Fréteval () 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 ...

in the 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, ...

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a department in the Centre-Val de Loire region of France. Its name is originated from two rivers which cross it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher in its southern part. Its prefecture is Blois. The INSEE and La P ...

. The village is located on the right bank of the river Loir. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied by the second century CE. In the Middle Ages, the fortifications of the were used to defend the region against

Anjou Anjou may refer to: Geography and titles France * County of Anjou, a historical county in France and predecessor of the Duchy of Anjou **Count of Anjou, title of nobility *Duchy of Anjou, a historical duchy and later a province of France **Duk ...

and, later, England. The

Battle of Fréteval The Battle of Fréteval, which took place on 3 July 1194, was a medieval battle, part of the ongoing fighting between Richard the Lionheart and Philip II of France that lasted from 1193 to Richard's death in April 1199. During the battle, the Angl ...

was fought nearby in 1194. The Forest of Fréteval extends into the northern part of the commune and was used in

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 ...

as a refuge for

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 ...

airmen shot down over France. Écluse sur le Loir - Fréteval (Loir-et-Cher)

History

Near the village of Fréteval is the Grisset tower, the ruins of a Roman-Gallic religious complex dating from the second century CE. Only part of the

cella A cella (from Latin for small chamber) or naos (from the Ancient Greek, Greek ναός, "temple") is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek temple, Greek or Roman temple in classical antiquity. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extende ...

, the tower at the center of the complex, has survived intact. Archaeologists have found traces of baths and a theater. The site was occupied by a village called Saint Victor in the early

middle age In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

s. The Fréteval family is first mentioned in records in the mid-10th century. Count Eudes II of Chartres built the Château de Fréteval about 1025 to defend the area from

. The Frétevals were a noble family with regional power as vassals of the

Counts of Blois During the Middle Ages, the counts of Blois were among the most powerful Vassal, vassals of the King of France. This title of nobility seems to have been created in 832 by Louis the Pious, Emperor Louis ''the Pious'' for William, Count of Blois, ...

and Counts of Chartres (often the same person) from 1000 to 1170. The château covered an area of with three lines of defense against attacks. A round tower, the

keep A keep (from the Middle English ''kype'') is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in c ...

or Donjon, survives. It is one of the oldest circular keeps in France. On 3 July 1194, at the Battle of Freteval, the forces of

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199) was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine and Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, and Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes, and was ...

raided the camp of

Philippe II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

and captured the written records and much of the treasure of the French kingdom. After the battle, Philippe established the National Archives of France in Paris as a more secure and permanent depository and library for government documents. The château was damaged by English attacks in 1418 and thereafter was mostly uninhabited.

Fréteval Forest

The Fréteval Forest, of thick woodland south of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, is partially located in the commune. In 1944 during

, the Fréteval Forest, code named "Sherwood" in Operation Marathon, was one of several sites used to hide Allied airmen who had been shot down by the Germans and were attempting to evade capture. They were sheltered in camps in the forest. Airmen were first collected from where they had crashed and transported to Paris and assembled in safe houses in Paris. From Paris to the camps the evaders and their French guides traveled by train to the town of

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45& ...

and then hiked down country roads. The

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

was strong in the forest area, but the leaders of the resistance agreed to cease operations so as not to call German attention to the forest. The officer in charge of the forest camps was an ex- Comet line veteran, Jean de Blommaert, who was parachuted into France and made his way to Paris to start arrangements for the camp. The first evaders were brought from Paris to the camps on 20 May 1944. On June 12, while guiding several airmen from Paris to the camps, an American woman active in the French resistance,

Virginia d'Albert-Lake Virginia d'Albert-Lake (born 4 June 1910, Dayton, Ohio – died 20 September 1997, Dinard, France) was a member of the anti-Nazi French Resistance during World War II. She worked with the Comet Escape Line. She and her husband Philippe helped 67 ...

, was captured and imprisoned by the Germans. A British officer,

Airey Neave Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, (;) (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During World War II he was the first British prisoner-of-war ...

, of

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a highly secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: (1) assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (P ...

, (British Military Intelligence Section 9), supervised Operation Marathon. Neave and a small force of French Resistance fighters and allied soldiers liberated the camp on 14 August 1944. 152 Allied airmen were brought to safety.Home Run - Escape from Nazi Europe - 2007 - John Nichol and Tony Rennell - (Penguin books)
/ref>

References

External links

Freteval Forest Evaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freteval Communes of Loir-et-Cher French Resistance

History

Fréteval Forest

See also

References

External links