1945— Australian Lancaster squadrons take part in a devastating raid on Dresden.
1946— Troops of the 34th Australian Infantry Brigade disembarked at Kure, Japan, as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force, or BCOF. Approximately 16,000 Australians served with BCOF, tasked with enforcing the conditions of Japan’s surrender.
1972— The RAAF ceased flying in Vietnam. The last flight was by No 35 Squadron, flying Caribou transport planes.
1900— Pink Hill, South Africa, defended by a force of 95 Australians and 100 British troops, was attacked by about 1,800 Boer troops. The resultant fighting led to seven Australian deaths and the wounding of 22.
1940— The first convoy of Second Australian Imperial Force soldiers arrived in the Middle East, where they began preparations for Australia’s first land campaign of the Second World War.
1891— The clipper ship Sobraon was purchased by the NSW Government as a replacement for the boy’s training ship Vernon. Sobraon was commissioned into the RAN as HMAS Tingira in 1912.
1944— HMAS Launceston, HMAS Ipswich, and HMIS Jumna sink the Japanese submarine RO-110 in the Indian Ocean.
1970— RAN Clearance Diving Team 3 completed a 9-day search and destroy mission in the Phu Cuong area of Vietnam. Three enemy bunkers and a large quantity of ordnance was destroyed.
1944— Japanese resistance on the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea, ended. Fighting there began in August 1943 and involved such places as Lae, Finschhaven, Sattelberg, Shaggy Ridge, and the Ramu Valley.
1964— HMAS Voyager, a destroyer, was involved in a collision with the aircraft carrier HMAS Melbourne, off Jervis Bay on the NSW south coast. Voyager was cut in two and sank in 1100 metres of water, with 81 sailors and 1 civilian technician lost.
1943— Japanese troops were defeated at Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. This defeat, at the hands of the Americans, contributed to the Japanese having to withdraw from the Kokoda Track when almost within sight of Port Moresby.
1942— Japanese forces crossed the Straits of Johore and began the invasion of Singapore. They were engaged by troops of the 22nd and 27th Brigades of the 8th Australian Division.
1944— Lieutenant Brian MacFarlane RANVR, was lost when his midget submarine X-22 was rammed by HMS Syrtis during exercises in Pentland Forth, Scotland.
1915— HMAS Pioneer arrives at Zanzibar to join the blockade of the German cruiser SMS Konigsberg in the Rufigi River, East Africa.
1941— The 6th Australian Division entered Benghazi, Libya. Benghazi changed hands five times, first against the Italians and later the German Wehrmacht.
1917 – Captain Henry Murray was awarded the Victoria Cross for extraordinary bravery during an attack on a German position at Stormy Trench, France, when his company repelled counter-attacks at close range under intense shell fire. Murray had a distinguished military career, receiving the Distinguished Conduct Medal at Gallipoli, the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) at Mouquet Farm, and a Bar to his DSO at Bullecourt. Enlisting as a Private in September 1914, he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel by March 1918.
1942— Japanese demands for the surrender of Singapore were rejected by the British, leading to a full-scale assault on the island.
1943— Japanese troops retreated from Wau, New Guinea, after fierce fighting.