August 23, 1914
The soldiers of the B.E.F. (British Expeditionary Force) awaited the German advance with eagerness. They were stationed in defensive positions along the Condé Mons Canal just outside the town. They believed their well-trained forces could easily repel the German army from the town of Mons. How wrong they were.
At 8:00 AM, on the morning of August 23, 1914, the German army attacked. Their ranks emerged from the tree line in close formation. This made it easy for the British to mow them down with the few machine guns they possessed. In the first two minutes of this fierce skirmish, an estimated 500 German soldiers were killed.
Despite the rapidly growing number of casualties, the Germans kept coming, this time more spread out, throwing more and more troops at the British. The men of the B.E.F. were well trained, but couldn't hold against that many enemies for long. It was only a matter of time before they would fall to the superior might of the German army.
The British defenses finally broke eight hours later, allowing the Germans to pour across the bridgeheads--of which there were many leading into the town of Mons--and pursue the retreating allied forces. This massive retreat on the allies part lasted two weeks, with the German army hot on their tail.
With Paris almost within reach of the Germans, General Joseph Joffre, the Chief of Staff of the French army, knew they had to be stopped, and soon. Slowly, he began formulating a plan. He would order the retreating allied troops to hold their position, and transport the newly formed 6th Army by train to intercept the advancing Germans. The original holding point he chose was set to be Somme River.
However, he was forced to reposition it to the Marne.
War photographs at Mons:
.jpg)