mast damage.

Fog put an end to the fight, which overall proved a Dutch victory: they lost only four ships over the four days, whilst the English lost four destroyed and six captured. However, the Comte de Guiche, a French observer with the Royal Navy, commended the discipline and firepower of the English ships in unfavourable conditions.

1673: The Second Battle of Schooneveld. De Ruyter attacked the Anglo-French fleet off the Dutch coast. Spragge, commanding the lead allied squadron was at the time in a small boat en route to Prince Rupert's flagship for a conference, and took over two hours to return to his own vessel, delaying the fleet's deployment for action. When it did deploy, it did so in great confusion. However, de Ruyter was unable to take advantage of the situation, and he only had 51 ships against 75. The battle proved indecisive, with no ships lost on either side.

1760: Twenty-two ships carrying New England planters arrived in Nova Scotia to take land forcibly vacated by the Acadians

1792: Capt. George Vancouver claims Puget Sound for Great Britain

1812: The US Congress voted for war against Great Britain; the War of 1812 actually began on June 18, when US President James Madison officially proclaimed the US to be at war

1857: At Benares, as the Indian Mutiny spread, Sergeant Majors Rosamund and Gill, with Private Kirk, went out to rescue an officer and his family trapped by rebels in a house some distance from the barracks. All three received the Victoria Cross.

1916: Private Procter of The King's Regiment was on duty in a trench on the Western Front, when he noticed movement on the part of two bodies lying in No Man's Land. Realising that they were still alive, he ventured into No Man's Land under very heavy fire. He managed to pull the two wounded men into some cover, dressed their wounds, and covered them with coats to keep them warm. He then braved the enemy fire to return to the trenches to organise a rescue party, which managed to bring the casualties safely in after dark. Procter received the Victoria Cross.

1917: On the Western Front, 124 Siege Battery of the Royal Garrison Artillery was providing invaluable heavy artillery support when a German shell broke the telephone line running back from the front lines. Second Lieutenant Maufe went forward, located the break and repaired it, all the time surrounded by shell blasts from the German barrage. He returned to the battery just as a German shell started a fire in a ammunition dump. Despite the danger of explosion, and the presence of a very large number of British poison gas shells in the dump, Maufe went in alone and extinguished the blaze. He received the Victoria Cross.

1939: The SS St. Louis, carrying more than 900 Jewish refugees from Germany, was turned away from the Florida coast

1940: The evacuation from Dunkirk was completed, Royal Navy destroyers bringing out the last remnants of the rearguard who had held off the Germans whilst Operation Dynamo was under way. In nine days, 338,226 men had been evacuated, including many thousands of French, Belgian and Dutch personnel.

Of the some thousand vessels used, 249 were sunk, and casualties totalled 68,000. The RAF and Fleet Air Arm lost 177 aircraft providing air cover, including 106 fighters, while the Luftwaffe lost 132 aircraft.

Some forty thousand Allied troops, mainly from the French 1st Army, who had been holding the perimeter, were captured. Summing up the situation, Winston Churchill delivered perhaps his most famous speech in the Commons: "We shall go on to the end... we shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender."

As the evacuation of France finished, the Allied evacuation of Norway started which saw 24,500 men rescued over the next 4 days.

1941: Kaiser Wilhelm II died in exile in Holland

1942: The first wave of Japanese Naval aircraft (108) flying from Admiral Nagumo's carriers were launched at Midway Island. USAAF and Marine aircraft based on Midway attack the Japanese carriers. After the limited success of the first wave, a second wave attack, on Midway, is ordered.

Meanwhile the US carrier forces off Midway spotted the Japanese carriers. They get their attack underway. The Japanese scouts then found the US carriers.

Nagumo ordered a change in armament for the strike as his first wave of aircraft returned. The appearance of the US carriers is not something that Nagumo had expected and while the Japanese carriers are re-arming their strike, the US attack force found them.

This strike has been somewhat unorganized. The range has forced a separation of the torpedo planes from the dive-bombers. The TBDs arrived first with their torpedoes, at low level. Their attack is ineffective with most planes of the force lost.

The dive-bombers then arrived overhead and attacked. The Japanese fighters have been caught at low level and are ineffective against the dive-bombers. Between 1025 and 1028 hits were made on the carriers Kaga, Akagi and Soryu. These 3 carriers are all fatally damaged and sink soon thereafter. The US attack had caught them with planes in various stages of refueling and rearming. The fumes and armaments contribute to the rapid demise of these ships. Also a factor is the level of Japanese damage control.

The Hiryu launched a strike that hits the USS Yorktown. Despite effective damage control, I-168 launched fatal torpedoes.

The Enterprise and Hornet then launched a further strike, with 4 direct hits, which fatally wounded the Hiryu.

This battle ended and the balance of power had changed hands in the Pacific.
During the days fighting the three American carriers had lost seventy-eight aircraft in action, with nine others out of action and a further twenty trapped aboard the abandoned Yorktown.

In addition, the Midway based squadrons had lost thirty-six planes, with fifteen others out of action. Overall, the battle cost 158 aircraft.

1944: Allied troops under the command of US Lieutenant-General Clark liberated Rome.

As the preparations for D-Day drew to a close, Bomber Command attacked four coastal batteries in France One, at Maisy, was vitally important since it covered the US landing beaches at Omaha and Utah The other three batteries were all in the Pas de Calais region, and were deliberately targeted to mislead the Germans as to where the landings would occur.

On This Day ... in 1653 & Others

During the second day of the Battle of the Gabbard, Dutch Admiral Maarten Tromp

decided to stand on the defensive, given his shortage of ammunition after earlier bombarding forts on the Kent coast, whilst George Monck, reinforced by additional ships under Robert Blake decided to press as close to the shoals as he dared - the Dutch ships drew less water, and it was thought they might try to lure the larger English vessels aground. Tromp ran for the shelter of the sandbanks off the mouth of the River Scheldt, but despite a resolute rearguard action, about seven Dutch ships had been sunk, and another eleven captured.

1665: James, Duke of York, commanding 102 ships, fought the 111 Dutch ships of Admiral Jacob van Obdam off Lowestoft. The Duke of York succeeded in gaining the advantage of the wind, but was unable to form his massive fleet into a well-ordered line. The Dutch equally found the weather conditions unsuitable for their favoured melee tactics. Accounts are confused, but the battle broke down into a series of bitter gunnery duels.

