The Great War - opening shots. The BEF at Mons 23 August 1914
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- Interviews with The Old Contemptibles. Lance Corporal George Rippon speaking in 1984. L/Cpl Rippon served with the King's Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, II Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF.) Thrust into the left of the allied line at Mons, Belgium from early morning on 23rd August 1914 British Rifle Battalions repulsed waves of attacking enemy infantry. Mid afternoon marked the start of a famous retreat, and the beginning of over four years of horrific conflict.
An incomparable Army.
The B.E.F. was the best trained and equipped Army to ever leave the shores of England
My grandfather was at Mons, too- he was Lance Corporal in the 2nd Battalion of Kings Own Scottish Borderers under General French. He was there at the Canal and lost his buddy beside him. I have his medals one of which is the Mons Star 1914. He was injured in a later French battle, returning to Scotland. I have found his hospital and his name in the newspapers at Duns. The book is The Soldiers Remember, just published in 2018 , 100 years after the war. Nurse Speedy (real name) had kept records and writings of the patients which were recently found and published under this title. Available through Borderers Historical Society. My Grandfather, William Grant Patterson was a great soccer player and played for Manchester United after the war and Galashiels. He studied Rolls Royce Engines and became a Head Chauffeur and later owned his own Barbershop in Kelty. He lived a life but eventually died from complications of his war wounds at age 44. He had one son who served in WW2 and emigrated to Canada who was my father. I am now writing his life story.
My Grandfather was with the Royal Irish Regiment and was wounded at Mons. He sustained wounds to the hand, foot and body. He was taken prisoner in his bed while wounded. They beat him up worse and on the train ride into Germany they invited locals at the stations where they stopped to beat him and throw all kinds of stuff at him. In Germany the bullets were extracted from him without any kind of anesthetic. He remained a prisoner until September 1917 and was repatriated by the Red Cross. He found out on his release that his brother had been KIA at the Somme and his wife's brother had been KIA at Suvla Bay. He died at his home in Tipperary, Ireland in 1954. I paid my respects to some of his comrades at St Symphorien last week.
My own Grandfather was taken prisoner at Mons. He was with the 2nd Welch (Welsh) Regiment. He was sent to Wittenberg and then to Merseburg, his POW record records it as captured at Nieuport... but I can't find anything about it either. I believe the Wittenberg is where they had the Typhoid and the Germans didn't go into the camp but just chucked some meagre rations over the fences.
I work in a rubbish dump in ireland and today I found a badge for the old contemptibles organization it was for soldiers from August 5 to November 22 1914 so whoever owned it wore it with pride and survived the horror of war ,the sad thing is where it ended up ,it's marked 162A I'd love to return it to the family whoever they are
Normally the medals are inscribed with the recipient's name, regiment and regimental number.
If you have that information, you could always speak to the regimental museum, or try to get a media outlet interested in the story.
Oh mon braves-I interviewed several of the Mons veterans-they were mighty men indeed. Polite, charming, warm-for the most part, and strength and virtue in the bucket full. They knew also how to vividly picture a scene. They weren’t just soldiers.
I love interviews like this.. As a historian this is like stepping back in time and reliving the past!! To have a interview like this with a veteran of Marlboroughs or Wellingtons Army is a fantasy that would be just as awesome!!!
Absolutely! I wonder that myself.
When I was a small kid, one of these guys came to my school to tell us about his experiences. I don't remember his name sadly, but he was very kind and gentle, told us of how the trenches smelled differently from place to place.
My Grandad was David Cruickshank, he was at the battle of Mons with the 1st Battalion Cameronians ( Scottish Rifles ).Attached to the 19th Brigade.After the Great Retreat he was hidden in Le Cateau by Mme Julie Celeste Baudhuin for over 2 years.
You may have relatives in Belgium
@@TheMrcassina Hehe
My Great Grandfather fought in this battle and was killed in action on the 23rd August. He’s buried in St Symphorian Cemetery.
Excellent piece but the first shot fired by the British in anger on the continent of Europe actually took place the day before at a place called Casteau in Belgium where there is now a monument in its memory. My Grandfather was riding next to the man that fired the first shot, Corporal Thomas.
The first shot fired by a British soldier in World War One came on August 22nd 1914 in the village of Casteau in Belgium. Cavalry reconnaissance patrols had been sent out ahead of the advancing British Expeditionary Force to investigate claims that the Germans were advancing towards the BEF in huge numbers.
120 men from C Squad of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards were part of this wholesale reconnaissance effort. In the evening of August 21st, the men from the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards stopped to rest on a road that led to Brussels. C Squad was commanded by Major Tom Bridges and his second-in-command was Captain Charles Hornby. The 120 men they commanded were split into four troops of thirty men.
At 06.30 on August 22nd, the men from C Squad were informed by locals that 4 German cavalrymen were seen just down the road. Hornby was given permission to set out with 1st Troop to pursue them. He ordered that 1st Troop formed into a traditional cavalry charge. The Germans were caught in the main road in Casteau, to the northeast of Mons, and a fight ensued. It was here that Drummer (later Corporal) E Thomas from 1st Troop fired the first shot by a British soldier in World War One despite the fact that the fight seemed to be mainly between British swords and German lances.
No British casualties occurred in this skirmish though one horse was shot and it had to be put down and was given to a Belgium butcher. Hornby and his men returned with three German POW’s. A British medic in the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards described the captured men as “German plough boys” because the POW’s did not come up to what he had expected - fearsome soldiers who were steamrolling over Belgium. In fact, they were conscripts who had been hurriedly moved to the front with minimal training.
