This painting depicts the charge of the British 9th Lancers at the battle of Mons, 24th August 1914 during the First World War.

The Battle of Mons, Belgium, was the first engagement between the British BEF (British Expeditionary Force) and German forces during the Battle of the Frontiers. To cover the withdrawal of a neighboring British Division and its artillery from capture, volunteers of the 9th Lancers under Major Francis Grenfell mounted a valiant cavalry charge against elements of the German First Army.

Although the painting romanticized the charge as a gallant moment of defiance against the odds, the reality was more costly as the Lancers were decimated due to an unbroken line of German machine guns, artillery, rifles, and barbed wire situated in an open field.

Major Grenfell, who was severely wounded, was awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions.

https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/blog/remembering-the-battle-of-mons-britain-s-first-major-battle-of-world-war-one/?afd_azwaf_tok=eyJhbGciOiJSUzI1NiJ9.eyJhdWQiOiJ3d3cuY3dnYy5vcmciLCJleHAiOjE3NDY0NDMyNjAsImlhdCI6MTc0NjQ0MzI1MCwiaXNzIjoidGllcjEtNWQ2OGJiNGRkNC1zMnBuOSIsInN1YiI6Ijk1LjE3My4yMTguNzkiLCJkYXRhIjp7InR5cGUiOiJpc3N1ZWQiLCJyZWYiOiIyMDI1MDUwNVQxMTA3MzBaLTE1ZDY4YmI0ZGQ0czJwbjloQzFTRzFkc2IwMDAwMDAwMDg5MDAwMDAwMDAweDJncyIsImIiOiJNS29faVZBQjRIdExNd3hOVW95Y1Y3V0J5bk40d3V2Y3c5M2dkbWlrWFY4IiwiaCI6IlNQVUFCam1NdmphRy15WU5heVU0cDNYQXFfdWpKVVktdml4VW1aV0ZiTGcifX0.iUWvd6KULLqwO_isVDjQJOqotXS7vBHBeN0Qp169rygYyWydO0edfMENFW2tGLTLLZLj_PeJd7uVU2RRcWVfBxGojLTObkfWDnirZ68g2hmLJsgqBqXoEtem3-k-TixhQVWqOgH9bs5Nb1arsKp9cyXVnOqsCkT7BCM9ByDDZKipSSaABz7wWud2eCltv3RwhVAFApw3Cu-cuWfQJ5vLH9q5TwcfyYnzzCLO6EYmO19abql05Vvu3lSFSAbNGJnfDgejUuQH61_nxfTFyoTbmL43N8BiLD0C6C6pVqwcCbo_3Mn1eXphbUUCJqcCcNb8Tx8NE4Gp3-bV8642c_xCUQ.WF3obl2IDtqgvMFRqVdYkD5s

https://www.nam.ac.uk/explore/cavalry-western-front