The Grenadier Guards at Mons, 1914

Watercolour by Richard Simkin.

Following the outbreak of World War One (1914-1918), Field Marshal Sir John French's British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was sent across the Channel to support France. These were well-trained and experienced soldiers. Comprising only four (later re-enforced to six) infantry and one cavalry divisions - some 90,000 men - the BEF was tiny compared with the German and French armies. The 2nd Battalion, Grenadier Guards formed part of the 4th Guards Brigade, 2nd Division.

On arrival the BEF was sent to a concentration area on the left of the French Fifth Army near Maubeuge on the Belgian frontier. This placed the it squarely in the path of the German First Army as it advanced through Belgium.

On 22 August 1914, warned of the German advance by cavalry patrols, the BEF took up a defensive position along the Mons-Condee canal. The following day, the Germans blundered into them. They were stopped by accurate British rifle fire and suffered heavy casualties.