1957 — Liberator bombers of No.1 Squadron RAAF conducted a large-scale air raid against Communist Guerrillas during the Malayan Emergency.
1968 — The first of many Communist attacks fell against Fire Support Base Coral, costing the lives of 11 Australians before the assault was driven back.
1917 — During consolidation operations at Bullecourt, Victorian Lt Rupert ‘Mick’ Moon was wounded four times charging a German machine gun nest and consolidating his troops’ defensive positions. For these actions he was awarded the Victoria Cross.
1945 — During fighting on Tarakan, Leichardt-born Cpl Jack Mackey serving with the 2/3rd Pioneer Battalion, single-handedly charged successive Japanese machine gun positions until he was killed. For these actions, he was awarded the Victoria Cross and remains the only Australian pioneer so decorated.
1966 — During an ambush, Redfern-born W.O. Ray Simpson who was serving with the Australian Army Training Team Vietnam, shielded wounded comrades with his body while covering their evacuation. For this, and an earlier action, he would be awarded the Victoria Cross.
1900 — During the advance to Pretoria, the New South Wales Mounted Rifles repelled a Boer counter-attack against their column at the Zand River.
1940 — German armoured columns began their attack on France, overrunning the country in six weeks. Forty Australian airmen flew with British formations in the defence of France.
1943 — HMAS Maroubra, a coastal cutter, was sunk during a Japanese air raid on Millingimbi Island.
1921 — German New Guinea, which had been under Australian Military rule since its seizure in 1914, was transferred to Australian Civil Administration under a League of Nations Mandate.
1943 — A Royal Australian Air Force base on Millingimbi Island, off the coast of the Northern Territory’s Arnhem Land, was bombed by Japanese aircraft.
1956 — The aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne (III) arrived in Sydney Harbour to begin duties as flagship of the Australian fleet. Thousands turned out to welcome her.
1945 — Victory in Europe or ‘VE Day’ is proclaimed when the Allies formally accepted a full and unconditional surrender from Nazi Germany.
1970 — Up to 200,000 Australians participated in demonstrations against the Vietnam War, known as the first of the ‘Moratorium Protests’.
1942 — HMAS Australia & HMAS Hobart survived an attack by 19 land-based Japanese bombers during the Battle of the Coral Sea. Neither ship was damaged.
1942 — M Special Unit was formed to conduct intelligence gathering operations behind Japanese lines in Papua New Guinea.
1885 — Around fifty personnel of the New South Wales Contingent for the Sudan were ambushed by Mahdist rebels near Takdul, marking the only significant fighting experienced by Australian troops during that conflict.
1915 — The Australian 2nd Brigade, alongside British and New Zealand troops, suffered heavy casualties in the badly co-ordinated Second Battle of Krithia. The battle would last two more days.
1900 —The New South Wales Mounted Rifles spearheaded an attack across the Vet River, charging Boer positions uphill with support from British infantry.
1916 — The New South Wales-raised 20th Battalion endured a German trench raid near Armentieres, marking the first combat for an Australian unit on the Western Front.
1971 — The Royal Australian Navy’s Clearance Diving Team Three returned to Australia, concluding four years of operational service in Vietnam.
1998 — A fire aboard HMAS Westralia cost the lives of four crew members.
1917 — HMAS Sydney (I) was attacked by Zeppelin L43, successfully evading damage but failing to bring down the German airship.
1918 — The New South Wales-raised 9th Brigade began the Second Battle of Morlancourt with a series of ‘peaceful penetration’ raids. Fighting would continue for five days.
1942 — The Battle of the Coral Sea began, with HMAS Australia, Canberra, and Hobart all serving in the inconclusive battle which lasted four days.