Mauperthuis () 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

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...

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, ...

in 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 In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

in north-central

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 ...

. The village is famous for having produced five

Musketeer A musketeer (french: mousquetaire) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare particularly in Europe as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a pre ...

s including

d'Artagnan Charles de Batz de Castelmore (), also known as d'Artagnan and later Count d'Artagnan ( 1611 – 25 June 1673), was a French Musketeer who served Louis XIV as captain of the Musketeers of the Guard. He died at the siege of Maastricht in the Fra ...

, who was made famous in

Alexandre Dumas, père Alexandre Dumas (, ; ; born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie (), 24 July 1802 – 5 December 1870), also known as Alexandre Dumas père (where ''Suffix (name)#Generational titles, '' is French language, French for 'father', to distinguish him from ...

's books. The ruined Château d'Artagnan still exists. Much of the land once belonged to the Montesquieu Family. This one tiny village billeted some of the US Air Service (precursor to the US Air Force) while the men flew out of the adjacent village of

Saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

. They were in Mauperthuis probably for just short of two months – from 8 July to 1 September 1918 out of the seven months it saw combat. Two adjacent villages – Saints and Touquin – also play a role in the lives of these men and the US Air Service. The men were based in

Touquin Touquin () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Demographics Inhabitants of Touquin are called ''Touquinois''. See also *Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department The following i ...

from the end of June until 8 July, when they moved to

. The men were lodged in Mauperthuis, half a mile from Saints, while they were flying out of Saints. Quentin Roosevelt was billeted here when he was shot down and killed on 14 July 1918. Mauperthuis was occupied by the Prussians during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–1871. It was also overrun by the Germans for one or two days in September, 1914 before being liberated by the British under General French. It was once again in German hands from 1940 to 1944. American tanks of the US 3rd Armored Division under General Maurice Rose liberated Mauperthuis on 27 August 1944.

Geography

The river

Aubetin The Aubetin is a long river in the Marne and Seine-et-Marne ''départements'', northeastern France. Its source is at Les Essarts-le-Vicomte, northeast of Nogent-sur-Seine. It flows generally west-northwest. It is a left tributary of the Grand M ...

forms part of the commune's south-western border.

Demographics

The inhabitants are called the ''Malperthusiens''.