Fresnoy-en-Gohelle
Encyclopedia
Fresnoy-en-Gohelle is a commune
in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France
.
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 Junger
, 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 counter attacks were launched on May 7 and pushed the Canadians and British back. The frontline then stabilised just outside the village.
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 Pas-de-Calais department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of 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...
.
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
Places of interest
- The church of St.Armand, rebuilt as was the rest of the village, after World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
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 Junger
Ernst Jünger
Ernst Jünger was a German writer. In addition to his novels and diaries, he is well known for Storm of Steel, an account of his experience during World War I. Some say he was one of Germany's greatest modern writers and a hero of the conservative revolutionary movement following World War I...
, 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 counter attacks were launched on May 7 and pushed the Canadians and British back. The frontline then stabilised just outside the village.