In September 1914 Rawlinson was appointed General Officer Commanding 4th Division in France. Promoted to temporary lieutenant-general on 4 October 1914, he then took command of the IV Corps. In late September, the Belgian government formally requested British military assistance in defending Antwerp. IV Corps, acting under orders from the Cabinet, was chosen to reinforce the city. Rawlinson arrived in Antwerp on 6 October. It was soon obvious that the combined British, Belgian, and French forces were too weak to hold the city, and Kitchener decided on an evacuation two days later. IV Corps and the remnants of the Belgian Army successfully re-joined Allied forces in Western Belgium, with the Cabinet returning Rawlinson's Corps to Sir John French's command. IV Corps marched into Ypres on the night of 13-14 October, where the BEF was preparing to meet the German Army advancing Northwards. Located at the centre of the British line, IV Corps met the main thrust of the German attacks between 18-27 October and suffered heavy casualties. On 28 October, IV Corps was put under the temporary command of Douglas Haig while Rawlinson went to England to oversee the preparation of 8th Division. When he returned in November the German attacks on Ypres had died down.