Battle of Mons.

The Battle of Mons was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in
the First World War. It was a subsidiary action of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the
Allies clashed with Germany on the French borders. At Mons, the British Army attempted to
hold the line of the MonsCond Canal against the advancing German 1st Army. Although
the British fought well and inflicted disproportionate casualties on the numerically superior
Germans, they were eventually forced to retreat due both to the greater strength of the
Germans and the sudden retreat of the French Fifth Army, which exposed the British right
flank. Though initially planned as a simple tactical withdrawal and executed in good order,
the British retreat from Mons lasted for two weeks and took the BEF to the outskirts of Paris
before it counter-attacked in concert with the French, at the Battle of the Marne.
Background
Britain declared war on Germany on 4th August 1914 and The Battle of Mons took place as
part of the Battle of the Frontiers, in which the advancing German army clashed with the
advancing Allied armies along the Franco-Belgian and Franco-German borders. The BEF
was stationed on the left of the Allied line, which stretched from Alsace-Lorraine in the east
to Mons and Charleroi in southern Belgium.

The British position on the French flank meant
that it stood in the path of the German First Army, the outermost wing of the massive "right
hook" intended by the Schlieffen Plan to encircle and destroy the Allies. The BEF helped to
resist the German right wing and prevent the Allies from being outflanked.
The British reached Mons on 22 August. On that day, the French Fifth Army, located on the
right of the BEF, was heavily engaged with the German 2nd and 3rd armies at the Battle of
Charleroi. At the request of the Fifth Army commander, General Charles Lanrezac, the BEF
commander, Field Marshal Sir J ohn French, agreed to hold the line of the MonsCond Canal
for twenty-four hours, to prevent the advancing German 1st Army from threatening the
French left flank. The British thus spent the day digging in along the canal.







Prelude
British defensive preparations
At the Battle of Mons the BEF had c.80,000 men in the Cavalry Division, an independent
cavalry brigade and two corps, each with two infantry divisions
I Corps was commanded by Sir Douglas Haig




and was composed of the 1st and 2nd Divisions.
II Corps was commanded by Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien


and consisted of the 3rd and 5th Divisions.

Each division had 18,073 men and 5,592 horses, in three brigades of four battalions.
Each division had twenty-four Vickers machine guns two per battalion and three field
artillery brigades with fifty-four 18-pounder guns, one field howitzer brigade of eighteen 4.5-
inch howitzers and a heavy artillery battery of four 60-pounder guns.
The British II Corps, on the left of the British line, occupied defensive positions along the
MonsCond Canal, while I Corps was positioned almost at a right angle away from the
canal along the MonsBeaumont road (see map) I Corps was deployed in this manner to
protect the BEF's right flank, in case the French were forced to retreat from their position at
Charleroi. In the event, however, the fact that I Corps did not line the canal meant that it
played very little role in the battle and the German attack was faced mostly by II Corps.
[14]

The dominant geographical feature of the battlefield was a loop in the canal, which jutted
outwards from Mons towards the village of Nimy. This loop formed a small salient which
was difficult to defend and formed the focus of the battle.

The first contact between the two armies occurred on 21 August, when a British bicycle
reconnaissance team encountered a German unit near Obourg; and Private J ohn Parr became
the first British soldier to be killed in the war.
The first substantial action occurred on the morning of 22 August. At 6:30 a.m., the 4th
Dragoon Guards

who laid an ambush for a patrol of German lancers outside the village of Casteau, to the
north-east of Mons. When the Germans spotted the trap and fell back, a troop of the
dragoons, led by Captain Hornby gave chase, followed by the rest of his squadron, all with
drawn sabres. The retreating Germans led the British to a larger force of lancers, whom they
promptly charged
Captain Hornby became the first British soldier to kill an enemy in the Great War, fighting on
horseback with sword against lance. After a further pursuit of a few miles, the Germans
turned and fired upon the British cavalry, at which point the dragoons dismounted and
opened fire.
Drummer Edward Thomas is reputed to have fired the first shot of the war for the British
Army, hitting a German trooper.


















