On this day...... 30 July

1813: 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.  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website.

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.