The Angels of Mons

During the Battle of Mons in August 1914, one of the first major engagements of World War One, British soldiers reported extraordinary supernatural phenomena. As the outnumbered British Expeditionary Force retreated from advancing German troops, soldiers described seeing glowing lights in the sky, spectral figures, phantom archers, and what some called “a heavenly army” appearing to shield their retreat. The legend became one of the most enduring mysteries of the Great War.

The Battle

The Setting

August 23, 1914:

• First major British engagement of WWI
• British Expeditionary Force vs. German Army
• Location: Mons, Belgium
• British significantly outnumbered
• Retreat became necessary
• Heavy casualties expected

The Military Situation

The context:

• 80,000 British troops
• Facing 160,000+ Germans
• Skilled German artillery
• Intense fighting
• Tactical withdrawal ordered
• Many units under severe pressure

The Reports

Glowing Lights

Soldiers described:

• Strange lights in sky
• During and after battle
• Above the battlefield
• Moving with apparent purpose
• Not conventional phenomena

Spectral Figures

More detailed accounts:

• Angels appearing between lines
• Shining figures in the sky
• Armed ethereal beings
• Facing the German advance
• Protective positioning

The Heavenly Army

General John Charteris noted:

• Rumors of divine intervention
• “The angel of the Lord”
• “Traditional white horse”
• “Clad all in white”
• “Flaming sword”
• Facing advancing Germans

The Phantom Archers

Some accounts described:

• Medieval bowmen
• Ghostly English archers
• Longbowmen from Agincourt
• Firing upon German lines
• Historical resonance with 1415 battle

Witness Testimonies

Soldier Accounts

Troops reported:

• Bright figures in the sky
• Beings appearing protective
• Unusual calm during chaos
• Unexplained German hesitation
• Sense of supernatural presence

Officer Observations

Some commanders noted:

• Unusual phenomena witnessed
• Difficulty explaining events
• Men genuinely believing
• Reports from multiple units
• Consistent descriptions

The Machen Controversy

”The Bowmen”

Arthur Machen’s story:

• Published September 29, 1914
• Fictional account of spectral archers
• St. George and ghostly bowmen
• Helping British at Mons
• Created after the battle

The Problem

Chronology questions:

• Some testimonies predate publication
• Others clearly influenced by story
• Difficult to separate fact from fiction
• Legend and reality intertwined
• Controversy continues

Machen’s Position

The author stated:

• Story was complete fiction
• No supernatural basis
• Created from imagination
• Dismayed by belief spread
• Never claimed reality

Analysis

What Soldiers Saw

Possible explanations:

• Stress-induced visions
• Artillery flashes and smoke
• Weather phenomena
• Mass psychological response
• Genuine unexplained events

Battle Conditions

Factors to consider:

• Extreme exhaustion
• Fear of death
• Sleep deprivation
• Intense trauma
• Desperate situation

Collective Experience

Psychological factors:

• Shared trauma
• Religious cultural background
• Need for meaning
• Hope in hopelessness
• Comfort from belief

Similar WWI Phenomena

Other Battlefield Reports

Throughout the war:

• Strange lights seen
• Unexplained aerial objects
• Protective visions reported
• Not unique to Mons
• Pattern of phenomena

The White Cavalry

Another persistent legend:

• Ghostly cavalry protecting retreats
• Seen at multiple battles
• White horses and riders
• Similar to Mons accounts
• Never explained

Historical Impact

Morale Effect

The legend’s power:

• Boosted British morale
• Reinforced sense of divine favor
• Became propaganda tool
• Spread through letters and media
• Became part of war mythology

Religious Interpretation

Many believed:

• Divine intervention occurred
• God protected British troops
• Angels literally appeared
• Religious faith affirmed
• Miracle interpretation

Skeptical View

Critics noted:

• Machen’s story influential
• No contemporary records
• Accounts emerged later
• Memory unreliable
• Legend grew over time

The Question

At Mons in August 1914, something happened.

British soldiers - exhausted, outnumbered, retreating under fire - reported seeing things in the sky.

Glowing lights. Shining figures. Angels. Archers. A heavenly army standing between them and death.

Were they real?

Some soldiers swore they were. Not just frightened privates - officers too. Men who would go on to fight for four more years. Men who never forgot what they saw that day.

Or thought they saw.

Arthur Machen wrote a story about phantom bowmen at Mons. He published it a month after the battle. He always said it was fiction.

But people believed. Soldiers said they’d seen it happen. The story spread. The legend grew.

Now we can’t separate what really happened from what people wanted to believe happened.

Maybe exhausted men saw flashes in the smoke and their desperate minds made them into angels.

Maybe mass psychology created a shared vision.

Maybe something actually appeared over that battlefield.

The Angels of Mons remain one of the great mysteries of the Great War.

Not because we know something supernatural occurred.

But because so many soldiers believed it did.

And in the hell of the Western Front, where millions would die, perhaps that belief was miracle enough.

Something happened at Mons.

We’ll never know exactly what.

But for the men who were there - the men who survived - something appeared in the sky that day.

Something that gave them hope.

Something that helped them survive.

Whether angel or illusion, it mattered.

It still matters.

A hundred years later, we’re still asking: What did they see?