The name gives an impression of a more romantic period in history. Yet the Battle of the Silver Helmets represents the shocking passing of the old order and the emergence of a brutal new form of warfare. It took place in Belgium in August 1914 at the start of the First World War, and the name deliberately recalls the medieval Battle of the Golden Spurs – which saw a poorly trained Flemish militia defeat the pride of the French army.
In some ways, the Battle of the Silver Helmets was an equally famous victory for a poorly equipped and trained Belgian army, this time against the might of the German military. Despite this, today it is largely forgotten, at best a footnote to the great mechanised warfare that brought industrialised slaughter to Europe, and consumed millions of lives over the next five years.
As the last great cavalry charge the German army ever made – which also turned out to be one of the most disastrous cavalry charges ever made – the battle has a notable place in military history. It seems remarkable today that despite being one of the most modern and mechanised armies on earth at the time, the German army of 1914 still had cavalry divisions that Napoleon would have recognised a hundred years earlier.
As the German army sought to sweep through Belgium and into France after the siege of Liege, German planners underestimated the level of resistance they would encounter. German cavalry rode ahead of infantry divisions into eastern Flanders and, on 12 August 1914, they crossed the River Gete near the small town of Halen. Coming under artillery and rifle fire, the cavalry charged at the Belgian defenders.
In fact, the ranks of Uhlans, Hussars and Lancers made eight attempts to charge the Belgian troops. Each time they were met by the overwhelming firepower of cannon and machine guns. They were routed and suffered huge losses. It seems almost sentimental today that cavalry were still deployed in the First World War, but those first few months of the conflict proved that the troops and tactics of the past were finally obsolete.
This is also true of the Belgian forces. One unit opposing the German cavalry consisted of bicycle infantry. That might have seemed modern in 1914, but after a few months of the war, both horses and bicycles no longer had a place in attacking formations. As I cycled out of Halen towards the battlefield and an unusual monument to the battle, I passed a sculpture commemorating Belgium’s cycling soldiers.
The Battle of the Silver Helmets memorial lies in open country next to one of the sunken lanes that did so much to prevent an effective cavalry charge. Across this ground the cavalry met their fate. In the distance I saw a more traditional German war memorial, but the 44 painted concrete helmets that make up this one commemorate both those who died and those who suffered under the German occupation.
The memorial is called Limburg 1914 – 1918: Small Stories in a Great War and it was a highlight of a cycle that passed though the region’s famed fruit orchards just as the trees started to blossom. I’ve visited the undulating landscape of the Haspengouw district before, and it always has a lot to offer: lovely panoramas, impressive square farms, quiet villages with oversized churches, and an occasional castle.
In Flemish Limburg the cycling infrastructure is probably the best in the country. The quality of the cycle route and the signage was notably worse in a neighbouring province. I was greeted with a sign welcoming me back to Limburg’s ‘cycling paradise’ when I returned across the border. The route took me though a succession of pleasant villages -Wellen, Alken and Nieuwerkerken – all with fruit-based economies.
At one point on the route I stopped to find out why a tree stump was protected by a barrier and had its own information board. This is – or was – Onzelievehereboom. An oak planted in around the 9th century, it was thought to be Belgium’s oldest tree when it was felled by violent storms in 2009. To be honest, anything that survives for 12 centuries in this world deserves its own information board.
