Battle of Mons
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The Battle of Mons, or the First Battle of Mons to differentiate it from another battle later in the war, was the first big engagement of the British Expeditionary Force in the First World War. It was
Royal Fusiliers resting in the town square at Mons before the Battle of Mons. The Royal Fusiliers faced some of the worst fighting in the battle and earned the first Victoria Cross of the war.
Alexander von Kluck, commander of the German 1st Army at Mons
Lieutenant Maurice Dease, 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross, the first of the war.
Sidney Godley VC
Great Retreat
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The Great Retreat, also known as the retreat from Mons, took place in the First World War. The retreat was more than 200 km, from Belgium to the River Marne in France in August and September 1914. The
Battle of Mons
…Charles Lanrezac) 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 First Battle of the…
The Great retreat 23 August – 5 September, from the border of Belgium to east of Paris.
Dispositions: Battles of Mons and Charleroi, 21–23 August 1914
British dead shortly after the Battle of Le Cateau
British troops retreating