Montreuil (; also nl, Monsterole), also known as Montreuil-sur-Mer (; pcd, Montreu-su-Mér or , literally ''Montreuil on Sea''), is a sub-prefecture in the

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 ...

department, northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located on the

Canche The river Canche (; nl, Kwinte) is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the English Channel, of which the Somme is the largest example. It is long. The basin of the Canche extends to and lies i ...

river, not far from

Étaples Étaples or Étaples-sur-Mer (; vls, Stapel, lang; pcd, Étape) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is a fishing and leisure port on the Canche river. History Étaples takes its name from having been a medieval ...

. The sea, however, is now some distance away.

Montreuil-sur-Mer station Montreuil-sur-Mer is a railway station on the line from Arras to Étaples via Saint-Pol-sur-Ternoise. It is located in the commune of Montreuil-sur-Mer in the Pas-de-Calais department, France. The station is served by TER Hauts-de-France train ...

has rail connections to Arras and Étaples.

Sights

Montreuil is surrounded by notable brickwork ramparts, constructed after the destruction of the town by troops of

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

in June 1537. These fortifications pre-date the extensive fortification of towns in northern France by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban in the 17th century.

History

Montreuil was the headquarters of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in France during the

First World War 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 ...

from March 1916 until it closed in April 1919. The military academy there provided excellent facilities for GHQ. Montreuil was chosen as GHQ for a wide variety of reasons. It was on a main road from London to Paris—the two chief centers of the campaign—though not on a main railway line, which would have been an inconvenience. It was not an industrial town and so avoided the complications alike of noise and of a possibly troublesome civil population. It was from a telephone and motor transit point of view in a very central situation to serve the needs of a Force which was based on Dunkirk, Calais, Boulogne, Dieppe, and Le Havre, and had its front stretching from 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 ...

to beyond the Belgian frontier. Haigstatue

Haig staff member Sir Frank Fox OBE wrote a critically acclaimed contemporary account of the headquarters in 1916, originally published under the pseudonym "GSO", called G.H.Q. (Montreuil-sur-Mer) His work in the QMG's Directorate in the final offensive against the German Army resulted in his being awarded the OBE (Military) He was also Mentioned in Despatches. General Haig was quartered in the nearby Château de Beaurepaire, southeast of the town on the D138. There is a plaque on the château wall to commemorate this. King

George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936. Born duri ...

, accompanied by Haig, made a triumphant passage through Montreuil on his way to Paris on 27 November 1918. A statue of Haig on horseback, commemorating his stay, can be seen outside the theatre on the Place Charles de Gaulle. During the German occupation of the town during the

Second World War 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 ...

, the statue was taken down. It was never found and is thought to have been melted down. It was rebuilt in the 1950s, using the sculptor's original mould.

Demographics

Literature

Laurence Sterne Laurence Sterne (24 November 1713 – 18 March 1768), was an Anglo-Irish novelist and Anglican cleric who wrote the novels ''The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman'' and ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'', published ...

visited the town in 1765. He recounted his visit through the eyes of the narrator of his novel ''

A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy ''A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy'' is a novel by Laurence Sterne, written and first published in 1768, as Sterne was facing death. In 1765, Sterne travelled through France and Italy as far south as Naples, and after returning det ...

'' (1768). In

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...

's novel ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

'' (1862), Montreuil-sur-Mer is the setting for much of volume I, "Fantine," being the hometown of the eponymous heroine. In early English-language editions, the town is identified only as M____-sur-M__,Edward Behr, ''The Complete Book of Les Misérables'' (Arcade, 1993), 29 and the name is changed entirely in some film adaptations. E.g., the 1998 film directed by

Bille August Bille August (born 9 November 1948) is a Danish director, screenwriter, and cinematographer of film and television. In a career spanning over four decades, he has been the recipient of numerous accolades, making him one of the most acclaimed co ...

calls it "Vigaud," a pun on Victor Hugo. However, the English-language version of the popular Schönberg-Boublil musical, and all screen adaptations thereof, restore the full name in the on-screen title cards, although it is never spoken in the libretto.

International relations

Montreuil is twinned with

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4 ...

, England, UK.

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