Frederick Hitch War, aged 22, he fought at the Battle of Rorke's Drift (22–23 January 1879), and was awarded the VC for his actions. The citation was published in the "London Gazette": The soldiers were assisted in passing out ammunition by Padre George Smith. Hitch was severely wounded during the action, and was still in the Royal Victoria Military Hospital, Netley, Southampton when he received his medal from Queen Victoria. He was one of the eleven recipients of the VC awarded for their part in the battle. Hitch's wounds were so severe that they led to his discharge from service. He then
Direct action (military) Direct action (military) Direct action (DA) is a term used in the context of military special operations for small-scale raids, ambushes, sabotage or similar actions. The US Department of Defense has defined direct action as "Short-duration strikes and other small-scale offensive actions conducted as a special operation in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive environments and which employ specialized military capabilities to seize, destroy, capture, exploit, recover, or damage designated targets. Direct action differs from conventional offensive actions in the level of physical and political risk, operational techniques, and the degree of discriminate and precise use of force to achieve specific