Remembering the Battle of Mons: Britain’s first major battle of World War One

On 23 August 1914, the British Expeditionary Force went into battle for the first time on the Western Front. This is the story of the Battle of Mons.

The Battle of Mons

Britain's first Great War casualty

Image: Private John Parr's headstone 

Private John Parr holds the sad distinction of being the British Empire’s first casualty of the First World War.

Born in London, John had actually been a career military man, despite being just 17 years old when he was killed. He had enlisted at the shockingly young age of 14, meaning he’d been in military service for three years before the Battle of Mons.

With typical irony, John was given the nickname “Ole Parr” by his fellow soldiers, on account of his youth.

The young soldier was part of a bicycle reconnaissance unit. His job was to scout ahead of the main force on intelligence-gathering missions. 

While ahead of the bulk of the BEF as it moved from northern France into Belgium, John and his unit encountered a German patrol. Shots were exchanged and Private Parr was fatally struck and killed on 21 August 1914.

John was sadly the first of some 880,000 Commonwealth men and women to lose their lives in military service during the First World War.

Countless more climactic battles would take place between 1914 and 1918 on battlefields across the globe. But for the British Army, The Great War started at the Battle of Mons.

What was the Battle of Mons?

Image: "Our 'Little Contemptibles'", William Barnes Wollen (National Army Museum) 

The Battle of Mons was a military engagement fought between the British Expeditionary Force and Imperial German Army on 23 August 1914.

It is widely regarded as the first major battle fought by the British Army in the First World War.

Mons is considered the last engagement of the Battle of the Frontiers: the opening phases of the war on the Western Front before Race to the Sea and the establishment of trench warfare.

Outbreak of the First World War

“Ferdinand and his wife Sophie Chotek arrived at Sarajevo railway station. Thirty-seven days later, it was at war. The conflict that began that summer mobilised 65 million.” – Christopher Clark, The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914

On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, was assassinated by Serb Nationalist student Gavrilo Princip.

The Archduke’s murder precipitated a major political and military crisis across Europe. The July Crisis saw the continent’s leaders make several significant political, diplomatic, and military decisions that ultimately plunged the world into war.

The first major power to mobilise fully was Russia. 

According to historian Christopher Clark, “The Russian general mobilisation [of 30 July] was one of the most momentous decisions of the July crisis. This was the first of the general mobilisations. It came at the moment when the German government had not yet even declared the State of Impending War".

From there, Germany declared war on Russia, leading France to mobilise its forces. 

By 4 August, Germany had declared war on France too and was sending its troops into Belgium, starting the war on the Western Front in earnest.

The Schlieffen Plan

Image: This map shows the proposed movements of Germany's Schlieffen Plan (the red arrows). The blue arrows show France's plan to attack Germany aka Plan XVII (Wikimedia Commons)

The Imperial German Army strategy was guided by the Schlieffen Plan.

Devised by former Imperial German Chief of the General Staff Alfred von Schlieffen in the mid-1900s, the Schlieffen Plan laid out how the German Army should fight a decisive war against neighbouring France.

The plan called for a rapid attack on France while its ally Russia was slowly mobilising in the East. By knocking out France first, Germany could then turn to Russia and not have to fight on two fronts.

For the Schlieffen Plan to be successful, Germany would have to invade France through Belgium in a massive arc, pushing close to the sea. 

The end goal would have been encircling and capturing Paris, and definitively knocking out the French.

Germany would then be free to attack Russia without worrying about its western flank.

Invading France through Belgian territory would have enormous consequences for the Germans. 

Why Did the British Empire enter World War One?

Image: A 1914 British enlistment poster highlighting the "Scrap of Paper" aka the 1839 Treaty of London, broken by Germany in August 1914, precipitating Britain's entry into the Great War (Wikimedia Commons)

During the July Crisis, much was made of what Britain and her empire would do.

Predominantly a naval power, Britain’s strategy had always been about maintaining the balance of continental power while focussing on its far-flung overseas possessions. 

Indeed, for most of 1914, Britain’s focus was domestic. There was a real possibility of civil war breaking out in Ireland, while elsewhere various social, industrial, and political changes were grasping policymakers’ attention.

However, with tensions rising on the continent, it was clear Britain would have to act. The government and Foreign Secretary Sir Edward Gray had also become wary of Imperial Germany’s naval ambitions (the Germans had heavily invested in their navy pre-war).

On 29 July, the German government requested Britain remain neutral in case of war. Britain refused. 

