Crécy-en-Ponthieu
Encyclopedia
Crécy-en-Ponthieu is a commune
in the Somme
department in Picardie
in northern France
, located south of Calais
. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and which is one of the largest forests in the north of France. A very small river, the Maye, runs through the town.
in 1346, one of the earliest and most important battles of the Hundred Years' War
.
Yet there are other significant historical links. One is the Chausee Brunehaut which passed within two miles of the town and is the Roman road from Paris and Amiens to Boulogne, and is still visible and walkable today.
And just to the north of the town, slightly to the west of where the Battle was fought, there was an airfield used in the Second World War.
, the plan seems to have been to deploy RAF
squadrons of Bristol Blenheim
light bomber
s there, but it is not clear how intensively the airfield was used. In the confused days of mid-May 1940 one squadron that was ordered to deploy there did not, due to the absence of any military protection. It is most notable by its occupation by the German Luftwaffe
whose wing (in RAF terms, a group of 3 squadrons) II. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 26
of Messerschmitt Bf 110
s was stationed there from May 1940 until November 1940 when, after the end of the Battle of Britain
, the Gruppe was withdrawn to Germany to rest and re-equip. Several other squadrons came and went, including some Messerschmitt Bf 109
s. The entrance to the airfield is still visible (in 2009) on the left of the D12 road from Crécy to Ligescourt
, halfway between the two places. Some fortified installations are also visible, hidden beneath trees on various sides of the airfield.
_-_la_gare.jpg)
There was a station (Crécy-Estrées) on a branch of the Réseau des Bains de Mer which ran between Abbeville
and Dompierre-sur-Authie
. It opened on 19 June 1892 and closed to passengers on 10 March 1947 and freight on 1 February 1951.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Somme
Somme
Somme is a department of France, located in the north of the country and named after the Somme river. It is part of the Picardy region of France....
department in Picardie
Picardie
Picardy is one of the 27 regions of France. It is located in the northern part of France.-History:The historical province of Picardy stretched from north of Noyon to Calais, via the whole of the Somme department and the north of the Aisne department...
in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, located south of Calais
Calais
Calais is a town in Northern France in the department of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's capital is its third-largest city of Arras....
. It gives its name to Crécy Forest, which starts about two kilometres to the south-west of the town and which is one of the largest forests in the north of France. A very small river, the Maye, runs through the town.
History
Crécy-en-Ponthieu is best-known as the site of the Battle of CrécyBattle of Crécy
The Battle of Crécy took place on 26 August 1346 near Crécy in northern France, and was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War...
in 1346, one of the earliest and most important battles of the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
.
Yet there are other significant historical links. One is the Chausee Brunehaut which passed within two miles of the town and is the Roman road from Paris and Amiens to Boulogne, and is still visible and walkable today.
And just to the north of the town, slightly to the west of where the Battle was fought, there was an airfield used in the Second World War.
The Airfield
The airfield was built by the British to provide air support before the fall of France in 1940. During the Battle of FranceBattle of France
In the Second World War, the Battle of France was the German invasion of France and the Low Countries, beginning on 10 May 1940, which ended the Phoney War. The battle consisted of two main operations. In the first, Fall Gelb , German armoured units pushed through the Ardennes, to cut off and...
, the plan seems to have been to deploy RAF
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
squadrons of Bristol Blenheim
Bristol Blenheim
The Bristol Blenheim was a British light bomber aircraft designed and built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company that was used extensively in the early days of the Second World War. It was adapted as an interim long-range and night fighter, pending the availability of the Beaufighter...
light bomber
Light bomber
A light bomber is a relatively small and fast class of military bomber aircraft which were primarily employed before the 1950s. Such aircraft would typically not carry more than one ton of ordnance....
s there, but it is not clear how intensively the airfield was used. In the confused days of mid-May 1940 one squadron that was ordered to deploy there did not, due to the absence of any military protection. It is most notable by its occupation by the German Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe
Luftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1935 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956....
whose wing (in RAF terms, a group of 3 squadrons) II. Gruppe of Zerstörergeschwader 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26
Zerstörergeschwader 26 "Horst Wessel" was a Luftwaffe heavy/destroyer Fighter Aircraft-wing of World War II.-History:Zerstörergeschwader 26 was formed in early 1936 from the Jagdgeschwader 134 "Horst Wessel". The Geschwaderstab and I. Gruppe was located in Dortmund, II. Gruppe in Werl and III....
of Messerschmitt Bf 110
Messerschmitt Bf 110
The Messerschmitt Bf 110, often called Me 110, was a twin-engine heavy fighter in the service of the Luftwaffe during World War II. Hermann Göring was a proponent of the Bf 110, and nicknamed it his Eisenseiten...
s was stationed there from May 1940 until November 1940 when, after the end of the Battle of Britain
Battle of Britain
The Battle of Britain is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940...
, the Gruppe was withdrawn to Germany to rest and re-equip. Several other squadrons came and went, including some Messerschmitt Bf 109
Messerschmitt Bf 109
The Messerschmitt Bf 109, often called Me 109, was a German World War II fighter aircraft designed by Willy Messerschmitt and Robert Lusser during the early to mid 1930s...
s. The entrance to the airfield is still visible (in 2009) on the left of the D12 road from Crécy to Ligescourt
Ligescourt
Ligescourt is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Geography:Ligescourt is situated on the D12 road, some north of Abbeville.-Population:-External links:*...
, halfway between the two places. Some fortified installations are also visible, hidden beneath trees on various sides of the airfield.
Museum
The Crécy museum holds a collection of items, crammed into two rooms and a passageway. A range of material can be found, ranging from things about the battle of Crecy to various items from World War Two, pre-historic material, and geological specimens.Railway
Abbeville
Abbeville is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.-Location:Abbeville is located on the Somme River, from its modern mouth in the English Channel, and northwest of Amiens...
and Dompierre-sur-Authie
Dompierre-sur-Authie
Dompierre-sur-Authie is a commune in the Somme department in Picardie in northern France.It is slowly depopulating like most of the countryside towns of this region, with the last shop and last hairdresser in the village having closed in the 1990s...
. It opened on 19 June 1892 and closed to passengers on 10 March 1947 and freight on 1 February 1951.