The decisive moment came when the Earl of Sandwich closed to very short range and forced four Dutch ships to collide. The stricken vessels were all subsequently destroyed, and Obdam's flagship Eendracht, fighting the Duke of York's flagship Royal Charles, also caught fire and blew up, only five of her crew being rescued; the explosion was felt in the Hague.

The Dutch second in command, Kortenaer, had also been killed, and the day ended in a clear English victory with seventeen Dutch ships, including three flagships, lost. Only one English armed merchantman was lost. During the battle, the Duke of York's professional naval adviser aboard the flagship was Admiral Sir William Penn, father of the famous Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania; Admiral Penn had commanded the lead squadron at the Battle of the Gabbard exactly twelve years earlier.

1666: The third day of the Four Days Battle. Albemarle, now down to just 35 ships, and some of them badly damaged, finally decided to attempt to withdraw to the Thames. However, three of his largest ships, including his flagship Royal Charles, ran aground on the Galloper shoal. Royal Charles and Royal Katherine managed to work themselves free, but Royal Prince, flagship of Admiral Sir George Ayscue, was stuck firm and forced to surrender to Cornelius Tromp.

1832: HMS Speedwell, enforcing the abolition of the slave-trade, captured the slave-ship Aquila off Cuba.

1855: Lieutenant Buckley and Boatswain Cooper of HMS Miranda put ashore on the Crimean coast to attack a Russian supply dump, despite a Russian garrison of 3,000 troops. As British and French ships distracted the defenders with a bombardment, the two men managed to get into the storehouses and set fire to them before escaping safely back to their ship. Buckley and Cooper both received the Victoria Cross, in Buckley's case also in recognition for his part in a similar raid on 29 May 1855.

1910: The British Army's Beta 1 airship made its maiden flight, fitted with wireless equipment.

1916: On the Western Front, a runner delivering an urgent operational message was caught in the blast from an enemy shell, and knocked unconscious. Private Chafer, positioned nearby, realised the importance of the message and set off with the papers for headquarters. He suffered a severe wound, was poisoned and blinded by gas, but continued running along the trench parapets, fully exposed to machine-gun and artillery fire. He delivered the message safely before he collapsed. He survived his injuries to receive the Victoria Cross.

1940: On the last full day of evacuation operations at Dunkirk, the Luftwaffe was mercifully largely absent, having been diverted to a major attack on Paris. German artillery was still a major threat, pounding the defensive positions held by the French and British rearguard.

1944: At Anzio, an attack by a carrier platoon of the Wiltshire Regiment ran into heavy barbed wire entanglements and accurate machine-gun fire. Sergeant Rogers went forward alone and wiped out two of the enemy positions. The platoon then continued its advance, but before they could reach him, Rogers was killed charging a third position. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1653 & Others

During the first day of the Battle of the Gabbard, Generals-at-Sea George Monck

and Richard Deane

led 98 ships against a similar number of Dutch vessels off the Gabbard shoal, east of Harwich. The English ships tended to be larger and more heavily armed, but drew more water and were more at risk from grounding in shallows. Maarten Tromp chose to keep to the defensive, the English ships enjoying the advantage of the wind and using their superior armament to fight at a distance safe from Dutch melee tactics.

At the end of the day, Tromp bore away for Dunkirk. The action continued on 3 June.

1666: On the second day of the Four Days battle Monck, down to only 45 ships facing 80 Dutch, still enjoyed the advantage of the wind, and resumed the attack, keeping to a long range gunnery duel. Cornelius Tromp, a squadron commander, attempted to close the line, but was almost overwhelmed before de Ruyter was able to rescue him. However, at close range, more English ships fell prey to boarding actions.

1900: During a skirmish between a mounted British raiding patrol and Boers, Corporal Kirby of the Royal Engineers turned back to rescue a comrade whose horse had been shot from under him. The Boers immediately concentrated their fire on him, but Kirby managed nevertheless to get the man up behind him in the saddle and got him safely clear. Kirby was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1917: Over the Western Front near Cambrai, Captain Bishop, a Canadian officer with the Royal Flying Corps, mounted a lone attack on a German airfield just as a formation of aircraft prepared to take off. Bishop closed on the first to get airborne, and shot it down. He then fired at the second aircraft, which flew into a tree whilst trying to evade his fire. A second pair of aircraft was now airborne; Bishop shot one down and used up his ammunition on the fourth, damaging it.

Bishop made it safely back home to receive the Victoria Cross, and ended the war as the Royal Flying Corps/Royal Air Force's most successful ace, with 72 victories. He was later one of the founding fathers of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

1940: A week after it had started, the evacuation at Dunkirk was largely reduced to night operations With fewer shipping targets, the German aircraft turned their attentions to the rearguard holding the defensive perimeter.

On This Day ... in 1666 & Others

First day of the Four Days Battle. George Monck, Duke of Albemarle, chose to attack de Ruyter's Dutch fleet of 85 ships anchored off the North Foreland in the Channel, despite only having 54 ships - Prince Rupert's squadron was off hunting a rumoured French force - and suffering from a strong wind which prevented the English ships from opening their lower gun ports and thus robbed them of their usual advantage in armament over the Dutch. The Dutch were caught somewhat by surprise, several ships having to cut their anchor cables in the confusion, and the first part of the battle proved an English success, but then their ships had to put about to avoid shoals off the Dutch coast and the Dutch regained the initiative, capturing three English ships, including one of the flagships. The action continued on 2 June, 3 June and 4 June.

1705: The first pensioners arrived at the Royal Hospital Greenwich.

1794: "The Glorious First of June" Admiral the Earl Howe, with 25 ships, defeated Rear-Admiral Villaret de Joyeuse with 26 ships of the line, west of Ushant. "Black Dick" Howe had manoeuvred carefully for three days, despite rain and fog, to gain the advantage of the wind, and confidently refused battle on the afternoon of 31 May in order to be certain of having a full day's combat in which to secure victory. Howe chose to break the traditional line of battle, ordering his ships, once the French had been overhauled, to each turn and break the enemy line. In the event, thanks to good formation keeping by the French, only seven ships were able to penetrate their line, but this proved enough. Six French ships were captured, and another sunk. Villaret, however, showed notable skill in extricating the remains of his fleet.

