Battle of Mons - Aftermath

Aftermath

See also: Great Retreat

By nightfall on 24 August, the British had successfully retreated to what was expected to be their new defensive lines on the Valenciennes to Maubeuge road. Their retreat did not stop there, however. Significantly outnumbered by the German First Army, and with their French allies also falling back, the BEF had no choice but to continue to retire – I Corps retreating to Landrecies and II Corps to Le Cateau. Ultimately, the retreat would last for two weeks and cover over 250 miles. Throughout the retreat, the British were closely pursued by the Germans, and were forced to fight a number of rearguard actions, including the Battle of Le Cateau on 26 August, the Étreux rearguard action on 27 August, and the Action at Néry on 1 September.

In a way, both sides were victorious at the Battle of Mons. The British, outnumbered by as much as 3 to 1, managed to hold off the German First Army for 48 hours while inflicting significantly heavier casualties on their enemies, and then were able to retire in good order. They thus achieved their main strategic objective, which was to protect the French Fifth Army from being outflanked. Additionally, the Battle of Mons was an important moral victory for the British. As their first battle on the European continent since the Crimean War almost 60 years earlier, it was a matter of great uncertainty as to how they would perform. In the event, the British soldiers came away from the battle with a clear sense that they had gotten the upper hand during the fighting at Mons. The Germans, likewise, seem to have understood that they had been dealt a sharp blow by an army they had previously considered inconsequential. The German novelist and infantry captain Walter Bloem, for example, wrote his thoughts on the outcome of the battle:

the men all chilled to the bone, almost too exhausted to move and with the depressing consciousness of defeat weighing heavily upon them. A bad defeat, there can be no gainsaying it... we had been badly beaten, and by the English – by the English we had so laughed at a few hours before.

For the Germans, the Battle of Mons was a tactical defeat, but nonetheless a strategic victory. Although the First Army was temporarily held up by the British and suffered heavy casualties, it still managed to cross the barrier of the Mons-Condé Canal and begin its advance into France. Ultimately, it would drive the BEF and French armies before it almost to Paris before finally being stopped at the Battle of the Marne.