German Offensive Preparations


Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German First Army at Mons
Advancing towards the British was the German 1st Army, commanded by Alexander von
Kluck. The 1st Army was composed of four active corps (II, III, IV, and IX Corps) and three
reserve corps (III, IV and IX Reserve Corps), although only the active corps took part in the
fighting at Mons. German corps had two divisions each, with attendant cavalry and artillery.
The 1st Army had the greatest offensive power of the German armies, with a density of
c.18,000 men per 1-mile (1.6 km) of front, or about ten per 1 metre (1.1 yd)
Late on 20 August General Karl von Blow, the 2nd Army commander, who had tactical
control over the 1st Army while north of the Sambre, held the view that an encounter with the
British was unlikely and wished to concentrate on the French units reported between
Charleroi and Namur, on the south bank of the Sambre; reconnaissance in the afternoon
failed to reveal the strength or intentions of the French. The 2nd Army was ordered to reach a
line from Binch, Fontaine-l'Eveque and the Sambre next day to assist the 3rd Army across the
Meuse by advancing south of the Sambre on 23 August. The 1st Army was instructed to be
ready to cover Brussels and Antwerp to the north and Maubeuge to the south-west. Kluck and
the 1st Army staff expected to meet British troops, probably through Lille, which made a
wheel to the south premature. Kluck wanted to advance to the south-west to maintain
freedom of manuoeuvre and on 21 August, attempted to persuade Blow to allow the 1st
Army to continue its manoeuvre. Blow refused and ordered the 1st Army to isolate
Maubeuge and support the right flank of the 2nd Army, by advancing to a line from Lessines
to Soignies, while the III and IV Reserve corps remained in the north, to protect the rear of
the army from Belgian operations southwards from Antwerp.
On 22 August, the 13th Division of the VII Corps, on the right flank of the 2nd Army,
encountered British cavalry north of Binche, as the rest of the army to the east began an
attack over the Sambre river, against the French Fifth Army. By the evening the bulk of the
1st Army had reached a line from Silly to Thoricourt, Louvignies and Mignault; the III and
IV Reserve corps had occupied Brussels and screened Antwerp. Reconnaissance by cavalry
and aircraft indicated that the area to the west of the army was free of troops and that British
troops were not concentrating around Kortrijk, Lille and Tournai but were thought to be on
the left flank of the Fifth Army, from Mons to Maubeuge. Earlier in the day, British cavalry
had been reported at Casteau, to the north-east of Mons. A British aeroplane had been seen at
Louvain on 20 August and on the afternoon of 22 August, a British aircraft en route from
Maubeuge was shot down by the 5th Division. More reports had reached the IX Corps, that
columns were moving from Valenciennes to Mons, which made clear the British deployment
but were not passed on to the 1st Army headquarters. Kluck assumed that the subordination
of the 1st Army to the 2nd Army had ended, since the passage of the Sambre had been forced
and wished to be certain to envelop the left (west) flank of the enemy forces to the south but
was again overruled and ordered to advance south rather than south-west on 23 August.
Late on 22 August, reports arrived that the British had occupied the Canal du Centre
crossings from Nimy to Ville-sur-Haine, which revealed the location of British positions,
except for the left flank.

"A" Company of the 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, resting in the town square at Mons before entering the line
prior to the Battle of Mons. The Royal Fusiliers faced some of the heaviest fighting in the battle

On 23 August the 1st Army began to advance north-west of Maubeuge, to a line from
Bascles to St. Ghislain and J emappes. The weather had turned cloudy and rainy, which
grounded the 1st Army Flieger-Abteilung all day, despite an improvement in the weather
around noon. News that large numbers of troops had been arriving at Tournai by train were
received and the advance was suspended, until the reports from Tournai could be checked.
The IX Corps divisions advanced in four columns against the Canal du Centre, from the north
of Mons to Roeulx and on the left (eastern) flank met French troops at the canal, which was
considered to be the junction of the British and French. The corps commander, General von
Quast, had ordered an attack for 9:55 a.m. to seize the crossings, before the halt order was
received. The two III Corps divisions were close to St. Ghislain and General Ewald von
Lochow ordered them to prepare to attack from Tertre to Ghlin. In the IV Corps area, General
Sixt von Armin ordered an attack on the canal crossings of Pruwelz and Blaton and ordered
the 8th Division to reconnoitre from Tournai to Cond and to keep contact with the II Cavalry
Corps.

