Bellenglise

Bellenglise
Bellenglise
Location within Hauts-de-France region Bellenglise
Coordinates: 49°55′21″N 3°14′39″E / 49.9225°N 3.2442°E / 49.9225; 3.2442Coordinates: 49°55′21″N 3°14′39″E / 49.9225°N 3.2442°E / 49.9225; 3.2442
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Aisne
Arrondissement	Saint-Quentin
Canton	Le Catelet
Intercommunality	Pays du Vermandois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Vincent Duquenne
Area¹	6.4 km² (2.5 sq mi)
Population (2012)²	383
• Density	60/km² (150/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	02063 / 02420
Elevation	77–129 m (253–423 ft) (avg. 88 m or 289 ft)
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Bellenglise is a commune in the department of Aisne in Hauts-de-France in northern France.

Geography

The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the St. Quentin Canal, nine kilometres north of St. Quentin.

Brigadier General J V Campbell addressing troops of the 137th Brigade from the Riqueval Bridge over the St. Quentin Canal, 2 October 1918

History

About two kilometres to the north is the Riqueval souterrain.

On the 28 August 1914 the French 10th Regiment of Territorial Infantry opposed a German invading force. The French unit was essentially from the local Département, with its depot in St Quentin. Despite a fierce defence, the French line gave and a battalion (1000 men) of the unit was taken prisoner.

The famous picture of the British 137th Brigade, gathered on the canal bank at Riqueval Bridge, for a pep talk after the crossing of the St. Quentin Canal, was taken nearby.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	276	—
1968	426	+54.3%
1975	517	+21.4%
1982	479	−7.4%
1990	441	−7.9%
1999	410	−7.0%
2008	386	−5.9%
2012	383	−0.8%

Plaque at the entrance to the cemetery. It reads 'French memory. Military Square. Graves of soldiers who died for France.'

Sites and monuments

The commune cemetery, with its military square just to the left of the entrance, where are buried soldiers who died for France.

References

INSEE

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Bellenglise.

Communes of the Aisne department

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.