Retreat of I Corps 1914

On 23 August 1914 it was only the two divisions of General Smith-DorrienÆs II Corps that were directly engaged with the German First Army along the line of the Mons-Conde Canal.

As the British Expeditionary Force withdrew from Mons and bivouacked around Bavay on 25 August, Sir John French and his GHQ advisors û unsure of the condition of the routes through the ForÛt de Mormal - ordered the British Expeditionary Force to continue their retirement the next day and to avoid the 35 square miles of forest roads. - - Consequently II Corps used the roads to the west of the ForÛt de Mormal and Sir Douglas HaigÆs I Corps those to the east û with the intention that the four divisions should meet again at Le Cateau.

It was an intention that was ambushed by circumstance as I Corps encountered units of the German 7th Division at Landrecies on 25/26 August.

Unsure of the weight of the German attack at Landrecies, Douglas Haig hurriedly left for Grand Fayt and ordered his two divisions to immediately begin their retirement along a route that would take them west of Le Cateau. - - It was this decision that kept the by now five divisions of the BEF apart until 1 September and is the subject of this book.

I Corps was now coming under attack from the German Second Army and the resulting rearguard actions that HaigÆs men were involved in are covered in this volume: - - Landrecies 4 Guards Brigade - Grand Fayt 2 Connaught Rangers - Maroilles 1 Royal Berkshires - Etreux 2 Royal Munster Fusiliers - Cerizy 5 Cavalry Brigade - Villers-CotterÛts 4 Guards Brigade - - The account concludes on the Marne. - -