From a British perspective, if Germany were to defeat France, it could capture the channel and Atlantic Ports, posing a threat to Britain’s maritime trade and national security.

Then there was Belgium. 

The British Empire was one of the signatories of the 1839 Treaty of London. This treaty essentially established the Kingdom of Belgium as an independent state and guaranteed its neutrality in the case of a major continental war. 

German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg dismissively described the Treaty of London as a “scrap of paper” ahead of the German invasion of France. He didn’t believe Britain would honour the agreements made in 1839. 

As history has shown, that “scrap” had a huge effect on Britain’s entry into the First World War.

Britain had mobilised on 1 July 1914. When German forces crossed the Belgian border on 4 August, Britain declared war on Germany.

The British Expeditionary Force

Image: The British Expeditionary Force Arrives in France, William Barnes Wollen, 1914 (National Army Museum)

In August 1914, the British Army was significantly smaller than its European counterparts. This was to be expected, as Britain had traditionally always been a naval power.

Including full-time professionals, territorials and reservists, the army only numbered some 700,000 men. Although around 30,000 men were enlisting each week by the end of August, the British Army still had some way to go before it could compete with its continental rivals.

The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the first force sent from the UK to fight on the Western Front.

Led by Field Marshal Sir John French, the BEF was composed of the Army’s full-time highly drilled, disciplined and experienced professional soldiers.

French landed in France with four infantry divisions and one cavalry division, plus 300 or so guns from the Royal Artillery, his force numbering between 75,000-90,000 men.

British riflemen had a reputation for discipline, accuracy and skill. A trained BEF infantryman could rapidly fire with near-perfect accuracy up to 300 metres.

While small, the BEF held some of the best soldiers in Europe. At Mons, it faced its first major challenge of the Great War.

With French in overall command, the British Expeditionary Force was split into two corps at Mons: 

• I Corps commanded by General Sir Douglas Haig
• II Corps commanded by General Sir Horace Smith-Dorian

Opposing the BEF at Mons were the troops of General Alexander von Kluck’s First German Army. The First German Army held 160,000 men and some 600 artillery pieces, meaning they outnumbered the BEF by two-to-one.

Clash at Mons

Sir John French’s BEF was sent to a concentration area left of the French Fifth Army near Maubeuge on the Belgian border upon arrival in Europe.

The British had been pushed up to aid their French Allies in breaking through the centre of the advancing German Army. The Germans, however, were advancing quickly and full of confidence, coming off its early victories at Lorraine, the Ardennes, and Charleroi.

Arriving at Mons, the BEF took up positions along the Mons-Condé Canal, running east to west through the town.

I Corps’ men did not line the canal, while II Corps under Smith-Dorian, took up positions on the left of the British Line along the canal bank. As a result of their deployment, II Corps was in the firing line for most of the Battle of Mons.

One of the key geographical features of the British line was a loop where the canal jutted outward from Mons towards the village of Nimy.

The loop formed a small difficult-to-defend salient and would be a focal point for the fighting to come.

The Battle of Mons: the opening shots

Image: The 9th Lancers arrive at Mons (IWM)

The opening salvoes on the Battle of Mons were fired on the grey, drizzly dawn of Sunday 23 August 1914. 

A German cavalry patrol trying to make its way across the canal bridge at Obourg was spotted and driven off by men of the 4th Battalion, Middlesex Regiment, beginning Britain’s first great Western Front clash.

General von Kluck had previously delayed his advance. Rumours suggested Allied soldiers were detraining at Tournai, some 25 miles away, so the German General had halted his advance. 

Once it became clear that the French soldiers at Tournai had retreated elsewhere, von Kluck was free to focus on the British at Mons. 

His goal was to envelop the BEF by outflanking its positions while artillery bombarded the central British lines.

German artillery overlooking the canal opened fire in the late morning, blitzing the BEF’s front line. The first German infantry assault took place at 08.00 am. 

Advancing in dense, close-order drill, the Germans marched into a storm of British bullets.

Such was the intensity and accuracy of the BEF’s rifle fire, that the German assault was stopped in its tracks. Reports from the frontline said the ferocity of the British musketry was like running into machine guns.

Their tight formation, coupled with the intense fusillade meted out by the BEF, caused the Germans to suffer heavy casualties.

Defending the Mons Canal salient

By 10.00 am, the weather had begun to lift, giving German gunners a clearer view of British positions. The Germans had learned their lesson from their early infantry assault too and were beginning to come on in a looser formation.

As the day progressed, the sheer weight of fire and numbers of von Kluck’s First German Army began taking its toll on the BEF.

