Mons


23rd-24th August 1914

WW1 - Battle of Mons

The opening shots of the war on the Western Front for the British Army, the men of the British regular army – the Old Contemptibles – fought here on the 23rd-24th August 1914.

The Facts


  • Date: 23 August 1914
  • Location: Mons, Belgium
Countries Involved
United Kingdom German Empire
Countries Commanders
Sir John French
Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Alexander von Kluck
Army size
Over 80,000 160,000
Number of Casualties
Over 1600 Approx 2000

Battle result: German Empire Victory

At Nimy Bridge, Lieutenant Maurice Dease and Pte Sid Godley of the Royal Fusiliers became the first men to be awarded the Victoria Cross in WW1, and to the west of Mons on 24th August the 4th Dragoon Guards and 9th Lancers charged the German positions at Audregnies. Mons was a battle won, but it could not be held so the famous Retreat From Mons began which took the Old Contemptibles over two hundred miles to the Marne, near Paris.

Nimy Bridge

Nimy Bridge

Lieutenant Maurice Dease

Lieutenant Maurice Dease

Pte Sid Godley

Pte Sid Godley

Learn more about this battle on the following Leger Battlefield tours

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