The Battle
Morning
At dawn on 23 August a German artillery bombardment began on the British lines;
throughout the day the Germans concentrated on the British at the salient formed by the loop
in the canal. At 9:00 a.m., the first German infantry assault began, with the Germans
attempting to force their way across four bridges that crossed the canal at the salient. Four
German battalions attacked the Nimy bridge, which was defended by a company of the 4th
Battalion, Royal Fusiliers and a machine-gun section led by Lieutenant Maurice Dease.
Advancing at first in close column, "parade ground formation", the Germans made easy
targets for the British riflemen, who hit German soldiers at over 1,000 yards (910 m),
mowing them down by rifle, machine-gun and artillery fire. So heavy was the British rifle
fire throughout the battle that some Germans thought they were facing batteries of machine-
guns.


Map showing the disposition of Allied and German forces at the battles of Mons and
Charleroi on 2223 August
The initial German attack was thus repulsed with heavy losses and the Germans switched to
an open formation and attacked again. This attack was more successful, as the looser
formation adopted by the Germans made it more difficult for the British to inflict casualties
rapidly. The outnumbered defenders were soon hard-pressed to defend the canal crossings,
and the Royal Fusiliers at the Nimy and Ghlin bridges faced some of the day's heaviest
fighting; only piecemeal addition of reinforcements to the firing line and the exceptional
bravery of two of the battalion machine-gunners allowed them to hold off the German
attacks. At the Nimy bridge, Dease took control of his machine gun after every other member
of his section had been killed or wounded and fired the weapon despite being shot several
times. After a fifth wound he was evacuated to the battalion aid station, where he died. At the
Ghlin Bridge, Private Sidney Godley operated the other machine-gun throughout the day and
stayed behind to cover the Fusilier retreat at the end of the battle. Godley surrendered after
throwing parts of the gun into the canal to prevent its capture by the Germans. Both soldiers
were awarded the Victoria Cross, the first two awarded in the First World War.
To the right of the Royal Fusiliers, the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, and the 1st
Battalion, Gordon Highlanders, were equally hard-pressed by the German assault on the
salient. Greatly outnumbered, both battalions suffered heavy casualties but with the addition
of reinforcements from the Royal Irish Regiment, from the divisional reserve and effective
fire support from the divisional artillery, they managed to hold the bridges. The Germans
expanded their attack, assaulting the British defences along the straight reach of the canal to
the west of the salient. The Germans used the cover of fir plantations that lined the northern
side of the canal and advanced to within a few hundred yards of the canal to rake the British
with machine-gun and rifle fire. The German attack fell particularly heavily on the 1st
Battalion, Royal West Kent Regiment and the 2nd Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers,
which despite many casualties, repulsed the Germans throughout the day.













Retreat

Lieutenant Maurice Dease Fusilier Sidney Godley
Lieutenant Maurice Dease was 24 years old, and a lieutenant in the 4th Battalion, The Royal
Fusiliers, and was awarded the VC for his actions on 23 August 1914, at Mons, Belgium.
Nimy Bridge was being defended by a single company of the 4th Royal Fusiliers and a
machine-gun section with Dease in command. The gun fire was intense, and the casualties
very heavy, but the lieutenant went on firing in spite of his wounds, until he was hit for the
fifth time and was carried away.
Though two or three times badly wounded he continued to control the fire of his machine
guns at Mons on 23rd Aug., until all his men were shot. He died of his wounds.
Dease won the first Victoria Cross to be awarded in the Great War, 19141918, and he also
won it on the first day of the first significant British encounter in that war. Dease is buried at
St Symphorien military cemetery, Belgium.
He is remembered with a plaque under the Nimy Railroad Bridge, Mons and in Westminster
Cathedral. His name is on the Wayside Cross in Woodchester, Stroud, Gloucestershire. His
Victoria Cross is displayed at the Royal Fusiliers Museum in the Tower of London.
The other Sidney Godley was 25 years old, and a private in the 4th Battalion, The Royal
Fusiliers, British Army, during the Battle of Mons in the First World War when he performed
an act for which he was awarded the Victoria Cross. On 23 August 1914, at Mons, Belgium
on the Mons-Cond Canal, Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Sidney Godley offered to defend
the Nimy Railway Bridge while the rest of the British and French armies retreated for a better
defence line on the River Marne. When Lieutenant Dease had been mortally wounded and
killed, Private Godley held the bridge single-handed under very heavy fire and was wounded
twice. Shrapnel entered his back when an explosion near him went off, and he was shot in
thehead. Despite his injuries he carried on the defence of the bridge while his comrades
escaped.
His citation read:
For coolness and gallantry in fighting his machine gun under a hot fire for two hours after he
had been wounded at Mons on 23rd August.
Godley defended the bridge for two hours, until he ran out of ammunition.

