| The
battle of Mons was the first battle of the war for
the BEF which faced the invading German armies along
a defensive line based upon the Conde Canal running
through the northern outskirts of the Belgium town
of Mons.
The German attack on Mons began at 0830 from the north
and by mid-afternoon the British were forced to withdraw
with 1,600 casualties. German casualties are variously
estimated at between 3,000 and 15,000.
During
the fighting the first two VCs of the war were won
near the bridge over the canal at Nimy and by odd
coincidence when the fighting stopped on 11 November
1918 allied forces were once again in the Mons area
prompting a memorial to the first and last British
shots of the war.
The
battlefield tour takes two and a half hours and includes
a visit to the unusual and particularly beautiful
St Symphorien Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and
to Ville sur Haine where there is a memorial to Pte
Price the last Canadian soldier to die on the Western
Front. We also take a look at the story of the
Angels of Mons - were there any?
Mons
is about 120 miles from Calais and connected all the
way by motorways. There are detailed travel directions,
historical notes, an in-text map and coloured photographs. |