1813: The US frigate Chesapeake encountered the HMS Shannon off Boston. After a heavy exchange of fire, the vessels closed and Captain Broke of the Shannon successfully boarded Chesapeake and captured her, the US captain, Lawrence, having been mortally wounded. Broke was himself severely wounded, and suffered severe pains for the rest of his life. He was noted for the especial care he had devoted to training his crew in gunnery, which is generally believed to have been the deciding factor in the duel with Chesapeake.

1940: Over Dunkirk, the Luftwaffe mounted exceptionally heavy attacks. The RAF fighter response was limited, following the losses and damage from the previous five days, and the German aircraft scored heavily, sinking four destroyers and ten other ships. The patrol aircraft of Coastal Command, despite being desperately unsuitable for air-to-air combat, nevertheless attacked the German bomber concentrations several times, claiming several victories.

On This Day ... in 1213 & Others

King John's fleet, under the command of the Earl of Salisbury, arrived off the port of Damme in Flanders, and sighted a number of ships lying at anchor, with more drawn up on the beach. The vessels were eventually identified as a French fleet preparing to carry an expeditionary force to England, and Salisbury attacked. He had no difficulty in taking or sinking the ships at anchor, but an attempt to land on 1 June to destroy the beached ships was beaten back. However, the French chose to abandon their invasion plans and burnt the remaining ships themselves.

1916: The largest-ever battleship action took place in the North Sea off Jutland. 151 British warships, including 28 Dreadnought battleships and nine battlecruisers, fought 96 German warships, including 22 battleships and 5 battlecruisers.

Vice Admiral Scheer, commanding the German High Seas Fleet, hoped to isolate and destroy a part of the Royal Navy's much superior Grand Fleet. To this end, he took the High Seas Fleet out for a sweep towards the Skagerrak, whilst U-boats lurked off the main Royal Navy bases in the hope of ambushing the British ships as they put to sea. Signals intelligence ensured that the Royal Navy knew that the Germans planned an operation - and indeed the Grand Fleet was actually able to sail several hours ahead of the Germans - but faulty consideration of the information misled the Admiralty into believing the German sortie was by Hipper's battlecruisers only. Vice Admiral Beatty's Battlecruiser Fleet encountered Hipper's battlecruisers at 1420 on 31 May. Outnumbered, Hipper withdrew, luring Beatty towards the main German fleet. During the battlecruiser duel, both Indefatigable and Queen Mary were lost to catastrophic explosions, after flash from shell hits penetrating their gun turrets spread to the magazines. 1,266 men died aboard Queen Mary, 20 survived. 1,017 died aboard Indefatigable: only two men survived to be rescued by a German destroyer hours later.

Upon sighting the Scheer's main force, Beatty turned and ran back for the Grand Fleet, in turn luring Scheer towards Admiral Jellicoe's overwhelmingly superior force. The 5th Battle Squadron, comprising four of the Queen Elizabeth class Dreadnoughts, then the world's fastest and most powerful battleships, covered the withdrawal. The weather was, however, deterioriating, particularly visibility. Scheer's battleships blundered into their worst fear: the full Grand Fleet deployed in line of battle. Jellicoe's battleships inflicted considerable damage on the leading German ships before Scheer skilfully turned his entire force around to run for home. However, a third British battlecruiser, HMS Invincible, was lost to another catastrophic explosion, as was the armoured cruiser HMS Defence. The entire crew of 903 perished aboard Defence, whilst only six men survived from Invincible's complement of 1,032. Another armoured cruiser, Warrior, later sank from the battering she had received.

During the night, the two fleets brushed past each other, and confused fighting cost the Royal Navy another armoured cruiser, Black Prince, lost with all 857 hands. British destroyers succeeded in torpedoing the elderly battleship Pommern which blew up with her entire crew of 844. The Germans also lost Hipper's flagship, the powerful battlecruiser Lutzow, which finally sank from massive damage sustained earlier in the day. Another battlecruiser, Seydlitz, only just made it back to port, with over 5,000 tons of water in her. Jutland cost the Germans 2,551 men killed, and the loss of a battlecruiser, battleship, four light cruisers and five destroyers. The Royal Navy lost 6,094 men, three battlecruisers, three armoured cruisers and eight destroyers. However, the battle proved a victory for the Royal Navy: the Germans were well aware that, if visibility had been better, the High Seas Fleet might have suffered crippling losses, and did not dare challenge the Grand Fleet again.

Four Victoria Crosses were won that day. Commander Jones, Boy Seaman Cornwall - aged 16 - and Major Harvey, Royal Marine Light Infantry, were each awarded the medal posthumously for acts of heroism despite fatal injuries, whilst Commander Bingham received the VC for leading a destroyer attack on the main German battle fleet.

1940: On the outskirts of Dunkirk, Captain Ervine-Andrews of the East Lancashire Regiment commanded part of the rearguard. Despite being badly out-numbered, he led a team of volunteers in an attack across a canal, inflicting heavy losses on the Germans, before withdrawing: he and his men waded down the canal for a mile, up to their necks in water, to reach safety. Ervine-Andrews was awarded the Victoria Cross.

Meanwhile on the beaches, the fog which had offered protection from air attack the previous day began to lift. Mid-day saw the Luftwaffe return to the attack, another large transport being sunk, with several others damaged. The Germans lost seventeen aircraft, while the RAF and Fleet Air Arm, conducting both defensive patrols and bombing attacks on troop concentrations pressing in on the pocket, lost twenty-eight.

1942: Three Japanese midget submarines raided Sydney Harbour. HMAS Kuttabul, a depot ship, was damaged by a torpedo, but all three of the Japanese submarines were sunk.

On This Day ... in 1940 & Others

With the port once again knocked out at Dunkirk, the focus for the evacuation reverted to the beaches. Bad weather, particularly rain and fog, proved a blessing, with the Luftwaffe unable to find its targets.

The following is taken from Three Weeks to La Panne: A Diary of Dunkirk by Lieut-Col R L Clarke
30 May: All quiet in the morning. Our infantry neighbours have left in the night. The doctor goes off with the wounded man. HQ 59 Fd Coy pull out.

