Battle of Le Cateau

Battle of Le Cateau
Part of the Great Retreat on the Western Front of the First World War
British dead at the Battle of Le Cateau.
Date 26 August 1914 Location Le Cateau-Cambrésis, France 50°06′15″N 03°32′40″E / 50.10417°N 3.54444°E / 50.10417; 3.54444 Result German victory
Belligerents
German Empire	United Kingdom
Commanders and leaders
Friedrich Bertram Sixt von Armin  Georg von der Marwitz	Sir Horace Smith-Dorrien
Units involved
IV Corps Höhere Kavallerie-Kommando 2	II Corps
Strength
23 infantry battalions 18 cavalry regiments (9 at half strength) 6 divisional cavalry squadrons 162 guns (27 batteries) 84 machine-guns	40 infantry battalions 12 cavalry regiments 2 divisional cavalry squadrons 246 guns (41 batteries) c. 80 machine-guns
Casualties and losses
2,900	7,812 (700 killed, 2,600 captured) 38 guns

The Battle of Le Cateau was fought on the Western Front during the First World War on 26 August 1914. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) and the French Fifth Army had retreated after their defeats at the Battle of Charleroi (21–23 August) and the Battle of Mons (23 August). The British II Corps fought a delaying action at Le Cateau to slow the German pursuit. Most of the BEF was able to continue its retreat to Saint-Quentin.