Sailly-le-Sec (; pcd, Sailly-Sé) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
Somme department in
Hauts-de-France in northern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
.
Geography
The commune is situated some east of
Amiens
Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...
, by the banks of the river
Somme, on the D233 road.
Population
History
21 April 1918 -
Manfred Von Richthofen
Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richthofen (; 2 May 1892 – 21 April 1918), known in English as Baron von Richthofen or the Red Baron, was a fighter pilot with the German Air Force during World War I. He is considered the ace-of-aces of ...
,
The Red Baron, was finally shot down here.
On the night of August 8–9, 1918, as three Battalions of
Doughboy
Doughboy was a popular nickname for the American infantryman during World War I. Though the origins of the term are not certain, the nickname was still in use as of the early 1940s. Examples include the 1942 song "Johnny Doughboy Found a Rose in ...
s from the
33rd U.S. Infantry Division were joining the Allied offensive during the
Battle of Amiens, American
war poet
A war poet is a poet who participates in a war and writes about their experiences, or a non-combatant who writes poems about war. While the term is applied especially to those who served during the First World War, the term can be applied to a p ...
Lieut.
John Allan Wyeth and Lieut. Thomas J. Cochrane were assigned to deliver sealed orders from Division HQ at
Molliens-au-Bois to the Field Headquarters of all three Battalions engaged in the attack. The location of each Battalion was unknown, but they were believed to be along the northern bank of the
Somme River
The Somme ( , , ) is a river in Picardy, northern France.
The river is in length, from its source in the high ground of the former at Fonsomme near Saint-Quentin, to the Bay of the Somme, in the English Channel. It lies in the geolog ...
, near the village of Sailly-le-Sec. Wyeth would later describe the mission in detail in his six interlinked ''Chipilly Ridge
sonnets''.
[Omanson (2019), ''Before the Clangor of the Gun: The First World War Poetry of John Allan Wyeth'', pages 36-49.]
See also
*
Communes of the Somme department
References
Communes of Somme (department)
{{Amiens-geo-stub