men with six 13-pounder guns. Both units were part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) Cavalry Division, and had seen action throughout the Retreat from Mons, including fighting at the Battle of Mons and the Battle of Le Cateau but neither had suffered many casualties and were still close to establishment size. The German First Army was screened on its left flank by the three Divisions of the Höheres Kavallerie-Kommando 2, under General George Cornelius von der Marwitz, that included the 2nd, 4th and 9th Cavalry Divisions, while the Second Army’s right flank was screened by the two Divisions of the Höheres Kavallerie-Kommando 1 under General Manfred Freiherr von Richthofen, which included the Guard Cavalry Division and the 5th Cavalry Division. The two Corps had united on 30 August in the vicinity of Noyon. After a day of rest on the 30th, the HKK 1 was to advance towards Soissons, and the HKK 2 towards Villers Cotterets via Thourette. After crossing the Oise at Thourette, Marwitz received flight intelligence that the French were withdrawing south from Soissons. If they had proceeded in a southeasterly direction they would have only reached the rear of the retreating French, On his own initiative, he redirected his command to the south in an attempt to catch them on the flank. Marwitz was completely unaware of the British forces to the south. The HKK 2 was to make an all night march with the 4th Division proceeding directly through the forest of Compeigne, with the other two Divisions taking a longer route around the west side of the forest. They were to rendezvous between 6 and 7 in the morning at Rosieres. Commanded by General Otto von Garnier, the division consisted of six 722-man cavalry regiments in three brigades, along with a divisional artillery battalion of twelve guns, a battery of six machine-guns and two Jäger (light infantry) battalions, each with a further six machine-guns; the total strength was around 5,200 men. The divisional units were the 3. Kavallerie-Brigade (2. Kürassier-Regiment and 9. Ulanen-Regiment) commanded by Karl Leopold Graf von der Goltz, the 17. Kavallerie-Brigade (17. and 18. Dragoner-Regiment) commanded by Ernst Graf von Schimmelmann, and the 18. Kavallerie-Brigade (15. and 16. Husaren-Regiment) commanded by Walther von Printz. The Germans were equally affected by the fog, but several patrols were dispatched to reconnoiter the area. Vize-Feldwebel von Michael of the 17th Dragoons led a patrol