Halen 1 one. Why was Halen?
On the far right wing of the Moltke’s attack there were as a grand total of three cavalry divisions. One of those three was still on the east side of the Meuse River south of the city of Liège. The two divisions belonging to HKK 2 were North of the city. They had crossed the Meuse River. They were out there on their own free to do as they wished starting on 8 August. The infantry would not advance to support them until the 18th. So you had a vacuum that could be exploited for 10 days. In front of them lay the entire Belgian Field Army. This was far more than the two divisions of cavalry – second and fourth – could handle. Dispersal of the Belgian field army was the first major objective of Moltke’s plana. The absolutely worst thing that could happen would be if the Belgian Field Army would withdraw from the open field and retreat into the safety of the ramparts of fortress Antwerp. Somehow, the Belgian Field Army would have to be enticed to stay in the open field until the infantry arrived to crush them. These two divisions were totally inadequate to the task but Lieut. Gen. Von der Marwitz the commander of the German HKK 2, thought he could make a difference by getting around behind the Belgian Field Army and prying it away from fortress Antwerp.
Having done extensive reconnaissance, he found the Belgian Field Army improving their defensive positions behind the river Gete. The single Belgian cavalry division was spread out covering the left flank of the Belgian forces. Marwitz figured his proud and well trained cavalry ghosted with Jaeger’s and machine guns would do well in making a hole. So along to the far northern point where the two German cavalry divisions would try to force the position of the single Belgian cavalry division. Fourth cavalry division would go first. With the 17th cavalry brigade in front of the third cavalry brigade, they were led by the redoubtable 17th and 18th dragoons. These two Dragoon regiments were the pride and joy of Mecklenburg- Schwerin. The 17th Kav Bde, which was composed of the Dragoner Regt Nr 17 and Nr 18, came from Mecklenburg. Although the units were organized and trained under a common Prussian system, Mecklenburgers had their own Grand Duke and, without question, came from the most backward province in all of Imperial Germany. They did not even have a parliament. The social system was very much like serfdom. Even the personal lifeguard protection of the grand Duke was included in these forces. These were the best and brightest that the grand Duchy could offer. The following forces from the third brigade were no slouches either. They included a Kürassier regiment- the second- whose honorary Col. was no one less than the Kaiser’s wife. They were a distinctive Bandeaux on their silver helmets commemorating the regiment’s accomplishments during the battle of Hohenfriedberg in 1745. Ulanen Regt Nr 9 was the other regiment in the brigade and they had the nickname Weissen von der Peene, the White Ones of the river Peene, based on the color of their old uniform.
Halen is situated along the Diest-Hasselt main road. It had a population of about 2,500. Although it was a small village, it was also a road nexus on the west side of the Gete River. The region was marked by hedges and trees that lined meadows and fields. In 1914, this road came from Herk-de-Stad. Situated between Diest and Halen, north of the main road, was the hamlet of Zelk. From the south, the road leading towards Halen comes from Geetbets. This road is parallel to the Gete River. Further south, Budingen provides a river crossing point. The third largest road runs southwest from the center of Halen towards Loksbergen, passing the hamlet of Velpen (where currently the Belgian Military Cemetery is located). Most roads in this rural area were of the trampled-earth type; the two main roads had cobblestone pavement.