The Royal Fusiliers guarding the Nimy and Ghlin bridges in the canal loop salient were coming under enormous pressure. 

Only through the exceptional gallantry and courage under fire of machine gunners Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Private Sidney Godley were they able to hold off wave after wave of German attacks.

On the Royal Fusilier’s right, the Gordon Highlanders were also taking a terrible punishment. Following reinforcements from the Royal Irish Regiment and support from divisional artillery, the Highlanders were still holding the line.

The Germans extended their attack west along the straight segments of the canal. Under cover of fir trees, the Germans were able to advance up the canal and were now raking British defenders with machine-gun and rifle fire.

Crossing the canal

Image: The Bridge over Mons-Conde Canal at Jeamappes (IWM)

By noon, the first German elements had started crossing the canal and had begun pushing some British units back. 

The position in the salient was getting untenable. The 4th Middlesex fighting there had suffered the loss of 15 officers and over 350 enlisted men, and that was just one regiment of many in the small pocket. It was a similar situation for other British regiments at Mons.

To the east of the BEF’s position, part of the German IX Corps had begun to cross the canal in force.

At Nimy, German private Oscar Niemeyer, in a dazzling display of heroism, managed to swim across the canal, under heavy fire, to open a swing bridge.

Although killed in the attempt, Oskar’s actions allowed the Germans to cross and increase their pressure on the BEF.

The British Retreat

Image: The BEF retreats from Mons (Wikimedia Commons)

By 03.00 pm on the afternoon of 23 August, the BEF’s 3rd Division was ordered to retreat from the Mons Canal salient. 

It was to take up defensive positions to the south of the town, with the fifth Division ordered to perform a similar retreat later in the day.

Field Marshal French was still optimistic that an advance could be made, but with the German Army now building pontoon bridges and crossing in large numbers, this seemed highly unlikely.

To make matters worse, the French Fifth Army was also falling back to the British's right. The BEF’s right flank was now dangerously exposed.

With the situation rapidly worsening, Field Marshal French ordered to retreat from Mons.

What happened after the Battle of Mons?

The two-week period after the Battle of Mons is known as the Great Retreat.

The British had fallen back to defensive lines along the Valenciennes-Maubeuge road but were still heavily outnumbered. With the French Fifth Army in full retreat, the BEF had no choice but to keep falling back.

The Great Retreat saw the Allies pushed back some 250 miles. 

The BEF fought several rearguard actions during this time, including the Battle of Le Cateau on August 26, but It was not until the “Miracle on the Marne” in early September that the Allies were able to finally check the German advance.

Mons would remain in German control under the very final moments of the war. 

Ironically, the BEF’s first shots were fired at Mons and some of its last were fired there again, four years after the opening clash on August 23 1914.

Casualties of the Battle of Mons

“I deeply deplore the very serious losses which the British Forces have suffered in this great battle.” - Field Marshal Sir John French, London Gazette, September 11, 1914

The BEF’s baptism of fire at Mons gave the British public a foretaste of the losses the Empire would bear in the First World War.

1,600 British servicemen were killed, wounded, captured or went missing at the Battle of Mons. 

German casualties are estimated at between 3,000-5,000 with some 2,500 killed or missing.

Lieutenant Maurice Richard Dease VC

Image: Lieutenant Maurice Dease, recipient of the Great War's first posthumous Victoria Cross

The Battle of Mons was truly a battle of firsts for the British Army.

Not only was the first British casualty killed here, and not only was it Britain’s first major battle of World War One, it’s also where first Victoria Crosses of the war were awarded.

In the case of Lieutenant Maurice James Dease, his award was posthumous.

Maurice James Dease was born on Saturday 28 September 1889 in Coole, County Westmeath, Ireland, to parents Edmund Fitzlaurence Dease and Katherine Dease. 

Maurice had passed through the prestigious Royal Military College Sandhurst and was serving as a Lieutenant with A Company, 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers when he landed with the BEF in France in August 1914.

Overseeing his battalion’s machine guns, Maurice placed his weapons in a defensive position overlooking a railway embankment near the bridge at Nimy in the Mons Canal salient. 

Maurice’s position ensured a good field of fire over the canal, which proved effective when the first German attacks at Nimy came. Six German infantry divisions were driven off in short order.

Throughout the day, the Germans put pressure on A Company and the railway bridge at Nimy. A Company was taking terrific punishment.

Maurice was wounded in these early skirmishes, but his fellow officers could not persuade him to leave his post to seek medical aid.

