On this day...... 20 May *1216:* Prince Louis, the Dauphin of France, landed in Kent to assist English rebels, and quickly took Sandwich. *1339:* A French and mercenary Genoese fleet attacked English merchant shipping in Plymouth Sound, then landed on the shore to raid the four small villages that made up the community of Plymouth at that time. However, word of their presence had reached the elderly Earl of Devon, Hugh Courtenay, who force-marched his militia to the Sound, arriving just as the French and Italians were firing the villages. A bloody fight ensued, with the raiders finally driven back to their ships. *1756:* Rear Admiral Byng, who had been belatedly dispatched with a fleet to relieve the besieged British garrison on Minorca, engaged the French fleet under de la Galissonniere off Port Mahon. The action was indecisive and Byng decided to withdraw to Gibraltar with some of his ships having suffered serious damage. Minorca subsequently fell, and Byng was tried by court martial and executed the following spring on 14 March. *1858:* During the Second China War, British and French ships bombarded the Taku Forts at the mouth of the Peiho River, forcing them to surrender. *1900:* During an action with Boers, Lance Corporal Mackay of the Gordon Highlanders repeatedly braved enemy fire to tend wounded men lying in the open. He was awarded the Victoria Cross. *1915:* Lieutenant Commander Nasmith took the submarine HMS /E-11/ through the extremely dangerous Dardanelles Straits and began a devastatingly successful patrol in the Sea of Marmora against Turkish shipping supporting the Gallipoli campaign. His exploits won him the Victoria Cross. *1941:* Following the fall of mainland Greece, the Germans launched their largest ever airborne operation in an effort to seize Crete - Operation /Merkur/. The operation opened with heavy air attacks, followed by the paratroopers and gliders of the German 7th Parachute Division aiming to secure airfields at Maleme and the beach at Canea. A second wave headed for the airfields at Retimo and Heraklion. The paratroopers suffered very heavy casualties from the defending Greek, New Zealand and British troops; the German divisional commander was killed and his deputy was seriously wounded. The fighting hung in the balance for a few days, as the Royal Navy caught and sank ships carrying German Mountain troops to the island. But eventually Maleme airfield fell and the Germans were able to fly in reinforcements. General Freyberg conceded defeat on 28 May and Allied forces retreated to the south coast for evacuation by the Royal Navy. Sergeant Hulme of the New Zealand Canterbury Regiment was awarded the Victoria Cross for repeated acts of gallantry during the week-long fighting, including stalking and eliminating no less than eight enemy snipers. Following their losses on Crete, German forces never again mounted a major airborne attack. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Anti-Virus. Version: 7.0.322 / Virus Database: 266.11.14 - Release Date: 20/05/2005