This remote, ancient village lay on the path of the retreat of the 4th Division, which passed through on 31st August 1914. Special instructions were issued that the rearguard of III Corps were to reach a line through Néry by 6am the next day.
Dawn
broke with dense mist surrounding the 1st Cavalry Brigade and L Battery,
RHA bivouacked in the village. At 5.30am a patrol reported that it had ridden
into a body of German cavalry in the thick fog. Immediately afterwards,
enemy shell- and machine-gun fire opened on the village from positions only
600 yards away.
Officers
and men of L Battery fought to the death. This memorial records their gallant
stand. Under overwhelming enemy fire, they beat off and defeated the entire
German 4th Cavalry Division.
This
modern memorial, to the 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) is one of several
around the village.
In the communal cemetery, a few hundred yards away, lie many of the men
who fought this desperate action. This is the grave of Captain E.K.Bradbury
of L battery, who was awarded a posthumous VC for his part in the affair.
