August 1914-BEF Victoriously Advances in Northern France

                                                                News from the Front

The British Government has released the photos of valiant British Tommie's advancing through a smashed village somewhere in Northern France. The government reports that our troops are meeting, defeating and pushing back the Imperial Greman forces.

Covering our victorious forces movements are units of Vickers heavy machine guns such as these.  What enemy could stand up to such troops?

In reality the British were forced to retreat from the initial German attack until the Battle of the Marne on September 5-12, 1914.  At first the British reporters were allowed to give the names of the villages/towns where the BEF was located. Astute readers with maps noted that while the British Government was reporting strings of victories, the location of the British Army was in fact speedily retreating from the frontier and moving ever closer to Paris. The British Government, realizing the danger of such defeatist information, quickly instituted censorship of the press that was to remain in effect until the end of the war.