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Battle of Mons

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Battles of Mons & Le Cateau
 
The Schlieffen Plan envisaged a rapid thrust through Belgium to the heart of France;sweeping behind, encircling and destroying the French armies massed on the Franco-German border. The original plan did not consider the presence of a British force to be likely and even when one was dispatched to the Continent it was dismissed as a 'contemptible little army' by the Kaiser.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) under the command of Sir John French consisted of I and II Corps each composed of two divisions, an independent brigade and a cavalry division. The Germans committed the III, IV and IX Corps of von Kluck's First Army to the battle.
 
 

Mons & Le Cateau Battlefield Tour
 
 

Casteau: The First Shot

 
The task of Allenby's Cavalry Division was to gain information about enemy strength and intentions. Following contact with a German cavalry patrol from the 2nd Kruirassiers on the 2nd August, 1914, Corporal Thomas of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoons fired the first British shot of the war - only yards from where the last shot was to be fired four years later - and Captain Hornby led the first charge.

After capturing five German prisoners following a sharp fight near Soignies, the British cavalrymen returned without any losses.A monument on the spot where Hornby ordered his men to charge commemorates this action as well as the first shot fired by Thomas.
 
 

Nimy & The Canal Bridges

 
The British II Corps was deployed along the Mons Canal. German artillery occupied the high ground north of the canal and opened fire on the positions of the 4th Middlesex and 4th Royal Fusiliers. Units of the German IX Corps began a series of massed attacks between Nimy and Obourg.

The 4th Battalion Royal Fusiliers defended the road and rail bridges across the canal near Nimy. It was on the rail bridge that Dease and Godley won the first VC's of the war as they delayed the German advance long enough for the remainder of the battalion to withdraw. A plaque under the arch of the railway bridge commemorates their actions.

The Fusiliers withdrew to Mons using telegraph poles and doorways for cover as they fired at the advancing Germans.
 
 

Obourg Station

 
Meanwhile the accurate rifle fire of the 4th Battalion Middlesex Regiment, defending Obourg Station, was so rapid and caused such heavy casualties that the Germans believed the British were well equipped with machine-guns.

By midday, the situation was becoming difficult for the Middlesex. They were reinforced by two companies of the 2nd Royal Irish Regiment but, by now, the Germans had begun to infiltrate the rear of their position and both units were forced to withdraw or risk being cut off and surrounded.

An unidentified British soldier continued firing alone from the roof of the station and delayed the Germans as the 4th Middlesex withdrew. A plaque concerning this deed has been placed on a wall where the station once stood. The soldier was killed as his position was finally overrun.
 
 

La Bascule Crossroads

 
At La Bascule Crossroads, German attempts to cut off the BEF's line of retreat were repeatedly denied by forty men of 2nd Battalion Royal Irish Regiment led by RQMS Fitzpatrick together with twelve Gordon Highlanders. Fitzpatrick managed to salvage a damaged machine-gun which Sergeant Redmont was able to repair and use to great effect against the Germans.

This small group stubbornly defended the crossroads until nightfall at which point Fitzpatrick and eighteen survivors decided to withdraw and rejoin the battalion. For his actions, Fitzpatrick was awarded the Distinguished Conduct Medal.
 
 

St Symphorien

 
The first and last British casualties of the war, Private Parr and Private Ellison, lie opposite each other in St Symphorien War Cemetery at Mons. Private Price, the last Canadian casualty, is also buried here as is Lieutenant Dease VC whose actions at the railway bridge gained valuable time for the rest of his battalion to withdraw. Many of the casualties of both sides at Mons are buried in St Symphorien and the cemetery is divided between a British and German section.
 
 

Le Cateau

 
With the Fifth French Army falling back to the British right, the BEF began its epic retreat from Mons. After passing the Forest of Mormal, Smith-Dorrien's exhausted II Corps turned to make a famous stand. Outnumbered in men and guns, the British succeeded in delaying the Germans in a desperate battle at Le Cateau on 26th August, 1914.

II Corps deployed in the open fields to the west of the town. Again, rapid fire from the infantry was accompanied by artillery firing air-bursting shrapnel over open sights.
 
 

Suffolk Memorial

 
The 2nd Suffolks were on the right of the the British line and their stand is commemorated by the Suffolk Memorial which offers a good vantage point from which to view the battlefield. By late morning the Germans, having pounded the British positions with artillery, were advancing along a two mile front between the valley of the Selle to Rambourlieux Farm. The British inflicted severe casualties but the Suffolks were in danger of becoming isolated although the line still held.

By the late afternoon the bulk of II Corps began to withdraw. The Suffolks were by now all but surrounded and a similar fate befell the KOYLI on the Cambrai road. Both battalions continued to repel further German attacks and their determination allowed the remainder of the II Corps to withdraw intact.
 
 

Dease & Godley

 
Lieutenant Maurice Dease in command of the 4th Royal Fusiliers' machine-gun section found himself the only unwounded man on the railway bridge. He began firing the machine-gun himself being wounded five times before being evacuated to a dressing station where he died.

Private Sidney Godley replaced Dease at the gun and continued firing whilst his unit withdrew. He was also wounded but was able to dismantle the gun and throw it into the canal before being captured. Both Dease and Godley were awarded the VC for their actions.
 
 

Rapid Fire

 
At the outbreak of war British battalions were allocated only two machine-guns each compared to eight per German battalion. This was later increased as the war progressed but, at this point, as the actions at Nimy and Obourg demonstrated, the shortfall in firepower was to some extent offset by the emphasis placed on accurate, rapid rifle fire.

The BEF's professional infantry could maintain an average of fifteen aimed rounds a minute, a feat unequalled by any other combatant army. The massed formations which the Germans felt appropriate for conscripts made for ideal targets for such disciplined troops.
 
 

Etreux British Cemetery

 
On 27th August 1914, the 2nd Munster Fusiliers fought a rearguard action at Etreux which is commemorated by a plaque and Celtic Cross in Etreux British Cemetery. The cemetery is situated on the road which Haig's I Corps used during its withdrawal.
 
 

Le Cateau Military Cemetery

 
Le Cateau Military Cemetery is situated on the main road to Cambrai. It was begun by the British during II Corps' action and then used by the Germans until the area was recaptured in the final months of the war. Many of the British casualties in the cemetery date from that time.


Three Day Tours
 
Tours include local pick-up, coaching throughout, return ferry crossings via Dover, B&B hotel accommodation, tour notes. Guide optional.
 
 

Suggested Itinerary
 
  • Casteau
  • Nimy
  • Obourg Station
  • La Bascule Crossroads
  • St Symphorien
  • Suffolk Memorial
Further visits may be possible depending on the duration of your tour & proximity to Dover. Please telephone, email or use our contact page to outline your requirements.
 
 
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