We relax and offload for supper. I tell the section we shall not be moving that night, but set off on a motor cycle afterwards for La Panne to prospect. I find the CRE in a house on the front. While I am there a message comes through from G Branch about embarking the following night. The sea is calm and the tide is falling revealing a long sandy beach. In the mist offshore the dark shapes of ships can be seen, blue lights winking from mastheads. Outside I run into Brigadier Phipps. He tells me that the II Corps engineers are to act under his orders to embark the Corps. I am to move my section down to the beach bringing all floating equipment possible. Back to the wood by midnight.

1942: Sir Arthur Harris, wishing to prove the potential of Bomber Command as a war-winning weapon, launched the first Thousand Bomber Raid - Operation Millennium. The target was originally planned to be Hamburg, but poor weather there dictated a change, to Cologne, Germany's third largest city.

The operation was in many ways an unashamed propaganda stunt - Harris' true effective front-line strength in Bomber Command at this time was just over 400. But, by drawing on all the spare aircraft and aircrew that could be found, and some 370 training aircraft, a force of 1,047 medium and heavy bombers was assembled.

Of that total, some 860-900 reached their target, dropping an estimated 533 tons of high explosive and 920 tons of incendiaries, including 456,000 of the small but deadly 4lb incendiary bombs.

Over 3,300 buildings were destroyed in the city, with up to another 10,000 damaged, including many factories. German records report 469 people died, with 5,000 injured and 45,000 made homeless. 41 RAF aircraft failed to return.

One of these, a Manchester bomber, was piloted by Flying Officer Manser.

Although badly damaged by flak on the approach to the target, Manser managed to hold the aircraft steady for an accurate bombing run, then, despite more anti-aircraft damage, coaxed the stricken bomber back towards England. However, the Manchester steadily lost height and it became clear that it would not make it home.

Over Belgium, Manser ordered his crew to bail out, but stayed at the controls to hold it steady while his colleagues escaped. They all parachuted safely, but Manser had no chance to jump before the bomber crashed. He was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

1982: In the Falklands, Elk and Tidepool remained in San Carlos Water, unloading ammunition and refuelling the guardships. HMS Penelope was forced to return to the Carrier Battle Group due to mechanical problems. As the Elk and Tidepool left the Sound on their way to rejoin HMS Andromeda, they passed Uganda who was on her way in. The hospital ship was on her way to a new anchorage in Grantham Sound.

During the night of 29th/30th May HMS Arrow had fired 100 rounds at targets in the Fox Bay area, while HMS Ambuscade and Glamorgan bombarded targets in the Port Stanley area.

The seas were still heavy but the wind had decreased and visibility had improved. CAP missions were able to begin from before dawn but the first strike mission was not flown off until later in the morning.

HMS Antrim was detached from the Battle Group for South Georgia.

The Argentine Navy used the last of its air launched Exocet's that day, fired by Capitain de Corbeta A Francisco.

That night, HMS Alacrity headed for the Fitzroy area to provide gunfire support in the Mount Kent area & an RAF Harrier damaged by ground fire during attack on Stanley, ditched at sea, thirty one miles from HMS Hermes. The pilot was rescued by one of the screening helicopters.

On This Day ... in 1692 & Others

The battle of Barfleur, initially a disappointing tactical stalemate, secured the supremacy of the Royal Navy in the English Channel and marked a major psychological victory over the French. Louis XIV continued to entertain plans for an invasion of England, and ordered the Comte de Tourville to escort an invasion fleet from Le Havre to Torbay. However, the transports were not ready, and by the time de Tourville was able to put to sea with 44 warships, the English and Dutch navies of William of Orange had been alerted and waited for him with 98 ships under Admiral Russell.

Despite his inferiority in numbers, de Tourville chose to attack: he enjoyed the advantages of wind and more modern ships, thanks to the efforts Louis XIV had devoted to challenging the English at sea, and de Tourville hoped to stand off and damage his enemy before prudently withdrawing. However, the wind shifted, and after a twelve-hour long gunnery duel well into the night, de Tourville broke off the engagement at midnight and attempted to head for safety. The withdrawal degenerated into a general flight by individual ships for harbours on the French coast, and over the next few days, the English and Dutch were able to isolate and destroy fifteen warships and the transport fleet.

1855: In the Sea of Azov, the Royal Navy identified considerable military stores of food and ammunition stockpiled by the Russian army on the Crimean coastline. Despite the strength of the Russian units defending the area, Lieutenants Buckley and Burgoyne, and Gunner Robarts, volunteered to go ashore on a raid. The three fought their way past guards and managed to set fire to a considerable part of the supply dump before escaping safely back to the ships offshore. All three received the Victoria Cross.

1940: The port at Dunkirk having been cleared sufficiently, following the damage suffered two days before, ships again were able to lift men from the quaysides rather than having to evacuate across the beaches. Cloud cover gave protection against the Luftwaffe until early afternoon, when the Stukas returned en masse. They put the port out of action once again, and following waves of bombers sank three Royal Navy destroyers and damaged another seven. Five of the larger steamers in the evacuation flotilla were also sunk. The RAF lost sixteen aircraft during the day, the Luftwaffe about fourteen.

1982: Major Chris Keeble began negotiations with the defenders of Goose Green before dawn &
Argentine forces surrendered at Goose Green, with approx 1,400 taken prisoner. Fewer than 700 British troops had taken the position. The advance on Port Stanley was going to plan.

Argentine Hercules transport aircraft dropped bombs on the MV British Wye, 400 miles north of South Georgia. No damage.

HMS Fearless met Antrim, 100 miles from the eastern edge of the TEZ and transferred Major-General Moore, Brigadier Wilson and their staffs. The LPD then headed for the Carrier Battle Group, accompanied by Antrim.

All 67 wounded from 2 PARA survived and were flown to HMHS Uganda.

On This Day ... in 1672 & Others

Having patrolled the North Sea without persuading the Dutch fleet to accept battle, the Anglo-French fleet under the Duke of York and the Comte d'Estrees had retired to anchorage off Sole Bay to replenish supplies and take on reinforcements. The Earl of Sandwich, commanding the rear squadron, was uncomfortable at their exposed situation, but his request to stand off to sea were refused.

