On this day...... 1 August

1759: 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 Egyp t.

1940: The Luftwaffe's main effort continued against shipping and on reconnaissance work.  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website.