Charge of Burkel

The Charge of Burkel (Charge de Burkel) was a skirmish between Belgian and German forces in October 1918, during the First World War. It is notable as the last cavalry charge in Western Europe.

Background
The Belgian Cavalry Division was stationed on the Western Front as an infantry formation, with its horses kept near the front for supply purposes.

The Charge
In the afternoon of the 19 October, Major Van Strydonck in command of a section of the 1st Regiment of Guides received orders to "cross the enemy lines by surprise. Once arrived at Burkel, attack the enemy from behind..."

The first group of the regiment, under Colonel Jooris, was stopped by machine gun fire and was forced to continue the battle on foot, calling on artillery fire to help create a breach.

To the cry of "Forward, my children...for the king!" the cavalry charged the enemy lines at 16:30. The charge was headed by two armoured cars. After advancing in silence, they charged the German positions in the forest of Burkel. The first line of trenches was overwhelmed by the charge, allowing the cavalry to ride more than three kilometers further before confronting the second line of German machine guns. As the armoured cars had been immobilized, the cavalry were ordered to attack the second line of machine guns on foot. By 17:00, the Germans, who had been taken off balance by the charge, began to retreat.

Aftermath
The charge was celebrated in Belgium and the battle honour "Burkel" added to the standard of the 1st Guides. Van Strydonck, who had commanded the charge, was made a Baron and given the title "de Burkel" in recognition of his heroisim. During the Second World War, he would serve as commander of the Free Belgian Forces in the United Kingdom.