His final act was
to dismantle the gun and throw the pieces into the canal. He attempted to crawl to safety, but
advancing German soldiers caught him and took him to a prisoner of war camp. His wounds
were treated, but he remained in camp until the Armistice. Originally it was thought that he
had been killed, but some time later it was found that he was a prisoner of war in a camp
called Delotz at Dallgow-Dberitz. It was in the camp that he was informed that he had been
awarded the Victoria Cross. Godley left the camp in 1918 after the guards fled their posts. He
received the actual medal from King George V, at Buckingham Palace, on 15 February 1919
By the afternoon the British position in the salient had become untenable; the 4th Middlesex
had 15 officer and 353 other ranks killed or wounded. To the east of the British position,
units of the German IX Corps had begun to cross the canal in force, threatening the British
right flank. At Nimy, Private Oskar Neimeyer had swum across the canal under British fire to
operate machinery closing a swing bridge. Although he was killed, his actions re-opened the
bridge and allowed the Germans to increase pressure against the 4th Royal Fusiliers.
At 3:00 p.m. the British 3rd Division was ordered to retire from the salient, to positions a
short distance to the south of Mons and a similar retreat towards evening by the 5th Division
to conform. By nightfall II Corps had established a new defensive line running through the
villages of Montrul, Boussu, Wasmes, Paturages and Frameries. The Germans had built
pontoon bridges over the canal and were approaching the British positions in great strength.
News had arrived that the French Fifth Army was retreating, dangerously exposing the
British right flank and at 2:00 a.m. on 24 August, II Corps was ordered to retreat south-west
into France to reach defensible positions along the ValenciennesMaubeuge road.
The unexpected order to retreat from prepared defensive lines in the face of the enemy meant
that II Corps was required to fight a number of sharp rearguard actions against the Germans.
For the first stage of the withdrawal, Smith-Dorrien detailed the 5th Brigade of the 2nd
Division, which had not been involved in heavy fighting on 23 August, to act as rearguard.
The 5th Brigade fought a holding action at Paturages and Frameries, the Brigade artillery in
particular inflicting heavy casualties on the Germans. At Wasmes, elements of the 5th
Division faced a big attack, German artillery began bombarding the village at daybreak, and
at 10:00 a.m. infantry of the German III Corps attacked. Advancing in columns, the Germans
were immediately met with massed rifle and machine-gun fire and were "mown down like
grass." For a further two hours, soldiers of the 1st West Kents, 2nd Battalion, King's Own
Yorkshire Light Infantry, 2nd Battalion, Duke of Wellington's Regiment, and 1st Battalion,
Bedfordshire Regiment, held off German attacks on the village despite many casualties and
then retreated in good order to St. Vaast.
On the extreme left of the British line, the 14th and 15th Brigades of the 5th Division were
threatened by a German outflanking move and were forced to call for help from the cavalry.
The 2nd Cavalry Brigade, along with the 119th Battery RFA and L Battery RHA, were sent
to their aid. Dismounting, the cavalry and the two artillery batteries screened the withdrawal
of the 14th and 15th Brigades in four hours of intense fighting.
German 1st Army
On 23 August, the 18th Division of IX Corps advanced and began to bombard the British
defences near Maisires and St. Denis. Part of the 35th Brigade, got across the canal east of
Nimy with light casualties and reached the railway beyond in the early afternoon but the
attack on Nimy was repulsed. The 36th Brigade captured bridges at Obourg against
determined resistance, after which the defenders at Nimy gradually withdrew; the bridges to
the north were captured at 4:00 p.m. and the town stormed. Quast ordered the 18th Division
to take Mons and push south to Cuesmes and Mesvin. Mons was captured unopposed, except
for a skirmish on the southern fringe and by dark the 35th Brigade was in the vicinity of