4th Battalion was involved in thick fighting for most of the Battle of Mons. Maurice was hit a second time while dragging a wounded comrade to safety under heavy German fire. Around this time, A Company’s commander, Captain Ashburner, was hit in the head.

Reinforcements led by 2nd Lieutenant Joseph Mead, were brought up to the bridge. Lieutenant Mead was struck twice in the head, leaving 4th Battalion with few officers to lead it.

More and more British machine guns were knocked out as the battle progressed. The intensity of German firepower was proving overwhelming. Manning and supplying the guns was becoming nearly impossible.

At around midday, Maurice took over one of the guns and poured continual fire on the attacking Imperial German Army. 

Maurice was then wounded for a third time, taking a bullet to the neck. Lieutenant Steele, a fellow junior officer, advised Maurice to lie still but Maurice was propped up to assess the situation. 

He was stuck in the side once more and fell unconscious. 

A Company was in real danger of being overrun without Maurice at the machine gun. Leaping up, Private Sidney Godley took command and continued to lay down a steady stream of bullets until the rest of the company was able to retire.

Lieutenant Maurice James Dease was awarded the Victoria Cross for his valour at the Nimy Bridge, his citation stating:

"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." - The London Gazette, Monday the 16th of November 1914.

For taking over from Maurice, Sidney Godley was also awarded the Victoria Cross. Sidney was taken prisoner at the Battle of Mons and spent the rest of the war in a PoW camp in Germany. He was able to escape in 1918 and fled to Denmark.

Two further VCs were awarded to Lance-Corporal Charles Jarvis and Captain Theodore Wright of the Royal Engineers at Mons. The pair were tasked with blowing one of the canal bridges at Jemappes to slow the German advance with no exploder or leads. 

Fetching the necessary equipment, Captain Wright, went forward time and again to connect the leads to the explosives and detonator, exposing himself to incredibly heavy enemy fire. 

At the same time, Lance Corporal Jarvis spent one and a half hours, under constant enemy fire, working to successfully demolish the bridge.

The coolness shown, and the disregard for their personal safety, saw both awarded the Victoria Cross.

The pair were assisted by Private Samuel Heron of the Royal Scots Fusiliers. Samuel was awarded a Distinguished Conduct Medal for his part.

Sadly, Theodore Wright did not survive the war. He was killed in action, making repairs to a pontoon bridge, at Vailly on 14 September 1914. He is buried at Vailly British Cemetery.

A further Victoria Cross was awarded to Corporal Charles Garforth of the 15th (The King’s) Hussars in a rear guard action at Harminges, some 4 miles from Mons, between 23-24 August.

Charles’ troop was nearly surrounded and held up by a barbed wire fence. When the Germans turned their machine-gun fire to the fence to prevent it from being cut, Charles volunteered to cut it. Through his actions, he was able to help his unit escape.

Charles was captured as a POW in 1914. He remained captivity before he was repatriated in November 1918.

Where are the dead of the Battle of Mons Commemorated?

St. Symphorien Military Cemetery

Image: St. Symphorien Military Cemetery, Belgium

About a mile and a half outside of Mons, along the N90 road to Charleroi, sits St. Symphorien Military Cemetery.

Here, German and British casualties of the Battle of Mons lie side by side in a small space of peaceful reflection.

St. Symphorien Military Cemetery was started by the German Army in 1916. Casualties of Mons, both British and German, were brought into it from improvised burial grounds or local churchyards. 

Graves were laid out unit by unit, plot by plot, wherever possible. Officers were given larger headstones, and the overall design was not uniform.

Full control of Sy. Symphorien was handed over to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, then the Imperial War Graves Commission, in 1930. 

Architect William Harrison Cowlishaw was asked to redesign the cemetery to bring it in line with Commission design principles. 

This mainly involved the installation of CWGC headstones for the British graves and a change to a more open, British-style cemetery than its previous woodland scheme, by removing some of the trees. 

The German headstones retain their original style and the northeastern part of the cemetery, mainly holding German graves, keeps its woodland feel.

Just under 230 Commonwealth and around 280 German soldiers are buried at St. Symphorien Military Cemetery.

Amongst the war graves here are Private John Parr, the first British casualty of the Great War, and, interestingly, George Ellison. George is considered the final British combat death of the First World War.

Oskar Niermeyer, the German private whose heroics allowed the First German Army to get over the canal at Nimy, is buried at St. Symphorien. Oskar was Germany’s first Iron Cross recipient of the Great War.