Battle of Haelen
Battle of Haelen was a battle fought on 12 August 1914 at Halen, in what is now Belgium. It was part of the Western Front, which ran from 1914 to 1918. The recorded result: Belgian victory. Recorded strength: 5 regiments; 2,400 cavalry; 450 infantry cyclists against 6 regiments; 4,000 cavalry; 2,000 infantry.
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Silver helmet.. Paul Hermans at Dutch Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons .
Fought 12 August 1914
Where Halen, Belgium 50.949N, 5.111E
Outcome Belgian victory
Belligerents Belgium against German Empire
Casualties and losses 160 killed; 320 wounded and 150 killed; 600 wounded; 300 captured
Where it sits in the Western Front Siege of Antwerp, 1914 Battle of St. Quentin, 1914 Battle of Liège, 1914 Battle of Mangiennes, 1914 Battle of Haelen, 1914 Battle of Lorraine, 1914 Battle of Sarrebourg, 1914 Siege of Namur, 1914 Battle of Charleroi, 1914 Battle of the Ardennes, 1914 Battle of Rossignol, 1914 Battle of Mons, 1914 Siege of Maubeuge, 1914 Burning of Louvain, 1914 Battle of Le Cateau, 1914 Battle of Le Grand Fayt, 1914 Battle of Étreux, 1914 Ovillers-la-Boisselle in World War I, 1914 Battle of Grand Couronné, 1914 Battle of the Two Morins, 1914 Battle of Multien, 1914 Battle of the Frontiers, 1914 First Battle of the Marne, 1914 Battle of Flirey, 1914 Battle of Albert, 1914 Battle of Buggenhout, 1914 First Battle of Picardy, 1914 First Battle of the Aisne, 1914 Battle of La Bassée, 1914 Battle of Messines, 1914 Battle of Armentières, 1914 Battle of the Yser, 1914 First Battle of Ypres, 1914 First Battle of Artois, 1914 First Battle of Champagne, 1914 Battle of Hartmannswillerkopf, 1915 Battle of Neuve Chapelle, 1915 Second Battle of Ypres, 1915 Battle of Kitcheners' Wood, 1915 Battle of Hill 60, 1915 Second Battle of Artois, 1915 Battle of Aubers Ridge, 1915 Battle of Hébuterne, 1915 Third Battle of Artois, 1915 Second Battle of Champagne, 1915 Battle of Loos, 1915 Action of the Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1915 Battle of Flers–Courcelette, 1916 Battle of Albert, 1916 Battle of Verdun, 1916 Battle of Caures Woods, 1916 Hohenzollern Redoubt, 1916 Storming of Fort Vaux, 1916 Battle of Mont Sorrel, 1916 Battle of the Boar's Head, 1916 Battle of the Somme, 1916 First day on the Somme, 1916 Leipzig salient, 1916 Capture of La Boisselle, 1916 Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916 Battle of Mametz Wood, 1916 Battle of Bazentin Ridge, 1916 Capture of Ovillers, 1916 Battle of Fromelles, 1916 Battle of Delville Wood, 1916 Battle of Guillemont, 1916 Capture of Martinpuich, 1916 Battle of Thiepval Ridge, 1916 Battle of Morval, 1916 Battle of Mouquet Farm, 1916 Capture of Combles, 1916 Battle of the Ancre Heights, 1916 Battle of Le Transloy, 1916 Capture of Regina Trench, 1916 Battle of the Ancre, 1916 Operations on the Gheluvelt Plateau, July–August 1917, 1917 Battle of Langemarck, 1917 Battle of Arras, 1917 Second Battle of the Aisne, 1917 Battle of the Hills, 1917 Battle of Messines, 1917 Third Battle of Ypres, 1917 Battle of Pilckem Ridge, 1917 Capture of Westhoek, 1917 Action of the Cockcroft, 19 August 1917, 1917 Action of 22 August 1917, 1917 Battle of the Menin Road Ridge, 1917 Capture of Wurst Farm, 1917 Battle of Polygon Wood, 1917 Battle of Broodseinde, 1917 Battle of Poelcappelle, 1917 First Battle of Passchendaele, 1917 Battle of La Malmaison, 1917 Second Battle of Passchendaele, 1917 Battle of Cambrai, 1917 Night action of 1/2 December 1917, 1917 Attack on the Polderhoek Spur, 1917 Second Battle of the Somme, 1918 Battle of Soissons, 1918 Operation Michael, 1918 First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918 Battle of the Lys, 1918 Battle of Seicheprey, 1918 Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, 1918 Second Battle of the Marne, 1918 Third Battle of the Aisne, 1918 Combats of Michelbach, 1918 Battle of Hamel, 1918 Battle of Amiens, 1918 Battle of the Ailette, 1918 Battle of the Scarpe, 1918 Battle of Mont Saint-Quentin, 1918 Second Battle of Bapaume, 1918 Battle of Havrincourt, 1918 Battle of Épehy, 1918 Battle of the Canal du Nord, 1918 Fifth Battle of Ypres, 1918 Battle of Blanc Mont Ridge, 1918 Battle of Courtrai, 1918 Battle of the Lys and the Escaut, 1918 Battle of the Selle, 1918 1914 1918 Battle of Haelen, 1914 121 placed engagements of the Western Front in time order; taller ticks are more widely documented. Each tick is a link.
Record
Date 12 August 1914 Place Halen, Belgium50.949N, 5.111E Kind Battle, First World War Strength 5 regiments; 2,400 cavalry; 450 infantry cyclists 6 regiments; 4,000 cavalry; 2,000 infantry Casualties and losses 160 killed; 320 wounded 150 killed; 600 wounded; 300 captured Commanders Léon de Witte de Haelen Adolf Proost
Battle of Haelen Battle of Haelen Siege of Diest Siege of Zoutleeuw Battle of Hasselt Battle of Hasselt Battle of Brustem Siege of Diest Siege of Zoutleeuw Brussels The Hague Lille Rotterdam Antwerpen Düsseldorf Bonn Charleroi 100 km 50.949N, 5.111E The recorded site, with the nearest other engagements in the atlas. Present-day coastlines, rivers and borders; towns from Natural Earth.
Battle of Haelen is one of 2,997 engagements of the 20th century in the atlas and one of 243 in present-day Belgium.
Sources
Identity, coordinates, dates and the war from Wikidata Q1497933 , released under CC0. Result, belligerents, commanders, strength and casualties from the infobox of the English Wikipedia article Battle of Halen , revision 1370265220, read 2026-11-14, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0; the article's text is not reproduced here. Present-day country and state from Natural Earth. Dates before 1582 follow the Julian calendar as recorded.
