Blanchetaque () is a former ford crossing of the

River Somme The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France. The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geological ...

, in the Somme department in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...

in northern France. The name of the ford is derived from the white stones marking the way across the river.

Saigneville Saigneville () is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. History Prior to construction of the Canal de la Somme, Saigneville stood at the southern end of a ford across the Somme estuary. Known as ''Blanchetaqu ...

was on the southern side of the ford, before the construction of the

Canal de la Somme The Canal de la Somme is a canal in northern France. Its total length is 156.4 km with 25 locks, from the English Channel at Saint-Valéry-sur-Somme to the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Saint-Simon. History The Somme River was canalized begi ...

. The ford was the site of the Battle of Blanchetaque in 1346, during the Hundred Years' War, between an army of King Edward III of England and a French force led by

Godemar I du Fay Godemar I du Fay (died 1350) was a 14th century French noble. Life Du Fay was the son of Etinne Blanc, Lord of Reveux and Du Fay and Agnes de Varennes. Fay was appointed in 1328, the Baille of Vitry. in 1330 the Baille of Chaumont and in 1338 as ...

Citations

References

* * {{Somme-geo-stub River crossings