Néry is a small village in northern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is designated municipally as a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 within the département of Oise

Oise

Oise is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise.-History:Oise is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

.. The commune includes the hamlet

Hamlet (place)

A hamlet is usually a rural settlement which is too small to be considered a village, though sometimes the word is used for a different sort of community. Historically, when a hamlet became large enough to justify building a church, it was then classified as a village...

s of Huleux, Vaucelles and Verrines. The Church of Saint-Martin in Néry dates from 1140 with later additions. The Manoir de Huleux was built in 1550. In 719 AD, Néry was the scene of a battle in which Charles Martel

Charles Martel

Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...

 defeated the Neustria

Neustria

The territory of Neustria or Neustrasia, meaning "new [western] land", originated in 511, made up of the regions from Aquitaine to the English Channel, approximating most of the north of present-day France, with Paris and Soissons as its main cities...

ns. At the start of World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 in 1914, a delaying action was fought in the village by part of the British Expeditionary Force.

The Affair at Néry

At dawn on 1st September 1914, the British 1st Cavalry Brigade and L Battery

L (Néry) Battery Royal Horse Artillery

L Battery Royal Horse Artillery are the Tactical Group Battery of 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery. They are currently based in Assaye Barracks in Tidworth.-Current Role:...

 of the Royal Horse Artillery

Royal Horse Artillery

The regiments of the Royal Horse Artillery , dating from 1793, are part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Army...

 who had bivouac

Bivouac shelter

A bivouac traditionally refers to a military encampment made with tents or improvised shelters, usually without shelter or protection from enemy fire or such a site where a camp may be built. It is also commonly used to describe a variety of improvised camp sites such as those used in scouting and...

ed at Néry, were surprised by the advancing German 4th Cavalry Division. The German attack was supported by 12 guns which devastated the British battery. However a single 13 pounder gun

Ordnance QF 13 pounder

The Ordnance QF 13-pounder quick-firing field gun was the standard equipment of the British Royal Horse Artillery at the outbreak of World War I.-History:...

 was kept firing, and together with the rifles and machine-guns of the Queen's Bays, held off the Germans long enough for elements of the 1st and 4th Cavalry Brigade to counter attack and drive away the attackers in disorder. The German division was withdrawn to the reserve corps; there were 135 British casualties. Three Victoria Cross

Victoria Cross

The Victoria Cross is the highest military decoration awarded for valour "in the face of the enemy" to members of the armed forces of various Commonwealth countries, and previous British Empire territories....

es were awarded to L Battery (Edward Kinder Bradbury

Edward Kinder Bradbury

Captain Edward Kinder Bradbury VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

, George Thomas Dorrell

George Thomas Dorrell

Lieutenant-Colonel George Thomas Dorrell VC, MBE was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces....

 and David Nelson), and the "Néry Gun" is preserved in the Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum

Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...

.