In August 1914 Europe descended into a war which would ultimately rage for four years at the cost of millions of lives. Amongst the very first moves of that war, and one which brought Britain into the fight, was the launching of the famous German Schlieffen Plan. In an attempt to destroy the French Army, a huge assault had been made through Belgium with the objective of capturing Paris. Standing in their way was the small but highly skilled British Expeditionary Force. Those opponents would meet outside the Belgian town of Mons in a short but brutal engagement that set the scene for many more battles to come. This is the story of that first action and the remarkable personal bravery shown that August day, which resulted in the award of the first two Victoria Crosses of WW1.

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Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:34 Situational Overview
01:35 The British Expeditionary Force
03:54 Germany Attacks
04:33 The British Situation
05:36 Mons
06:59 British Battlefield Positions
08:36 German Forces Arrive
09:02 The Battle Begins!
10:49 The Lone Sniper
11:37 Fighting at Nimy
14:24 Last Stand By Godly
15:36 British Withdrawal
15:54 Visiting the Battlefield Today

Reference Material:

S. Jones, The Great Retreat of 1914 (2018)
APG Vivian, The Phantom Brigade (1930)
JGW Hyndson, From Mons To The First Battle of Ypres (2014 Version)
R. Dunlop & H. Puttkammer, The Battle of Mons: The Official German History (2020 Verison)


Sources:

The Fusilier Museum, London
The Middlesex Regiment Museum
The Battle of Mons (1926 Film)
National Library of Scotland Image Archive
War Diaries of the Battalions (Naval and Military Press)
Commonwealth War Graves Commission Archive (CWGC)
US National Archives (NARA)
The National Archives, Kew (TNA)
Google Earth Pro & Web Versions
Memory Maps, Trench Maps of the First World War
Maptiler Pro (Desktop Version)

Credits:
• Research: Dan Hill & Dr. Spencer Jones
• Script & Narration: Dan Hill
• Editing: Simon James
• Thumbnail Design: Linus Klassen
• Music & Sound Effects: Epidemic Sounds/Shane Greer