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Balan, Ardennes

Communes of Ardennes (department)Incomplete lists from April 2021Pages with French IPA
Mairie monument aux morts 117
Mairie monument aux morts 117

Balan (French pronunciation: [balɑ̃]) is a commune in the Ardennes department in the Grand Est region of northern France. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Balan, Ardennes (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Balan, Ardennes
Rue de l'Église, Sedan

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 49.6897 ° E 4.9611 °
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Address

Rue de l'Église

Rue de l'Église
08200 Sedan
Grand Est, France
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Mairie monument aux morts 117
Mairie monument aux morts 117
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Battle of Bazeilles
Battle of Bazeilles

The Battle of Bazeilles was fought on 1 September 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War as a portion of the larger Battle of Sedan and was one of the first battles to feature modern urban warfare tactics. It took place in Bazeilles, France, a small village in the department of Ardennes near Sedan, and involved a force of Bavarian soldiers battling against French marines and partisans. The battle was, in effect, an ambush of the Bavarians (who were allies of the Prussians), by a small detachment of the "Blue Division" Troupes de marine (known also as marsouins), under the command of Élie de Vassoigne. Marsouin snipers, along with local guerrillas, fired on the Bavarian troops using quick-firing Chassepot breech-loading rifles. Although outnumbered ten to one, the French held the village until Napoleon III gave orders to withdraw. A small group under commander Arsène Lambert remained in the last house on the road to Sedan, the Auberge Bourgerie, fighting to the last bullet in order to cover the retreat.After seven hours of conflict, the Bavarian troops took the village, and the captured Franc-tireur partisans, along with other civilians who were considered unlawful combatants, were later executed. Later that same day, France suffered crushing defeats at the Battle of Sedan where Napoleon III and his army were captured. Coupled with the loss of another French army at Metz, these battles effectively ended Napoleon III's Empire, ushering in the Third Republic. For several months, people of the new republic saw continued partisan warfare. General de Vassoigne famously remarked on the French soldiers involved in the battle, "The troupes de marine fought beyond the extreme limits of duty."The anniversary of the Battle of Bazeilles is now celebrated by the Troupes de marine.

Battle of Sedan (1940)
Battle of Sedan (1940)

The Battle of Sedan or Second Battle of Sedan (12–15 May 1940) took place in the Second World War during the Battle of France in 1940. It was part of the German Wehrmacht's operational plan codenamed Fall Gelb (Case Yellow) for an offensive through the hilly and forested Ardennes, to encircle the Allied armies in Belgium and north-eastern France. German Army Group A crossed the Meuse with the intention of capturing Sedan and pushing westwards towards the Channel coast, to trap the Allied forces that were advancing east into Belgium, as part of the Allied Dyle Plan. Sedan is situated on the east bank of the Meuse. Its capture would give the Germans a base from which to take the Meuse bridges and cross the river. The German divisions could then advance across the open and undefended French countryside to the English Channel. On 12 May, Sedan was captured without resistance and the Germans defeated the French defences around Sedan on the west bank of the Meuse. German Luftwaffe bombing and low morale prevented the French defenders from destroying the bridgeheads. The Germans captured the Meuse bridges at Sedan allowing them to pour forces across the river. On 14 May, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the French Armée de l'Air jointly tried to destroy the bridges, but the Luftwaffe prevented them from doing so. In large air battles, the Allies suffered high losses which depleted Allied bomber strength in the campaign.The French counter-attacked the German bridgeheads from 15 to 17 May, but the offensives fell victim to delay and confusion. On 20 May, five days after consolidating their bridgeheads, the German Army reached the Channel. Crossing the Meuse had enabled the Germans to achieve the operational goal of Fall Gelb and encircle the strongest Allied armies, including the British Expeditionary Force. The resulting June battles destroyed the remaining French army as an effective fighting force and expelled the British from the continent, leading to the defeat of France.