On the morning of 28 May, a French frigate appeared, pursued by the Dutch fleet. It is a measure of the lack of preparedness of the allies that the Duke of York's flagship, Prince, was heeled over for bottom-scrubbing. Nevertheless, the fleet weighed anchor in great confusion and attempted to form up for battle. The situation was not helped by the French squadron, lying to the south, deciding to steer south - it was supposed to be the lead squadron and perhaps assumed the rest of the fleet would follow and form up on it. Instead, the two English squadrons steered north-east, straight for the Dutch. Bankert's Zeeland squadron detached from the Dutch formation to hold off the French.

The confused situation suited the Dutch, who tactically preferred close-quarter melee and boarding action, given their inferior weight of artillery. The Earl of Sandwich's squadron, now finding itself in the lead, was the first into action, against van Ghent's northernmost Dutch squadron. The Duke of York's squadron engaged de Ruyter's main body about an hour later, and was roughly handled by the Dutch, Prince being the target for several opponents. Prince was eventually forced out of the line and the Duke transferred his flag to Sir Robert Holmes' St Michael. Before the end of the battle, he had to transfer his flag yet again, to London, after St Michael in turn suffered too much damage to stay in action. Another of the major ships in the Duke's squadron, Royal Katharine, was cut off by the Dutch and overwhelmed by boarding parties. However, her surviving crew, led by the bosun, later managed to break free, defeat the prize crew and take possession of the ship once more.

The Earl of Sandwich's flagship, Royal James, suffered even more heavily than Prince. Fighting a crowd of smaller Dutch ships, she lost her masts and one Dutch ship, Groot Hollandia, managed to get across her stern, causing heavy casualties at point blank range. The Earl wanted to lead a boarding party across the stern, but was dissuaded since that would have stripped the ship of her surviving gun-crews, who were still managing to hold the other Dutch at bay, killing Admiral van Ghent in the process. By dropping a sea anchor, Royal James managed to break free from the embrace of Groot Hollandia, but a Dutch fireship then emerged from the smoke and struck her. Royal James went down ablaze, taking with her most of her crew and the Earl. Nearby, Henry was cut off and briefly captured by the Dutch before other ships came to her aid and retook her. The Dutch in turn suffered two losses, Stavoren drifting out of control into the English formation and being captured, and Josua sunk by gunfire.

With the French slowly returning from the south, where they had been skilfully held off by Bankert, and night falling, the Dutch broke off action, losing one more ship to fire during the night. Both sides had suffered very heavy damage and casualties among their crews, perhaps 2,500 men on each side. Royal James was the only complete loss for the allies, against three lesser Dutch ships, but six major English ships had been forced out of the action; both sides claimed victory.

1673: A year after Sole Bay, the Anglo-French fleet of 76 ships, now under Prince Rupert and the Comte d'Estrees, sought battle with the Dutch force of 52 vessels under de Ruyter that was sheltering in the Schooneveld basin at the mouth of the Scheldt. Given the shoal waters off the coast that favoured the Dutch vessels with their shallower draft, Rupert sent in an advanced frigate and fireship squadron, following up with the main squadrons. The Dutch left the safety of the shoals to meet them, Tromp's van squadron, outnumbered two to one, engaging the frigates and Prince Rupert squadron, while de Ruyter took on the French squadron, and Banckert fought against Sir Edward Spragge's rear squadron. Tromp's ships did well to hold their own against Rupert, despite suffering heavy damage; Tromp had to transfer his flag three times as successive flagships were forced out of action. De Ruyter outmanoeuvred his French opponents and managed to bring part of his force south to help the heavily outnumbered Banckert. Although the action lasted some nine hours, the allies failed to score a decisive victory over the Dutch; one Dutch ship, Deventer, was briefly captured by the French Foudroyant, before being retaken, and another, Jupiter, suffered critical damage stopping an English fireship attack.

1940: Following the heavy air attacks the previous day, the Luftwaffe was much less active over Dunkirk, low cloud combining with the huge pall of smoke from the devastated town to hamper visibility significantly. British and French engineers worked ceaselessly to reopen the port, finally achieving success in the early hours of the following morning.

1982: At Goose Green in East Falkland, the 2nd Battalion The Parachute Regiment fought an engagement with superior Argentine forces defending the settlement, the airstrip, and nearby Darwin. The attack began in darkness in the early hours, and initially made good progress. However, it then ran into strong defensive positions around Darwin. Lieutenant Colonel H Jones, 2 Para's Commanding Officer, was killed as he charged a machine-gun post. Eventually, the Argentine defence was broken, and some 1,250 prisoners taken. Lieutenant Colonel Jones was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross.

On This Day ... in 1339 & Others

A French and mercenary Genoese fleet descended on Hastings and landed unopposed. Their crews thoroughly looted the town, and inflicted such devastation that it was some five centuries before Hastings regained its former prominence. The French ships withdrew across the Channel, slaughtering the crews of fishing boats on the way - their mutilated bodies were proudly displayed in Calais.

1918: The Germans resumed their offensive efforts on the Western Front, given additional urgency by the arrival in France of the first US troops. Code-named Blucher and Yorck, twin blows fell on the Allied positions along the River Aisne.

In particular, Duchene's Sixth French Army was routed. Brigadier-General George Grogan, commanding the British 23rd Brigade, rallied the survivors of his division and managed to stabilise a section of the line. He was constantly in the front line organising the defence and encouraging his men, riding his horse up and down the positions through heavy fire.

One horse was shot from under him, but he continued regardless of his personal safety, and was awarded the Victoria Cross: one of the highest ranking officers ever to win the VC.

Elsewhere on the front, the 11th Battalion of the Lancashire Fusiliers was also forced to retreat after heavy losses during the German onslaught. A number of wounded men were left behind, but Lance-Corporal Halliwell managed to find a stray horse, and ignored enemy fire to ride it into No Man's Land to carry back the casualties. His repeated efforts rescued ten men before the German advance rendered further attempts impossible. Halliwell also received the Victoria Cross.

