Today in Military History 18 February

 1268 The Battle of Wesenberg is fought

1637 Off the coast of Cornwall, England, a Spanish fleet intercepts an important Anglo-Dutch merchant convoy of 44 vessels escorted by six warships, destroying or capturing 20 of them.

1781 Fourth Anglo-Dutch War: Captain Thomas Shirley opens his expedition against Dutch colonial outposts on the Gold Coast of Africa.

1797 Sir Ralph Abercromby and a fleet of 18 British warships invade Trinidad.

1814 The Battle of Montereau.

1900 British forces suffer their worst single-day loss of life on Bloody Sunday, the first day of the Battle of Paardeberg.

1900  Sergeant Atkinson was awarded the Victoria Cross

During the Battle of Paardeburg on 18th February 1900, Sergeant Atkinson went out seven-times, under heavy and close fire, to obtain water for the wounded. At the seventh attempt he was wounded in the head, and died a few days afterwards. VCOL   W

1915 The Imperial German Navy institutes unrestricted submarine warfare in the waters around Great Britain and Ireland.

1942 The Imperial Japanese Army begins the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among the Chinese in Singapore.

1946 Sailors of the Royal Indian Navy mutiny in Bombay harbour

1947 The French gain complete control of Hanoi after forcing the Viet Minh to withdraw to mountains.

1952  Greece was formally welcomed into NATO