The 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards, a British Army cavalry regiment, had arrived in France on 16 August 1914 and were almost immediately moved to the front. The intention was to defend Belgium which, with France and Luxembourg, had been invaded by the Germans as part of the Battle of the Frontiers. The 4th Dragoon Guards scouted the advance of the rest of the 1st Cavalry Division. Soon after crossing the Belgian border 4th Dragoon Guards scout observed parties of German cavalry and on 22 August the regiment's C Squadron, under Major Tom Bridges, was ordered to investigate.