Cuesmes and Hyon. On higher ground to the east of Mons, the defence continued. On the
front of the 17th Division, British cavalry withdrew from the canal crossings at Ville-sur-
Haine and Thieu and the division advanced to the road from St. Symphorien to St. Ghislain.
At 5:00 p.m. the divisional commander ordered an enveloping attack on the British east of
Mons, who were pushed back after a stand on the MonsGivry road.
By 11:00 a.m. reports from the IV, III and IX corps revealed that the British were in St.
Ghislain and at the canal crossings to the west, as far as the bridge at Pommeroeuil, with no
troops east of Cond. Intelligence reports from 22 August had noted 30,000 troops heading
through Dour towards Mons and on 23 August 40,000 men had been seen on the road to
Genlis south of Mons, with more troops arriving at J emappes. To the north of Binche, the
right flanking division of the 2nd Army had been forced back to the south-west by British
cavalry. In the early afternoon the II Cavalry Corps reported that it had occupied the area of
ThieltKortykTournai during the night and forced back a French brigade to the south-east of
Roubaix. With this report indicating that the right flank was clear of Allied troops, Kluck
ordered the III Corps to advance through St. Ghislain and J emappes on the right of IX Corps
and the IV Corps to continue towards Hensis and Thulies; the IV Corps was already attacking
at the Canal du Centre and the II Corps and the IV Reserve Corps were following on behind
the main part of the army.
III Corps had to advance across open meadows to an obstacle with few crossings, all of
which had been destroyed. The 5th Division advanced towards Tertre on the right, which was
captured but then the advance on the railway bridge was stopped by small-arms fire from
across the canal. On the left flank, the division advanced towards a bridge north-east of
Wasmuel and eventually managed to get across the canal against determined resistance,
before turning towards St. Ghislain and Hornu. As dark fell Wasmuel was occupied and
attacks on St. Ghislain were repulsed by machine-gun fire, which prevented troops crossing
the canal except at Tertre, where the advance was stopped for the night. The 6th Division was
counter-attacked at Ghlin, before advancing towards higher ground south of J emappes. The
British in the village stopped the division with small-arms fire, except for small parties, who
found cover west of a path from Ghlin to J emappes. The isolated parties managed to surprise
the defenders at the crossing north of the village, with the support of a few field guns around
5:00 p.m., after which the village was captured. The rest of the division crossed the canal and
began a pursuit towards Frameries and Ciply but stopped as dark fell.
The IV Corps arrived in the afternoon, as the 8th Division closed on Hensies and Thulin and
the 7th Division advanced towards Ville-Pommeroeuil, where there were two canals blocking
the route. The 8th Division encountered the British at the northernmost canal, west of
Pommeroeuil and forced back the defenders but then bogged down in front of the second
canal, under machine-gun fire from the south bank. The attack was suspended, after night fell
and the British blew the bridge. The 7th Division forced the British back from a railway
embankment and over the canal, to the east of Pommeroeuil but was pushed back from the
crossing. Small parties then managed to cross by a footbridge built in the dark and protected
repair parties at the blown bridge, which allowed troops to get across and dig in 400 metres
(440 yd) south of the canal, on either side of the road to Thulin.
Late in the day, the II Corps and the IV Reserve Corps rested on their march routes at La
Hamaide and Bierghes, after marching 32 and 20 kilometres (20 and 12 mi) respectively, 30
and 45 kilometres (19 and 28 mi) behind the front, too far behind to take part in the battle on
24 August. In the mid-afternoon of 23 August, IV Corps was ordered to rest, as reports from
the front suggested that the British defence had been overcome and the 1st Army
