On this day...... 19 August

1415: Henry V laid siege to Harfleur after landing in France.  The town fell six weeks later.

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.  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website. 

1942: Allied forces, predominantly Canadian, attempted to seize the French port of Dieppe.  For full details, see here.   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.