1940: Following the decision the previous day to evacuate from Dunkirk, the first of the flotilla of ships and small boats arrived to start taking off the thousands of troops, braving heavy air attacks and artillery fire. The Luftwaffe responded with an intensive series of attacks on the harbour, which sank two large ships, set fire to oil installations and blocked the port, forcing the evacuation to be mounted across the beaches. RAF aircraft flew numerous patrols over the area, with heavy combat resulting.

1941: The Home Fleet caught the German battleship Bismarck, damaged the previous day by Ark Royal's Swordfish torpedo-bombers, and avenged the loss of HMS Hood. The cruiser Norfolk relocated Bismarck, and the battleships Rodney and King George V engaged Bismarck for over two hours, leaving her wrecked from stem to stern without suffering a single hit in return. The coup de grace was delivered by HMS Dorsetshire's torpedoes. However, a massive air and sea search failed to locate Bismarck's erstwhile consort Prinz Eugen which succeeded in joining Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at Brest.

1943: 14 Bomber Command Mosquito aircraft from 105 and 139 Squadrons set out on a long-range low-level penetration of Occupied Europe to attack the Zeiss optics factory and a glassworks at Jena. The targets were bombed with great accuracy, but five aircraft were lost, two to a mid-air collision.

1944: Bomber Command made another major effort against targets in France in preparation for the Normandy landings. 1,111 aircraft attacked railway yards, coastal batteries, a military camp and an airfield at nine locations during the night.

On This Day ... in 1315 & Others

Edward Bruce, brother of King Robert of Scotland, landed with Scots forces at Olderfleet (now Larne) in Ireland. Following the Scots' victory at Bannockburn the previous year, the aim was to open up a second front against the English in their already troubled territory in Ireland, and hope to establish Edward as king there. The senior English leader in Ireland, the Earl of Ulster, was absent in Connacht, and many of the Ulster lords, under O'Neill, joined forces with Bruce.

1940: British and French forces defending Calais were forced to surrender after a fierce defensive battle, their ammunition exhausted

Calais had been used extensively throughout the so-called "Phoney War" period as a transit camp for men on compassionate leave. On May 20, Colonel R.T. Holland was appointed base commandant and ordered to arrange for the evacuation of "useless mouths." At the same time, the anti-aircraft defenses were to be greatly improved and the 6th Heavy Anti-Aircraft Battery, Royal Artillery (RA), the 172nd Light Anti-Aircraft Battery, RA, and the 1st and 2nd Searchlight batteries were moved up from Arras and deployed in a semicircle around the town. Over the next four days, Holland began the process of evacuation on steamers from the Gare Maritime, while combat troops arrived on incoming vessels. In the meantime, he located some 150 noncombatants in the town, and a platoon of Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders was detailed to guard a Royal Air Force (RAF) radar station. There were also 2 French infantry companies based at Fort Risban, to the west, with two field guns at the citadel and a number of other French troops manning the coastal defenses.

The defense of Calais is a story of determination against enormous odds that, according to important German sources, contributed to the successful evacuation at Dunkirk. Three hours after the fall of the citadel, the Admiralty announced that Operation Dynamo, the Dunkirk miracle, was about to begin.

So, with British and French forces trapped along some thirty miles of coastline around Dunkirk, Vice Admiral Ramsay began organising Operation Dynamo to lift as many to safety before the Germans overran the defence. It was thought this could happen in as little as two days and that realistically only 40-50,000 men could be rescued. The evacuation began on 27 May, and in the event lasted until 4 June, with over 338,000 British, French, Belgian and Dutch troops brought out by the armada of ships and small boats that Ramsay pulled together.

Operation Dynamo was masterminded by Vice Admiral Bertram Ramsay, who had been given less than a week to prepare. From his headquarters in tunnels beneath Dover Castle, he directed and inspired a small staff who had the awesome task of planning the evacuation of up to 400,000 British and French troops under constant attack from German forces. By 26 May Ramsay had assembled 15 passenger ferries at Dover and a further 20 at Southampton. These it was hoped would be able to embark troops direct from the quays at Dunkirk. To help in the evacuation and to provide escorts for the merchant ships Ramsay had a force of destroyers, corvettes, minesweepers and naval trawlers. These ships were augmented by cargo vessels, coasters and some 40 Dutch self-propelled barges.

Minefields and shelling from German batteries on the French coast forced evacuation convoys to take longer routes to Dunkirk. The first convoy, after sustaining heavy air attacks, found the port of Dunkirk and its oil tanks ablaze and only the passenger ferries ‘Royal Daffodil’ and later the ‘Canterbury’ succeeded in berthing. By the end of the first day only 7,500 troops had been rescued and it was clearly impossible to use the port. Captain Tennant, in charge of the naval shore party at Dunkirk, signalled for the rescue ships to be diverted to the beaches east of the town. But here shallow waters prevented the large ships getting within a mile of the shore and troops had to be ferried in smaller craft from the beaches to the ships. There was an alternative, a spindly concrete pier with a wooden walkway, never designed to have ships docking against it but it was found that it could be used. Differences in loading speeds were dramatic HMS Sabre took 2 hours to load 100 troops from the beach, but from the pier it took only 35 minutes to board 500 troops.

1941: Catalina flying boat of RAF Coastal Command 209 Squadron discovered the Bismarck about 700 nautical miles from Brest. The Catalina was fitted with a recently improved ASV radar device.

The resulting Swordfish strike from Force H's Ark Royal attacks the Sheffield in error but she is not hit.

A second strike takes place in the evening by 810, 818 and 820 squadrons with 15 Swordfish led by Lt-Cdr Coode. They torpedo Bismarck twice and one hit damaged her propellers and jams the rudders.

As Bismarck circled, destroyers of the 4th Flotilla (Capt Vian) come up around midnight, and make a series of torpedo and gun attacks but with uncertain results. Destroyers HMS Cossack, Maori, Sikh, Zulu and Piorun have been detached from troop convoy WS8B, an indication of the seriousness of the Bismarck’s threat.

By this time Admiral Tovey's force of heavy ships has lost the HMS Repulse which detached to refuel, but had been joined by HMS Rodney.

