The Canal du Nord (, literally ''Canal of the North'') is a long canal in northern France. The canal connects the

Canal latéral à l'Oise The Canal latéral à l'Oise () is a canal in northern France that, along with the river Oise, connects the Canal de Saint-Quentin at Chauny to the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine. See under the river Oise for the continuation of the route; the ...

at Pont-l'Évêque to the Sensée Canal at

Arleux Arleux () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Geography The river Sensée joins the Canal du Nord at Arleux. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes o ...

. The French government, in partnership with coal-mining companies in the Nord and

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

departments, developed the canal to help French

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

companies withstand foreign competition. Construction of the canal began in 1908 but halted in 1914, because of the First World War. The war caused widespread destruction of the canal and the French government made no attempt to resume construction until 1959. Construction recommenced in 1960 and the waterway opened to the public in 1965. The Canal du Nord and the

Canal de Saint-Quentin The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second much long ...

may be supplanted by the

Seine–Nord Europe Canal The Seine–Nord Europe Canal is a planned high-capacity (''grand gabarit'') canal in France that would link the Oise River at Compiègne with the Dunkirk-Scheldt Canal, east of Arleux. It is the French part of a proposed Seine-Scheldt canal that ...

, a projected high capacity link between the

Oise River The Oise ( ; ) is a river of Belgium and France, flowing for from its source in the Belgian province of Hainaut, south of Chimay. It crosses the border with France after about . It flows into the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a north-weste ...

at Janville and the high capacity Dunkirk-Escaut Canal.

History

Until the construction of the Canal du Nord, the

was the only waterway linking the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

basin to the north of France. The rise of the coal industry in Pas-de-Calais eventually saturated traffic on the Canal de Saint-Quentin and necessitated a new transportation link to the

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

region to ensure that the northern French coal mining companies could effectively compete against their Belgian and English equivalents. In 1860, the principal coal companies in the Pas-de-Calais ''département'' grouped themselves into a , responsible for coping with transportation problems. The group expanded into the in 1878, and began taking steps towards obtaining fundamental improvements in water connections. A special commission of the French Ministry of Public Works conducted their first study in 1878 to find a “suitable means of putting the coal mines in a position to withstand foreign competition". The concept of the canal was included in the Freycinet Plan, a public works project whereby the government purchased railroads and built extensive new railways and waterways. Plans for the canal were presented to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourbon R ...

in 1882. On 23 December 1903, the French government authorized construction of the Canal du Nord, a 93 kilometre long canal from

to Pont-l'Évêque. The Canal du Nord would accommodate barges up to 300 tonnes and because it both increased waterway capacity and decreased transport distance, it was expected to decrease freight costs by up to 30%. In 1908 construction began on the canal. Under the plan, coal-mining companies contributed one-third of the construction cost and by 1914 this amounted to 23 million francs of the total 72 million francs in incurred expenses. Three quarters of the excavations, 11 locks and all of the bridges were complete, with work well advanced on the tunnels, when

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

forced a halt in construction. The war resulted in widespread destruction of the canal and the French government did not attempt to resume building until after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when the rapid economic growth experienced by France in the 1950s saw a marked increase in bulk transport requirements between the Seine basin and the north, and it again became urgent to complete the project. The works were carried out in the early 1960s and the canal opened to navigation in 1966.

Future

The canal is expected to be abandoned and possibly even infilled in sections, when the projected parallel Seine-Nord Europe Canal has been built, as currently planned over the years 2018-2024.

Battle of Canal du Nord

The Battle of the Canal du Nord was part of a general

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

offensive against

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

positions on the Western Front during the

Hundred Days Offensive The Hundred Days Offensive (8 August to 11 November 1918) was a series of massive Allies of World War I, Allied offensives that ended the First World War. Beginning with the Battle of Amiens (1918), Battle of Amiens (8–12 August) on the Wester ...

of World War I. The battle took place along an incomplete portion of the Canal du Nord and on the outskirts of

Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...

between 27 September and 1 October 1918. To avoid the risk of having extensive German reserves massed against a single Allied attack, the assault along the Canal du Nord was undertaken as part of a number of closely sequenced Allied attacks at separate points along the front. It began one day after the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, one day before an offensive in the

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

region of Belgium, and two days before the

Battle of St. Quentin Canal The Battle of St. Quentin Canal was a pivotal battle of World War I that began on 29 September 1918 and involved British, Australian and American forces operating as part of the British Fourth Army under the overall command of General Sir He ...

En Route

* PK 0

* PK 14

Mœuvres Mœuvres () is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. 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 th ...

* PK 48 Péronne, connection with Grande Somme * PK 60 Épénancourt * PK 66 Voyennes, connection with Petite Somme * PK 92

Noyon Noyon (; pcd, Noéyon; la, Noviomagus Veromanduorum, Noviomagus of the Veromandui, then ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Oise Departments of France, department, northern France. Geography Noyon lies on the river Oise (river), Oise, a ...

* PK 95 Pont-l'Évêque

Notes

References

* * * Edwards-May, David. ''Inland Waterways of France'', 8th edition (2010). pp185–187. Imray. * *

External links

Canal du Nord
with maps and details of places, moorings and services (by the author of ''Inland Waterways of France'', Imray)
Navigation details for 80 French rivers and canals
(French waterways website section) {{Authority control Nord Canals opened in 1965