Fréteval () is a commune in the French department of

Loir-et-Cher Loir-et-Cher (, ) is a Departments of France, department in the Centre-Val de Loire Regions of France, region of France. It is named after two rivers which run through it, the Loir in its northern part and the Cher (river), Cher in its southern p ...

. The village is located on the right bank of the river

Loir The Loir is a long river in western France. It is a left tributary of the Sarthe. Its source is in the Eure-et-Loir department, north of Illiers-Combray. It joins the river Sarthe in Briollay, north of the city of Angers. It is indirectly ...

. Archaeological evidence indicates that the site was occupied by the second century CE. In the Middle Ages, the fortifications of the were used to defend the region against Anjou and, later, England. The Battle of Fréteval was fought nearby in 1194. The Forest of Fréteval extends into the northern part of the commune and was used in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

as a refuge for Allied airmen shot down over France.

History

Near the village of Fréteval is the Grisset tower, the ruins of a Roman-Gallic religious complex dating from the second century CE. Only part of the

cella In Classical architecture, a or naos () is the inner chamber of an ancient Greek or Roman temple. Its enclosure within walls has given rise to extended meanings: of a hermit's or monk's cell, and (since the 17th century) of a biological cell ...

, the tower at the center of the complex, has survived intact. Archaeologists have found traces of baths and a theater. The site was occupied by a village called Saint Victor in the early

middle age Middle age (or middle adulthood) is the age range of the years halfway between childhood and old age. The exact range is subject to public debate, but the term is commonly used to denote the age range from 45 to 65 years. Overall This time span ...

s. The Fréteval family is first mentioned in records in the mid-10th century. Count Eudes II of Chartres built the Château de Fréteval about 1025 to defend the area from Anjou. The Frétevals were a noble family with regional power as vassals of the

Counts of Blois During the Middle Ages, the counts of Blois were among the most powerful vassals of the King of France. This title of nobility seems to have been created in 832 by Emperor Louis the Pious for William, the youngest son of Adrian, Count of Orléa ...

and Counts of Chartres (often the same person) from 1000 to 1170. The château covered an area of with three lines of defense against attacks. A round tower, the

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

or Donjon, survives. It is one of the oldest circular keeps in France. On 3 July 1194, at the Battle of Freteval, the forces of

Richard I of England Richard I (8 September 1157 – 6 April 1199), known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion () because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ru ...

raided the camp of Philippe II of France and captured the written records and much of the treasure of the French kingdom. After the battle, Philippe established the National Archives of France in Paris as a more secure and permanent depository and library for government documents. The château was damaged by English attacks in 1418 and thereafter was mostly uninhabited.

Population

Fréteval Forest

The Fréteval Forest, of thick woodland south of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, is partially located in the commune. In 1944 during

, the Fréteval Forest, code named "Sherwood" in Operation Marathon, was one of several sites used to hide Allied airmen who had been shot down by the Germans and were attempting to evade capture. They were sheltered in camps in the forest. Airmen were first collected from where they had crashed and transported to Paris and assembled in safe houses in Paris. From Paris to the camps the evaders and their French guides traveled by train to the town of

Châteaudun Châteaudun () is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It was the site of the Battle of Châteaudun during the Franco-Prussian War. Geography Châteaudun is located about 45 ...

and then hiked down country roads. The

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

was strong in the forest area, but the leaders of the resistance agreed to cease operations so as not to call German attention to the forest. The officer in charge of the forest camps was an ex- Comet line veteran, Jean de Blommaert, who was parachuted into France and made his way to Paris to start arrangements for the camp. The first evaders were brought from Paris to the camps on 20 May 1944. On 12 June, while guiding several airmen from Paris to the camps, an American woman active in the French resistance,

Virginia d'Albert-Lake Virginia d'Albert-Lake ( Roush; June 4, 1910 September 20, 1997) was an American member of the French Resistance during World War II. She worked with the Comet Line, Comet Escape Line. She and her husband Philippe helped 67 British and American a ...

, was captured and imprisoned by the Germans. A British officer,

Airey Neave Lieutenant Colonel Airey Middleton Sheffield Neave, () (23 January 1916 – 30 March 1979) was a British soldier, lawyer and Member of Parliament (MP) from 1953 until his assassination in 1979. During the Second World War he was the first ...

, of

MI9 MI9, the British Directorate of Military Intelligence Section 9, was a secret department of the War Office between 1939 and 1945. During World War II it had two principal tasks: assisting in the escape of Allied prisoners of war (POWs) held b ...

, (British Military Intelligence Section 9), supervised Operation Marathon. Neave and a small force of French Resistance fighters and allied soldiers liberated the camp on 14 August 1944. 152 Allied airmen were brought to safety.Home Run - Escape from Nazi Europe - 2007 - John Nichol and Tony Rennell - (Penguin books)
/ref>

References

External links

Freteval Forest Evaders
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freteval Communes of Loir-et-Cher French Resistance

History

Population

Fréteval Forest

See also

References

External links