Hornby and his men received the following message on August 22nd:
“The Brigadier desires to congratulate the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards on the spirited action of the troops on reconnaissance which resulted in establishing the moral superiority of our cavalry from the first over the German cavalry.” Cavalry Division HQ memo, 22/08/14
My Grandfather was one of the Old Contemptables, he served with the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and was awarded the Mons Star and Military Medal
Do you have the full documentary? I'd love to see it. I was riveted for those few minutes
As one who had experience of the SMLE .303 I am always disappointed that they show these actors fumbling while firing their rifles. The BEF were practiced 15 aimed and accurate rounds a minute men, and they did not lift their heads or remove the rifle from their shoulder while firing. They kept that rifle butt tucked into their shoulder and worked that bolt and their eye remained along the sight along the barrel, even when loading a fresh clip of ammunition into the magazine. That's why the Germans thought we had machine guns at Mons. Mons for the Germans was almost their equivalent of the first day of the Somme.
Robert Bryant one of the lessons of the boer war was fast accurate fire. Combined with the field craft skills also learnt in South Africa, they stopped the German Army at Mons, the Marne and then Ypres.
Like he says they were spot on with the rifle. Only the usa marine came close,
But it was a faaaaar close.
The Germans suffered 2,000 casualties at the most at Mons, (and that number is most likely lower) the entire 1st army suffered around 6,000 casualties between the 20th and the 31st of august, and it was heavily engaged in combat nearly that entire span of time while it flanked the french fifth army.
Compared to the British 58,000 casualties on the first day of the somme (nearly 20,000 were killed outright) I'd say this wasnt even close.
the battle had no effect on the overall German strategy, nor did it do anything to hinder the German advance. The German General Staff, upon hearing of the battle, paid little heed to it and only took interest to make sure the 1st didn't attempt to pursue the retreating British and instead focused on its' goal.
@@EndTheFilms The Germans suffered 5,000 casualties at Mons and another 130,000 at Ypres.
@@Bullet-Tooth-Tony- Again, see above, the entire 1st army suffered 6,000 casualties in total when the battle of Mons took place, and Mons only included a small portion of that army.
The extremely high german casualty numbers come solely from british historians who only used records from the British reports which were specifically crafted to over report enemy losses in order to keep their jobs (the Germans over reported enemy loses as well.) however, the British kept an accurate record of their own losses out of necessity, and the Germans did the same.
My numbers are just the number the Germans reported internally in order to keep track of casualties so they know where they need reinforcements.
If you have a more accurate source than comparing British, German, and on site survey estimate reports and splitting the different let me know.
The old contemptible's
chap ws a runner. vital lads
Can you upload the rest of this program?
ua-cam.com/video/qDL23zokIac/v-deo.html here it is, sorry for being late
when will we see your likes again, that fought and died for ,oor wee bit hill and glen,and stood against them, proud germans armies, and sent them homeward, to think again.May god bless every one of them.
+Martin Gillies Aye.
thank you. george ribbon.
The BEF was the smallest but most highly trained and experienced army in 1914. It was sacrificed to buy time for the mass conscript armies to be raised.
Remember the Contemptible Little Army stopped the Germans getting to Paris. Yes the most highly trained and the best shots in the world as an Army but, outnumbered immensely.
The programmes historian wasn't very good at their job.
1914 stars issued 378,000, a lot more than the 220,000 given here.
The Germans never said they thought they were facing machine guns at Mons, that was made up after the war by the author of the official British history. Many ex soldiers, like the gentleman featured, accepted this then as fact.
Many soldiers were awarded the 1914 Star but were not Old Contemtibles. The qualification was to be with range of enemy mobile artillery and a great many were not.
My Great Grandfather was in Duke of wellingtons regt BEF at mons died august 24th 1914 :/
he died on 24 august, not in 23 august, peter, are you sure. the battle was on 23 august.
As far as we know killed in action 24th august 1914 also marked on the grave in Hautrage Military Cemetery as 24th, Strange.
He could have died from wounds sustained the day before ...
The Germans fought every third man had a machine gun....it was in fact the rapid fire of the Lee enfield.....three times faster than their own rifles!
Thanks for sharing. Do you have any more videos from this series? If so, please share.
I know I'm 7yrs late but here it is ua-cam.com/video/qDL23zokIac/v-deo.html
My great grandfather, Edward Alfred gaydon 8th btn kings royal rifles , arras, . His Brother never made it home, gassed and a pow at rastatt.
Edward George Ernest luckett,15th Durham light infantry killed 11th October passchendaele age 19.born & bred in Oxford
August 5, 1914 - Start
August 26, 1914 - Angels
I wish I could shake his hand
George was my Grandfather
Jaqueline Tarpey, I reply as the BBC Programme Producer from 1984. George showed a great deal of humility in describing the crucial and professional role he played at Le Cateau with the light Infantry. He actually didn't really have much time for our efforts to tell the story of the Old Contemptibles. He saw his role as a highly trained rifleman doing his job, and with a catch in his voice, he showed a pride which was moving. There will never be their like. PH
I was lucky enough to know a great war veteran as a boy, he was a close friend of my grandmother.
He never as I recall,talked about his time over in france.
God bless those wonderful men like your grandfather, that german general was spot on, very exceptional soldiers Indeed.
Look at us now 2 world wars, and we still can't get along and ww3 on the horizon. Sometimes, i hate being human. we are so unbelievably stupid
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