headquarters wanted to avoid the army converging on Maubeuge, leaving the right (western)
flank vulnerable. In the evening Kluck cancelled the instruction, after reports from IX Corps
that its observation aircraft had flown over a column 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) long, moving
towards Mons along the Malplaquet road. Two more columns were seen on the Malplaquet
Genly and the QuevyGenly roads, a large force was seen near Asquillies and cavalry was
found further east, which showed that most of the BEF was opposite the 1st Army. It was
considered vital that the second canal crossings were captured along the line, as had been
achieved by the IX and part of III corps. IV Corps was ordered to resume its march and move
the left wing towards Thulin but it was already engaged at the canal crossings. The III and IX
corps attack during the day had succeeded against "a tough, nearly invisible enemy" but the
offensive had to continue, because it appeared that only the right flank of the army could get
behind the BEF.
The situation remained unclear at the 1st Army headquarters in the evening, because
communication with the other right flank armies had been lost and only fighting near Thuin
by VII Corps, the right-flank unit of the 2nd Army had been reported. Kluck ordered that the
attack was to continue on 24 August, past the west of Maubeuge and that II Corps would
catch up behind the right flank of the army. IX Corps was to advance to the east of Bavai, III
Corps was to advance to the west of the village, IV Corps was to advance towards Warnies-
le-Grand 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) further to the west and the II Cavalry Corps was to head
towards Denain, to cut off the British retreat. During the night there were several British
counter-attacks but none of the German divisions was forced back over the canal. At dawn
the IX Corps resumed its advance and pushed forwards against rearguards until the afternoon,
when the corps stopped the advance due to uncertainty about the situation on its left flank and
the proximity of Maubeuge. At 4:00 p.m. cavalry reports led Quast to resume the advance,
which was slowed by the obstacles of Maubeuge and III Corps congesting the roads.
On the III Corps front to the west, the 6th Division attacked Frameries at dawn, which held
out until 10:30 a.m. and then took La Bouverie and Pturages, after which the British began
to retreat; the division turned west towards Warquignies and the 5th Division. St. Ghislain
had been attacked by the 5th Division behind an artillery barrage, where the 10th Brigade had
crossed the canal and taken the village in house-to-house fighting, then reached the south end
of Hornu. A defensive line had been established by the British along the DourWasmes
railway, which stopped the German advance and diverted the 9th Brigade until 5:00 p.m.,
when the British withdrew. The German infantry were exhausted and stopped the pursuit at
Dour and Warquignies. During the day Kluck sent liaison officers to the corps headquarters,
stressing that the army should not converge on Maubeuge but pass to the west, ready to
envelop the British left (west) flank.
The IV Corps headquarters had ordered its divisions to attack over the canal at dawn but
found that the British had blown the bridges and withdrawn. Repairs took until 9:00 a.m. and
the 8th Division did not reach Quivrain until noon; the 7th Division reached the railway at
Thuin during the morning and then took louges late in the afternoon. As the 8th Division
moved on, the vanguard was ambushed by British cavalry before an advance to Valenciennes
could begin and then attacked a British rearguard at Baisieux, which then slipped away to
Audregnies. The rest of the division skirmished with French Territorials south-west of
Baisieux. The IV Corps attack forced back rearguards but inflicted no serious damage, having
been slowed by the bridge demolitions at the canals. The cavalry divisions had advanced
towards Denain and the Jgerbattalions had defeated troops of the French 88th Territorial
Division at Tournai and then reached Marchiennes, after a skirmish with the 83rd Territorial
Division near Orchies.















