Mons Commemorates World War I Battles Centenary

TERTRE, BELGIUM - AUGUST 22: British historical society members, including Liam Mercer (C), 18, chat while dressed in uniforms to represent the World War I Essex Regiment at their camp the day before centenary commemorations of battles between British and German forces at nearby Mons on August 22, 2014 in Tertre, Belgium. On August 23, 1914, members of the British Expeditionary Force clashed with the numerically superior German 1st Army at Mons, inflicting but also taking heavy casualties. The British troops withdrew south into France, and only when the Germans had nearly reached Paris were British, French and French colonial forces able to push the Germans back north at the Battle of the Marne, which eventually led to the stalemate and prolonged trench warfare that would characterize the Western Front throughout the rest of the war. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)