THE HAMPSHIRE REGIMENT

On 12th August 1914, eight days after Britain declared war on Germany, the first British troops arrived in France. The 75,000 men of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) lined up alongside the French and Belgian Armies as they attempted to halt the Germany Army which had penetrated deep into Belgium. Unable to contain the numerically superior Germans at the Battle of Mons on 23rd August, the BEF fell back southwards towards the small town of Le Cateau in northern France.

Unlike Mons where the rifle expertise of the British infantry had inflicted heavy casualties on the advancing Germans, Le Cateau was primarily an artillery battle. Throughout the morning, the British – and in particular the artillery – held the Germans at bay, with many guns being fired at point blank range over open sights. However, the British guns were also exposed in being placed close to infantry positions and suffered heavy punishment from the German artillery.

The battle cost the British Army 7,812 men killed, wounded and captured, but inflicted heavy casualties on the Germans and further delayed their Schlieffen timetable. More importantly, it gave the other British and French forces the time they needed to execute their retreat. By the end of the war the Hampshire Regiment would comprise 33 battalions.