Crécy-en-Ponthieu (), known in archaic English as Cressy, is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

located south of Calais in the northern French

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 Somme. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and is one of the largest in the north of France. A small river, the Maye, runs through the town.

History

Crécy-en-Ponthieu is best known as the site of the

Battle of Crécy The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 in northern France between a French army commanded by King PhilipVI and an English army led by King EdwardIII. The French attacked the English while they were traversing northern France du ...

in 1346, one of the earliest and most important battles of the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Planta ...

. There are other significant historical links. The Chausée Brunehaut, which passed within two miles (3.2 km) of the town, is the Roman road from Paris and Amiens to Boulogne, and is still visible and walkable today. The town lends its name to a popular carrot soup known as ''potage Crécy''.

Airfield

The British built an airfield in Crécy to provide air support before the fall of France in 1940. During the

Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the German invasion of France during the Second Wor ...

, the plan seems to have been to deploy RAF squadrons of

Bristol Blenheim The Bristol Blenheim is a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company (Bristol) which was used extensively in the first two years of the Second World War, with examples still being used as trainers until t ...

light bomber A light bomber is a relatively small and fast type of military bomber aircraft that was primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance. The earliest light bombers were intended to d ...

s there, but it is not clear how intensively the airfield was used. In the confused days of mid-May 1940 one squadron that was ordered to deploy there did not due to the absence of any military protection. It is most notable for its occupation by the German Luftwaffe, with Gruppe

Zerstörergeschwader 26 ''Zerstörergeschwader'' 26 (ZG 26) "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy fighter wing of World War II. Formed on 1 May 1939, ZG 26 was initially armed with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 single-engine interceptor due to production shortfalls with th ...

Messerschmitt Bf 110 The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often known unofficially as the Me 110,Because it was built before ''Bayerische Flugzeugwerke'' became Messerschmitt AG in July 1938, the Bf 110 was never officially given the designation Me 110. is a twin-engine (Des ...

s stationed there from May 1940 until November 1940 when, after the end of the

Battle of Britain The Battle of Britain, also known as the Air Battle for England (german: die Luftschlacht um England), was a military campaign of the Second World War, in which the Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Fleet Air Arm (FAA) of the Royal Navy defended ...

, the Gruppe was withdrawn to Germany to rest and re-equip. Several other squadrons came and went, including some

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War a ...

s. The entrance to the airfield is still visible on the left of the D12 road from Crécy to

Ligescourt Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. Geography Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville. Population See also *Communes of the Somme department The following is ...

, midway between the two. Some fortified installations are also visible, hidden beneath trees on various sides of the airfield.

Museum

The Crécy museum holds a collection of items, displayed over two rooms and a passageway. The collection includes information about the battle of Crecy as well as various items from the Second World War, pre-historic material and geological specimens.

Railway

There was a station (Crécy-Estrées) on a branch of the

Réseau des Bains de Mer The Réseau des Bains de Mer (RBM) was a group of five metre gauge railways centred on Noyelles-sur-Mer, with a total route length of some . It was a part of the ''Chemins de fer départementaux de la Somme''. Three of the lines are still ope ...

which ran between

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital o ...

and

Dompierre-sur-Authie Dompierre-sur-Authie (, literally ''Dompierre on Authie''; pcd, Dompierre-su-Eutie) is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France. It is slowly depopulating like most of the countryside towns of this region, wit ...

. It opened on 19 June 1892 and closed to passengers on 10 March 1947 and freight on 1 February 1951.

References

ZG26 deployment details

External links

Somme Tourism Board Crécy-en-Ponthieu information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crecyenponthieu Communes of Somme (department)