On this day...... 11 August

1332:  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.  The day's events are recorded on the RAF's Battle of Britain website.

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.