Air Operations
German air reconnaissance detected British troops on 21 August, advancing from Le Cateau
to Maubeuge, and on 22 August from Maubeuge to Mons, as other sources identified halting
places, but poor communication and lack of systematic direction of air operations led to the
assembly of the BEF from Cond to Binche being unknown to the Germans on 2223
August.
British reconnaissance flights had begun on 19 August with two sorties and two more on 20
August, which reported no sign of German troops. Fog delayed flights on 21 August but in
the afternoon German troops were seen near Courtrai and three villages were reported to be
burning. Twelve reconnaissance sorties were flown on 22 August and reported many German
troops closing in on the BEF, especially troops on the BrusselsNinove road, which indicated
an enveloping manoeuvre.
One British aircraft was shot down and a British observer became the first British soldier to
be wounded while flying.

By the evening Sir J ohn French was able to discuss with his commanders the German
dispositions near the BEF which had been provided by aircraft observation, the strength of
the German forces, that the Sambre had been crossed and that an encircling move by the
Germans from Grammont was possible.
During the battle on 23 August, the aircrews flew behind the battlefield looking for troop
movements and German artillery batteries.


Aftermath
Both sides had success at the Battle of Mons: the British had been outnumbered by about 3:1
but managed to withstand the German First Army for 48 hours, inflict more casualties on the
Germans and then retire in good order. The BEF achieved its main strategic objective, which
was to prevent the French Fifth Army from being outflanked. The battle was an important
moral victory for the British; as their first battle on the continent since the Crimean War, it
was a matter of great uncertainty as to how they would perform. In the event, the British
soldiers came away from the battle with a clear sense that they had got the upper hand during
the fighting at Mons. The Germans appeared to recognise that they had been dealt a sharp
blow by an army they had considered inconsequential. The German novelist and infantry
Captain Walter Bloem wrote:
The men all chilled to the bone, almost too exhausted to move and with the depressing
consciousness of defeat weighing heavily upon them. A bad defeat, there can be no gain
saying it... we had been badly beaten, and by the English by the English we had so laughed
at a few hours before.
For the Germans the Battle of Mons was a tactical repulse and a strategic success. The staff at
Kluck's headquarters claimed that the two-day battle had failed to envelop the British, due to
the subordination of the army to Blow and the 2nd Army headquarters, which had insisted
that the 1st Army keep closer to the western flank, rather than attack to the west of Mons. It
was believed that only part of the BEF had been engaged and that there was a main line of
defence from Valenciennes to Bavai, which Kluck ordered to be enveloped on 25 August.
The 1st Army was delayed by the British and suffered many casualties but crossed the barrier
of the MonsCond Canal and began its advance into France. The Germans drove the BEF
and French armies before them almost to Paris, before being stopped at the Battle of the
Marne.
Casualties
The British Official Historian J . E. Edmonds recorded "just over" 1,600 British casualties,
most in the two battalions of the 8th Brigade which had defended the salient, and wrote that
German losses "must have been very heavy", which explained German inertia after dark,
when the 8th Brigade was vulnerable, several other gaps existed in the British line and the
retirement had begun. J ohn Keegan estimated German losses to have been c.5,000 men. In
1997 D. Lomas recorded German losses from 3,0005,000 men. In 2009 Herwig recorded
1,600 British casualties and c.5,000 German casualties, despite the fact that Kluck and Kuhl
did not reveal 1st Army casualties.
Legacy
The Battle of Mons has attained an almost mythic status. In British historical writing, it has a
reputation as an unlikely victory against overwhelming odds, similar to the English victory at
the Battle of Agincourt. Mons gained a myth, a miraculous tale that the Angels of Mons
angelic warriors sometimes described as phantom longbowmen from Agincourt had saved
the British army by halting the German troops.
Soldiers of the BEF who fought at Mons became eligible for a campaign medal, the 1914
Star, often colloquially called the Mons Star, honouring troops who had fought in Belgium or
France 5 August 22 November 1914. On 19 August 1914, Kaiser Wilhelm allegedly issued
an Order of the Day which read in part: "my soldiers to exterminate first the treacherous
English; walk over Field Marshal French's contemptible little Army." This led to the British
"Tommies" of the BEF proudly labelling themselves "The Old Contemptibles". No evidence
of the Order of the Day has been found in German archives and the ex-Kaiser denied giving
it. An investigation conducted by General Frederick Maurice traced the origins of the Order
to the British GHQ, where it apparently had been concocted for propaganda purposes.
The Germans established the St Symphorien Military Cemetery as a memorial to the German
and British dead. On a mound in the centre of the cemetery a grey granite obelisk 7 metres
(23 ft) tall was built with a German inscription: "In memory of the German and English
soldiers who fell in the actions near Mons on the 23rd and 24th August 1914".Originally, 245
German and 188 British soldiers were interred at the cemetery. More British, Canadian and
German graves were moved to the cemetery from other burial grounds and more than 500
soldiers were eventually buried in St. Symphorien, of which over 60 were unidentified.
Special memorials were erected to five soldiers of the Royal Irish Regiment believed to be
buried in unnamed graves. Other special memorials record the names of four British soldiers,
buried by the enemy in Obourg Churchyard, whose graves could not be found. St.
Symphorien cemetery also contains the graves of the two soldiers believed to be the first
(Private J ohn Parr, 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, 21 August 1914) and the last (Private
Gordon Price, Canadian Infantry, 11 November 1918) Commonwealth soldiers to be killed
during the First World War. A tablet in the cemetery sets out the gift of the land by J ean
Houzeau de Lehaie.