Which 1914 battle was the first major action of the British Expeditionary Force, delaying the German advance?
British Expeditionary Force (World War I) British Expeditionary Force (World War I) The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was the British Army sent to the Western Front during the First World War. Planning for a British Expeditionary Force began with the Haldane reforms of the British Army carried out by the Secretary of State for War Richard Haldane following the Second Boer War (1899–1902). The term "British Expeditionary Force" is often used to refer "only" to the forces present in France prior to the end of the First Battle of Ypres on 22 November 1914. By the end of 1914—after the battles of Mons, Le Cateau, the
British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1914) British Expeditionary Force order of battle (1914) The British Expeditionary Force order of battle 1914, as originally despatched to France in August and September 1914, at the beginning of World War I. The British Army prior to World War I traced its origins to the increasing demands of imperial expansion together with inefficiencies highlighted during the Crimean War, which led to the Cardwell and Childers Reforms of the late 19th century. These gave the British Army its modern shape, and defined its regimental system. The Haldane Reforms of 1907, formally created an "Expeditionary force" and the Territorial Force. The British