'1914 - Le Cateau. Reverse slope positions - massed German infantry mown down by rifle fire!'

Pen and ink and watercolour by Lieutenant Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly MBE, MC, RI (1896-1971), Royal Field Artillery.

Advancing German infantry are fired on from entrenched British positions on the Western Front. The Battle of Le Cateau (26 August 1914) was one of a series of holding actions fought by the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) during the Allies' retreat to the River Marne. Kelly's inscription also states: 'Note: Officers still carried swords, 26 August 1914.'

As part of an 18-pounder gun battery crew, Talbot Kelly took part in many of the major offensives of the Western Front. He regularly served as a Forward Observation Officer, tasked with spotting where the artillery shells were landing. The unique vantage point of the battlefields that this job gave him, inspired him to draw his experiences.