Battle of Halen 1914
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 12 August 1914 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1914 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | Belgium | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Battle of the Frontiers | Wikidata P361 |
| Coordinates | 50.9492, 5.1106 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Halen (German: Gefecht bei Halen), also known as the Battle of the Silver Helmets (Dutch: Slag der Zilveren Helmen; French: Bataille des casques d'argent) because of the many cavalry helmets left behind on the battlefield by the German cuirassiers, took place on 12 August 1914 at the beginning of the First World War, between German forces led by Georg von der Marwitz and Belgian troops led by Léon De Witte.
The name of the battle alludes to the Battle of the Golden Spurs in 1302, where 500 pairs of golden spurs were recovered from the battlefield. Halen (Haelen in French) was a small market town and a convenient river crossing of the Gete and was situated on the principal axis of advance of the Imperial German army. The battle was a Belgian tactical victory but did little to delay the German invasion of Belgium.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Halen (revision 1370265220), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Zoutleeuw 1705 · 13 km
- Battle of Hasselt 1831 · 16 km
- Battle of Brustem 1467 · 18 km
- Battle of Elixheim 1705 · 20 km
- Battle of Landen 1693 · 20 km
- Battle of Neerwinden (1793) 1793 · 21 km
Other battles of the Battle of the Frontiers
- Battle of Charleroi 1914
- Battle of Grand Couronné 1914
- Battle of Lorraine 1914
- Battle of Mons 1914
- Battle of Rossignol 1914
- Battle of Sarrebourg 1914
- Battle of the Ardennes 1914
All 8 battles of the Battle of the Frontiers →
Browse more: battles in Belgium · Europe · World War I era battles