1942: The Japanese 1st Carrier Fleet, under Admiral Nagumo, left the Inland Sea to begin their part in the Midway operation, known as MO

Meanwhile, the USS Kitty Hawk arrives at Midway Island with Marine reinforcements including a detachment of a 3-inch antiaircraft group of the 3d Defense Battalion, a light tank platoon and additional personnel for Marine Air Group Twenty Two

At the US Naval Air Station Anacostia the feasibility of jet-assisted takeoff is demonstrated in a successful flight test of a Brewster F2A-3 Buffalo using five British anti aircraft solid propellant rocket motors. The reduction in takeoff distance was 49 percent.

1951: Destroyer HMCS Nootka carries out Operation Squeeze destroying the Rubber Bridge. A landing party is sent ashore to destroy a North Korean bridge, used to supply Communist forces. As soon as the boat touches the beach, the Canadian sailors are fired upon by enemy troops. The men return fire, back off from the beach and return safely to Nootka. With the help of light cruiser USS Manchester, the Nootka's guns open up and destroy the bridge

1952: Tests from 26-29 May demonstrated the feasibility of the angled-deck concept and conducted on simulated deck fitted to USS Midway

1982: In the Falklands, the Carrier Battle Group moved to the eastern section of the TEZ during the night of 25th/26th May. The Group was joined by HMS Avenger, Active, Bristol, Cardiff, Minerva and Penelope & spent most of the day replenishing from the RFAs.

HMS Ambuscade was detached to inspect the derelict Atlantic Conveyor.

Brigadier Thomspson gave his orders for the land advance from the beach-head & the advance on Darwin began.

On This Day ... in 1915 & Others

A battalion of the London Regiment successfully captured a German position but then came under relentless counter-attacks. Of the 75 soldiers defending the position, four-fifths fell casualty. The fact that the Germans were eventually driven off was in large part due to the heroism of Lance Corporal Leonard Keyworth, who stood for some two hours in the open, bombarding the attackers with some 150 grenades. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1945: In Borneo, during an attack by Australian forces on Beaufort, some of the attackers came under heavy Japanese machine-gun fire and were pinned down with casualties. Private Starcevich, a Bren gunner, responded with a lone attack on the two enemy machine-gun positions, eliminating them. Later in the day, the troops again encountered stiff resistance, and Starcevich again attacked two positions alone. He received the Victoria Cross & his citation reads:

Private L Starcevich was a member of 2143rd Australian Infantry Battalion during the capture of Beaufort, North Borneo. During the approach along a thickly wooded spur, the enemy was encountered at a position where movement off the single track leading into the enemy defences was difficult and hazardous. When the leading section cam under fire from two enemy machine gun posts and suffered casualties, Private Starcevich, who was Bren gunner, moved forward and assaulted each post, firing his Bren gun from the hip, killed five enemy and put the remaining occupants of the posts to flight.

These daring efforts enabled the Company to increase the momentum of its attack and so relieve pressure on another Company which was attacking from another direction. The outstanding gallantry of Private Starcevich in carrying out these attacks single handed with complete disregard of his own personal safety resulted in the decisive of the action. (London Gazette: 8th November 1945.)

1942: Two light carriers and two cruisers left from Hokkaido, Japan to begin diversionary raids on the Aleutian Islands as part of the Japanese Midway operation. Meanwhile US Navy submarines sailed to patrol positions from Hawaii to counter the invasion threat

1968: In Vietnam, the Australian Fire Support Base Balmoral was reinforced with Centurion tanks just hours before an attack was mounted by two NVA battalions

1982: The previous evening RFA Tidepool, the Norland, Sir Bedivere and Sir Tristram had been escorted out of Falkland Sound by HMS Plymouth. They were taken in charge by the Ambuscade to be taken out of the TEZ.

25th May was Argentina's National Day and it was believed that major offensives would be likely. The Carrier Battle Group moved closer to the islands allowing the CAPs to spend longer on patrol. One CAP was a search for the 25 de Mayo.

HMS Coventry and Broadsword once again provided the "missile trap" & the Argentine Air Force launched a series of raids throughout the morning.

During one of these raids HMS Coventry and Broadsword were struck by 1,000lb bombs. One of the four bombs released by Captain Carballo's A-4B ricocheted off the sea, up through the side of the ship and then the flight deck, demolishing the nose section of the Brilliant Flight Lynx which was on loan, then finally fell into the sea without exploding. Three bombs were put into Coventry's side, with at least two of the three exploding in the ships machinery spaces.

The gallant fighting end for HMS Coventry came after nearly a month in the Falklands battle area under constant threat. But not before she had accounted for seven fighter-bombers, a troop-carrying helicopter and a patrol craft.

In this final attack two aircraft came in very low and the Coventry was strafed by cannon fire and hit by three bombs. She took a heavy list to port of 50 degrees within five minutes and capsized about 15 minutes later. The abandoning of the ship was orderly and well-disciplined as 275 survivors, including the injured, jumped into the freezing sea and swam to the liferafts.

The carriers were about sixty miles to the north-east of Port Stanley, covering Atlantic Conveyor's passage to San Carlos and providing a CAP over the Coventry rescue operations.

HMS Glamorgan and Ambuscade were screening Atlantic Conveyor. In the mid-afternoon two Super Etendards popped up for a targeting radar sweep - the radar at Port Stanley had been able to give a position for HMS Hermes which was only five miles away from her actual position - the Agave radar picked up three targets, one small and two large and two Exocets were launched. All the warships went through the appropriate drills. One of the Exocets was observed to pass under the Ambuscade's chaff pattern but as the second emerged from the chaff the Atlantic Conveyor appeared in the missiles radar's field of view. Atlantic Conveyor had no way of distracting the Exocet and the missile penetrated the ships vehicle decks. Although the Exocet failed to explode, huge fires broke out and the after section of the ship was filled with acrid smoke.

Shortly before the red alert warning of imminent attached flashed to Atlantic Conveyor's bridge, a Royal Navy team had launched a Wessex helicopter from the bow, These men were cut off from the rest of the ship by the heat and smoke, but were picked off the deck by a Wessex and a Sea King.

Twelve men died, or a missing presumed dead, in the attack, including the ship's master, Capt. Ian North. Three of those lost were Royal Navy personnel, and three were form the RFA, with six from Cunard.

