Action of Elouges

The Action of Elouges on 24 August 1914 was fought during the First World War. Following the Battle of Mons the British Expeditionary Force was withdrawing, closely followed by the advancing German Army. The British 5th Division was assisted by the 2nd and 3rd Cavalry Brigade.

Action of Elouges
Part of the Western Front of World War I
9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers charging German guns during the Action of Elouges
Date 24 August 1914 Location Elouge, Belgium and the surrounding countryside Result British counterattacks failed, Germans failed major objectives.
Belligerents
British Empire	Germany
Units involved
British 5th Division
Casualties and losses
250 dead or wounded 350 horses dead or wounded	Unknown

During the action the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards and 'A' Squadron, the 9th (Queen's Royal) Lancers charged the German guns. Major Ernest Wright Alexander of the Royal Artillery and Captain Francis Octavius Grenfell of the 9th Lancers were awarded the Victoria Cross for saving the artillery battery guns while under fire. Eventually the 1st Battalion Cheshire Regiment were surrounded and destroyed.[1]

References

1. "The Retreat from Mons 1914". Army Mod. Retrieved 23 September 2012.