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Bellenglise () is a commune in the department of
Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...
in
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as 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. ...
in northern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.


Geography

The village lies close to the N44, in a loop of the
St. Quentin Canal The Canal de Saint-Quentin () is a canal in northern France connecting the canalised river Scheldt, Escaut in Cambrai to the Canal latéral à l'Oise and Canal de l'Oise à l'Aisne in Chauny. History The canal was built in two phases, the second ...
, nine kilometres north of St. Quentin.


History

About two kilometres to the north is the Riqueval
souterrain ''Souterrain'' (from French ', meaning "subterrain", 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 northwards from Gaul d ...
. 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.


See also

*
Communes of the Aisne department The following is a list of the 796 communes in the French department of Aisne. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):Bellenglise on the site of the French National Geographical Institute


Communes of Aisne {{SaintQuentin-geo-stub