Bellenglise () is a commune in the department of Aisne in

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The ...

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 ar ...

Geography

The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the St. Quentin Canal, nine kilometres north of

St. Quentin Saint Quentin ( la, Quintinus; died 287 AD) also known as Quentin of Amiens, was an early Christian saint. Hagiography Martyrdom The legend of his life has him as a Roman citizen who was martyred in Gaul. He is said to have been the son of a ...

History

About two kilometres to the north is the Riqueval

souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ''sous terrain'', meaning "under ground") is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the European Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought north ...

. On the 28 August 1914 the French 10th Regiment of Territorial Infantry opposed a German invading force. The French unit was essentially from the local Département, with its depot in St Quentin. Despite a fierce defence, the French line gave and a battalion (1000 men) of the unit was taken prisoner. The famous picture of the British 137th Brigade, gathered on the canal bank at Riqueval Bridge, for a pep talk after the crossing of the St. Quentin Canal, was taken nearby.

Population

Sites and monuments

* The commune cemetery, with its ''military square'' just to the left of the entrance, where are buried soldiers who died for France.

Geography

History

Population

Sites and monuments

See also