On this day...... 13 September

1544: Henry VIII's army captured Boulogne after a five-week siege, in which they had been initially advised by the Italian engineer Girolamo Pennachi, until he had been killed by a cannon shot.  However, the English success proved in vain, as news soon arrived that Henry's ally. the Emperor Charles V, had negotiated a settlement with the French.  Boulogne was eventually returned to France under a peace treaty six years later.

1645: The talented Scots Royalist commander the Earl of Montrose was finally defeated by the Scots Covenanter forces under David Leslie at Philiphaugh, his army, reduced to only 700 Irish veterans, being overwhelmed by 6,000 Covenanters.  Montrose was reluctantly persuaded to flee in the hope of maintaining the Royalist cause.  The Puritan clergy accompanying Leslie insisted on a massacre of all prisoners, including women and children among the camp followers.

1759: The battle of Abraham's Plain secured the final defeat of the French in Canada.  Major General James Wolfe had managed to scale the Heights of Abraham during the night, with nearly 5,000 men.  When it became clear that the British had gained a foothold on the Plain, the French commander Montcalm marched out from Quebec to confront him with 10,000 troops, mainly militia.  The disciplined firepower of the British infantry proved decisive, and when the French recoiled, the British pressed home a bayonet charge, with Wolfe at its head.  The charge broke the French but Wolfe was mortally wounded in the chest and died the same day.  Montcalm, gallantly trying to rally his men, in turn received a fatal wound, and died the day after.  Quebec surrendered to the British on 18 September.

1814: Following the death in action of Major General Ross the previous day, British forces pressed on towards Baltimore.  Royal Navy ships under Cochrane commenced a bombardment of Fort McHenry, including the use of rockets: the inspiration for the "Star Spangled Banner".

1857: British artillery completed breaching the defences at Delhi, and preparations were made for an assault the following day.  Bugler Sutton of the 60th Rifles volunteered to go forward to the breach during the night to confirm the damage.  Despite the risks involved, he successfully reported back safely and was awarded the Victoria Cross.

1882: Sir Garnet Wolseley attacked the Egyptian positions at Tel-el-Kebir, held by Colonel Arabi, the leader of the anti-European rebellion in Egypt.  Arabi had more than 20,000 troops well dug-in.  Rather than attack such positions in broad daylight, Wolseley decided on a night approach march, hitting the defences in the early hours of the morning.  His tactics paid off, with only 57 men killed taking the position.  The Egyptians lost over 2,000 men, and the defeat brought about the collapse of Arabi's regime and the restoration of the Khedive.  Lieutenant Edwards, who led a platoon of the Highland Light Infantry in the front rank of the attack, received the Victoria Cross for his lone attack on a Egyptian artillery position.

1931: An RAF team secured the prestigious Schneider Trophy outright, following a victory in the seaplane race by Flight Lieutenant Boothman in the Supermarine S-6B, at a speed of 340mph.  A fortnight later, on 29 September, Flight Lieutenant Stainforth flew the aircraft to set a new world speed record of 407mph.

1940: Poor weather saw limited Luftwaffe activity during the day (although bombs did fall at Buckingham Palace and in Whitehall), but a renewed attack on London during the night .  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website.

1942: Lieutenant Foster, a 61 year old Home Guard officer, threw himself onto a grenade which landed amongst his men during a live training accident, taking all the blast.  He was awarded a posthumous George Cross.

1943: An Australian soldier, Private Kelliher, serving in New Guinea, made two lone attacks on a machine-gun position, destroying it at the second attempt, then braved heavy enemy fire again to rescue a wounded corporal.  Kelliher, who had previously been accused of cowardice during the war, received the Victoria Cross.

1944: Assistant Section Officer Noor Inayat-Khan of the Women's Auxiliary Air Force, an agent in France with the Special Operations Executive, was murdered at Dachau.  She was awarded a posthumous George Cross.