Fresnoy-en-Gohelle

Fresnoy-en-Gohelle is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Commune
The church of Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Coat of arms
Location of Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Coordinates: 50°21′59″N 2°53′27″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentPas-de-Calais
ArrondissementArras
CantonBrebières
IntercommunalityCC Osartis Marquion
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Michel Volanti
Area
1
2.98 km2 (1.15 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
214
 • Density72/km2 (190/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
62358 /62580
Elevation42–70 m (138–230 ft)
(avg. 60 m or 200 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

A small farming village situated 9 miles (14.5 km) northeast of Arras, at the junction of the D919 and the D33 roads.

Population
Historical population of Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Year1962196819751982199019992005
Population127127120140206199232
From the year 1962 on: No double counting—residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) are counted only once.

Places of interest
  • The church of St. Armand, rebuilt as was the rest of the village, after World War I.

World War I

Fresnoy was virtually destroyed in 1917 during the First World War.

After their successes in the spring campaigns (including the taking of Vimy Ridge), the Canadians and British pushed eastwards across open country until they reached German defence lines that, in this sector, ran north to south from Arleux, on to Oppy and then down to Gavrelle.

Following a successful push by the Canadians through Arelux in late April, German positions in and around Fresnoy became the scene of fierce fighting on April 28, 1917. Ernst Jünger, who wrote Storm of Steel, recalled the barrage on the village:

‘Fresnoy was one towering fountain of earth after another. Each second seemed to outdo the last. As if by some magical power, one house subsided into the earth; walls broke, gables fell, and bare sets of beams and joints were sent flying through the air, cutting down the roofs of other houses. Clouds of splinters danced over whitish wraiths of steam. Eyes and ears were utterly compelled by this devastation.’

A few weeks later, on May 5, the Canadians managed to capture the village. It was lost, however, when ferocious German counterattacks were launched on May 7 and pushed the Canadians and British back. The frontline then stabilised just outside the village.

In commemoration of this battle, Fresnoy Mountain in the Canadian Rockies was given its name in 1919.

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See also

References
  • INSEE commune file
  • Bilton, D, Oppy Wood, Pen and Sword Military, 2005
  • Nichols, J, Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras 1917, Pen and Sword Military, 2003
  • Jünger, E, Storm of Steel, Penguin, 2003
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.


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