Iron is a village in the department of Aisne, France. It lies about three miles to the south of Etreux and one mile to the east of the main road linking Landrecies with Guise. This was a major artery for the British Army during the retreat from Mons to the Marne. Below is an extract from a 1917 German Army map which shows its location.

Iron is near the great woods and forests of Nouvion and Andigny. Both of these forests provided shelter for Allied soldiers behind the lines. On August 27 1914 the Munsters held the line on the road from Bergues north to Chapeau Rouge, just off the map, and fell back to Etreux. Le Grand Fayt, the scene of the Connaught’s disastrous encounter with the Germans the previous day, lies just to the north of the map; Guise just to the south.