|
Fortified Sector Of The Escaut
The Fortified Sector of the Escaut (''Secteur Fortifié de l'Escaut''), also known as the Fortified Sector of the Schelde, was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the Maginot Line between the French border with Belgium and Valenciennes, a distance of about . Named for the Escaut River (more commonly known as the Schelde), the Maginot line in the Escaut sector consists of a single position, the ''petit ouvrage'' Eth, together with its supporting casemate Jeanlain, as well as an upgraded fort of the Séré de Rivières system, the Fort de Maulde. The remainder of the sector's fortifications consist of blockhouses and casemates arranged along a line of principal resistance about behind the frontier, with a second line on the edge of the Raismes Forest. The Escaut sector and the Fortified Sector of Maubeuge were the final sections of the Maginot line to be authorized, and were termed the "New Fronts." The Escaut sector was attacked during the Batt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maginot Line
The Maginot Line (french: Ligne Maginot, ), named after the French Minister of War André Maginot, is a line of concrete fortifications, obstacles and weapon installations built by France in the 1930s to deter invasion by Germany and force them to move around the fortifications. The Maginot Line was impervious to most forms of attack. In consequence, the Germans invaded through the Low Countries in 1940, passing it to the north. The line, which was supposed to be fully extended further towards the west to avoid such an occurrence, was finally scaled back in response to demands from Belgium. Indeed, Belgium feared it would be sacrificed in the event of another German invasion. The line has since become a metaphor for expensive efforts that offer a false sense of security. Constructed on the French side of its borders with Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium, the line did not extend to the English Channel. French strategy therefore envisioned a move into Belgium ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Army (France)
The First Army (french: 1re Armée) was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. First World War On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, which comprised the 7th, 8th, 13th, 14th, and 21st Army Corps, two divisions of cavalry and one reserve infantry division. It was massed between Belfort and the general line Mirecourt-Lunéville with headquarters at Epinal. First Army then took part, along with the French Second Army, in the Invasion of Lorraine. The First Army intended to take the strongly defended town of Sarrebourg. Bavarian Crown Prince Rupprecht, commander of the German Sixth Army, was tasked with stopping the French invasion. The French attack was repulsed by Rupprecht and his stratagem of pretending to retreat and then strongly attacking back. On 20 August Rupprecht launched a major counter-offensive, driving the French armies out. Dub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortified Sector Of Lille
The Fortified Sector of Lille (''Secteur Fortifié de Lille'') was the French military organization that in 1940 controlled the section of the France, French border with Belgium opposite Lille. The sector was part of a system of fortifications that included the Maginot Line in other sectors. In the case of the Lille sector, no large fortifications of the kind typified by the Maginot Line were built in the area. Fortifications were confined to a total of 65 blockhouses and 23 infantry shelters within a few kilometers of the border, mainly between Roubaix and Tourcoing and the border. The Fortified Sector of Lille was bordered on the east by the Fortified Sector of the Escaut and on the west by the Fortified Sector of Flanders. The sector figured in the Pillbox affair of 1939-40. It was quickly overrun by German forces during the Battle of France. Command In 1940 the Lille sector was under the overall command of the British Expeditionary Force (World War II), British Expeditionary F ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Falaise, Calvados
Falaise () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Geography Falaise lies on the river Ante, a tributary of the river Dives, about southeast of Caen. History The area around Falaise has been inhabited from prehistoric times, but it was only at the end of the prehistoric period and the beginning of the Gallo-Roman era that the area, Falaise in particular, was regularly inhabited. Evidence of settlement from the time has been found at Vaston, an agricultural area just north-east of the modern town. Falaise, as it is sited today, probably came into being around the castle. The town was the birthplace of William the Conqueror, first of the Norman Kings of England. He was frequently referred to as William the Bastard, on account of his being born out of wedlock to Herleva from Falaise, reputedly a tanner's daughter. The Château de Falaise (12th–13th century), which overlooks the town from a high crag (french: falaise), was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Invasion Of Normandy
Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 (D-Day) with the Normandy landings. A 1,200-plane airborne assault preceded an amphibious assault involving more than 5,000 vessels. Nearly 160,000 troops crossed the English Channel on 6 June, and more than two million Allied troops were in France by the end of August. The decision to undertake a cross-channel invasion in 1944 was taken at the Trident Conference in Washington in May 1943. General Dwight D. Eisenhower was appointed commander of Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force, and General Bernard Montgomery was named commander of the 21st Army Group, which comprised all the land forces involved in the invasion. The coast of Normandy of northwestern France was chosen as the site of the invasion, with the Americans assigned to land at sectors ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk Evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the north of France, between 26 May and 4 June 1940. The operation commenced after large numbers of Belgian, British, and French troops were cut off and surrounded by German troops during the six-week Battle of France. In a speech to the House of Commons, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill called this "a colossal military disaster", saying "the whole root and core and brain of the British Army" had been stranded at Dunkirk and seemed about to perish or be captured. In his "We shall fight on the beaches" speech on 4 June, he hailed their rescue as a "miracle of deliverance". After Germany invaded Poland in September 1939, France and the British Empire declared war on Germany and imposed an economic blockade. The British Expeditionary ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hergnies
Hergnies () is a commune in the Nord department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ... of northern France. Heraldry See also * Communes of the Nord department References Communes of Nord (French department) {{Nord-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dunkirk
Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.Commune de Dunkerque (59183) INSEE It lies from the border. It has the third-largest French harbour. The population of the commune in 2019 was 86,279. Etymology and language use The name of Dunkirk derives from '' or ' |
Bouchain
Bouchain (; vls, Boesem) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It lies halfway between Cambrai and Valenciennes. Bouchain, seat of the early medieval County of Ostrevent, was taken by Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, in the 10th century and eventually subsumed into the County of Hainaut. During the War of the Spanish Succession, when the town was fortified, Bouchain was besieged twice. On 12 September 1711 it was seized from the French after a 34 day siege by the Grand Alliance led by the Duke of Marlborough. It was again besieged, and recaptured by French forces, on 19 October 1712 after an 18 day siege. Population International relations It is twinned with Halesworth and Eitorf. Heraldry See also * Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020): [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaston Billotte
Gaston-Henri Billotte (10 February 1875 – 23 May 1940) was a French military officer, remembered chiefly for his central role in the failure of the French Army to defeat the German invasion of France in May 1940. He was killed in a car accident at the height of the battle. Military career World War I: 1914–1918 Billotte graduated from the Saint-Cyr military academy in 1896 and joined the infantry. In World War I he served as a brigade commander and as an officer of the General Staff. Interwar period: 1918–1939 In 1919 and 1920 he was head of the French Military Mission in Poland. He served the rest of the 1920s and 1930s in colonial posts, in French Syria, French Tunisia, French Morocco and French Indochina, where he was Commander-in-Chief from 1930 to 1932. He was promoted to general in 1927. In 1933 Billotte returned to France, where he served as a Member of the Supreme War Council, President of the Consultative Committee for Colonial Defence and Military Governor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georges Maurice Jean Blanchard
Georges Blanchard (1877–1954) was a French military officer. He served in the French Army in World War I on the Western Front. In World War II, he was a general, commanding the French First Army, which advanced into Belgium during the Battle of Belgium. Military career World War I: 1914–1918 During World War I, he served on the Western Front against the Germans. Interwar period: 1918–1939 From 1927 to 1930 Blanchard was the deputy chief of staff for the French Army of the Rhine. From 1930 to 1932 Blanchard was chief of staff to General Adolphe Guillaumat. In 1932 he was promoted to general, and commanded the artillery of the 2nd Military Region. From 1935 to 1938 Blanchard was commanding general of the 7th Military Region. In 1938 and 1939 he was a member of France's Supreme War Council, director of the ''Centre des hautes études militaires'' (Centre of Military High Studies) and Inspector-General for the Centres of Higher Military Education. World War II: 1939†... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Insigne Secteur Fortifié De L'Escaut 1940 - 02
An insignia () is a sign or mark distinguishing a group, grade, rank, or function. It can be a symbol of personal power or that of an official group or governing body. On its own, an insignia is a sign of a specific or general authority and is usually made of metal or fabric. Together, insignias form a decoration with the different elements of a rank, grade, or dignity. There are many types of insignia, including civil and military decorations, crowns, emblems, and coats of arms. Singular/plural "Insignia" can be used either as a plurale tantum word, i.e. unchanged for both singular and plural, or it can take the plural form "insignias", both equally valid options. The singular "insigne" is rarely used. History The use of insignias predates history, both for personal and group (especially military) use. When the insignia was meant to be seen, it was placed at top of a pole or the head of a spear. The Persians used a golden eagle as an insignia, the Assyrians a dove, and t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