An escort frigate closed bravely on the crippled and burning ship to play water on her steaming sides. Lines were thrown to the liferafts in the water, and the last survivors were picked up about two and a half hours after leaving the Conveyor.

On This Day ... in 1915 & Others

On 19 May 1915, the German commander, Field Marshal Liman Von Sanders, had sent the first of 42 000 Turkish troops to attack the 12 500 Anzacs then at Anzac Cove. The intention was to drive all Anzac forces on to the beach and kill them there. In places the combatants were only metres apart but it was one assault for which the Anzacs and their British commanders were prepared. British pilots had noticed a build up in the Turkish line, confirming observations by those on the ground, including Charles Bean, that Turkish firing patterns had changed and that heavier artillery was being used. In the resulting six-hour battle, the Allies were to incur around 10 000 casualties as repeated lines of Turkish troops were sent out of their trenches, to be gunned down almost immediately by the Anzac forces. The Anzacs suffered 628 casualties, among them John Kirkpatrick, known as Simpson, who had carried wounded men from battle on a donkey.

A short truce was agreed at Gallipoli to allow the dead of both sides to be buried.

A truce was arranged between 7.00 am and 4.30 pm on 24 May to allow both sides to bury their dead. Prominent in the organisation of the truce was a British officer, Captain Aubrey Herbert, attached to the staff of the Australian and New Zealand Division. On the morning of 24 May, Herbert met and accompanied Turkish officers up the ridge from the beach to 400 Plateau. He found the sight between the trenches and in the gullies ‘indescribable’. So awful was the stench that a Turkish ‘Red Crescent’ official gave him antiseptic wool with scent to put over his nose. The scent was ‘renewed frequently’

1941: The newly completed battleship HMS Prince of Wales and the battlecruiser HMS Hood intercepted the German battleship Bismarck and her consort, the cruiser Prinz Eugen, in the Denmark Straits. The two German ships attempted to evade, but the ships were well matched in speed and the British enjoyed a slight positional advantage which allowed them to close the range.

Hood opened fire on Prinz Eugen, the leading ship, at 0552 at about 25,000 yards range, whilst Prince of Wales engaged Bismarck. As the range closed, the German ships responded, and Prinz Eugen hit Hood, causing a fire amongst anti-aircraft ammunition lockers on the upper decks.

At about 0600, Bismarck's fifth salvo struck Hood, and she exploded in a vast sheet of flame. Of her crew of 1,418, only three survived.

Prince of Wales continued the fight alone, but at 0609, Captain Leach decided to break off the engagement: both sides were trading hits, but Prince of Wales seemed to be suffering more, and, with Royal Navy reinforcements headed for the scene, there was no advantage to be gained from further risking the ship.

In the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, the submarine HMS Upholder, commanded by Lieutenant Commander Wanklyn, managed at immense risk to penetrate a heavily escorted Axis convoy and sink a large troopship - the 18,000 ton liner Conte Rosso - bound for North Africa. The attack was made even more difficult by a defect with the submarine's listening gear, forcing her to remain at periscope depth for the entire penetration of the convoy. Upholder then had to endure a heavy depth charge retaliation from the escorts, but survived to sink some 100,000 tons of shipping before being lost the following year. Wanklyn received the Victoria Cross.

1943: In Burma, Havildar Gaje Ghale commanded a platoon of Gurkhas in a desperate attack to clear Japanese from a position threatening the safety of the 17th Indian Division's defensive line. Two previous assaults had failed, with heavy casualties. The Havildar led his men through mortar and machine-gun fire up a path only 5 yards wide, with steep drops to either side. A grenade wounded Gaje in the arms, legs and chest, but he ignored his injuries and, covered in blood, led the way in clearing the hill in a series of vicious close-quarter fights. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1944: In Italy, Major Mahoney of the Canadian Westminster Regiment led his company in an attack across the Melfi River. Mahoney was wounded in the head and legs, but nevertheless secured a bridgehead, which he then defended for five hours against fierce German counter-attacks. He received the Victoria Cross.

1969: In Vietnam, Warrant Officer Payne of the Australian Army Training Team showed outstanding leadership during an attack by overwhelming numbers of Viet Cong. He was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1982: In the Falklands, the fires on HMS Antelope continued to burn through the night. Shortly after dawn another major explosion occurred, the ship's back broke and she sank with her bows and stern sticking out of the water. Her survivors were transferred to the Norland during the day.

The morning was clear in San Carlos Water and loading continued. HMS Coventry and Broadsword took up a 'missile trap' station off Pebble Island. However, the Argentine Air Force Commanders changed their patterns of approach which would allow them to benefit from the surrounding terrain.

The first wave of A-4Bs scored three direct hits on the Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Bedivere positioned off Ajax Bay and near-missed Fort Austin; Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot had been hit by two 1,000lb bombs which had failed to explode, but started firesand the Sir Bedivere by a bomb which glanced off the crane forward of the bridge, through a bulwark and on into the sea where it exploded.

A wave of Daggers followed but the ships were now alert to the danger and engaged the aircraft with Seacat, Rapier and automatic weapons. The Daggers strafed HMS Fearless and the Sir Galahad and another bomb hit Sir Lancelot but once again this failed to explode.

Another Dagger division had been tracked by HMS Coventry and Broadsword and a Sea Harrier CAP had been vectored to intercept. Three of the Daggers were shot down with Teniente C. J. Castillo losing his life.

Three A-4Cs made an attack on San Carlos Water at about the same time. They too ran into fierce gun and missile fire.

The weather deteriorated in the afternoon giving the ships their first natural cover. The fires on Sir Galahad and Sir Lancelot had been put out and Sir Galahad's bomb was removed during the night. Sir Lancelot's proved more difficult and had to be cut free before it could be removed.

The Carrier Battle Group launched additional aircraft on CAP to guard against any possible dusk strikes.

Eight EEC nations voted to continue trade boycott of Argentina (whoopie!)

On This Day ... in 1706 & Others

Following Marlborough's success in 1705 in penetrating the French defensive Lines of Brabant, Louis XVI instructed the Duc de Villeroi to take the offensive during the 1706 campaigning season. Villeroi duly advanced across the River Dyle with some 60,000 French, Spanish and Bavarian troops, and met Marlborough's English, Dutch, Danish and German army of similar si