Saved, by St George! Who or What were the Angels of Mons?

The Battle of Mons was the first major battle fought by the British in the First World War, and for many a first taste of the horrors that were to come. The Germans, confident in their superior numbers, sought to overrun the British lines.

They had good reason to be confident. The British soldiers were largely surrounded and heavily outgunned and outnumbered by the advancing Germans. But, somehow, the British fought their way out of the deathtrap and escaped with their lives.

Rumors of this miraculous and impossible escape started to flow in even before the fleeing troops had returned to the camps. There were reports that the soldiers had seen angels, which came from heaven to guide them, and that they had escaped due to what became known as the Angels of Mons.

How did these soldiers escape against the odds? And what did they see, out there on the battlefield?

An Inescapable Trap

The British declared war on Germany on 4th August, 1914 and advanced the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) quickly into position. The BEF was much smaller than the French or German armies and composed largely of seasoned soldiers.

Mons, in southern Belgium was a key town along the Allied line and the 80,000 men of the BEF reached it on 22nd August. However, they were unknowingly facing the key focal point in the German attack, an attempt to punch through the defensive lines and roll up the flank, quickly ending the war.