The Blies () is a right tributary of the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player *Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Esto ...

in southwestern

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

(

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and t ...

) and northeastern

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 ...

(

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

). The Blies flows from three springs in the

Hunsrück The Hunsrück () is a long, triangular, pronounced upland in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is bounded by the valleys of the Moselle-Saar (north-to-west), the Nahe (south), and the Rhine (east). It is continued by the Taunus mountains, past ...

near

Selbach Selbach is a municipality in the district of Altenkirchen, in Rhineland-Palatinate, in western Germany. The place gave its name to Selbach, Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil, where since the pioneering days the Riograndenser Hunsrückisch ...

, Germany. It is roughly 100 km long, ending in the French city of

Sarreguemines Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France. It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of the ...

. It flows through

Sankt Wendel Sankt Wendel is a town in northeastern Saarland. It is situated on the river Blies 36 km northeast of Saarbrücken, the capital of Saarland, and is named after Saint Wendelin of Trier. According to a survey by the German Association for Ho ...

Ottweiler Ottweiler () is a municipality, former seat of the district of Neunkirchen, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the river Blies, approx. 7 km north of Neunkirchen, and 25 km northeast of Saarbrücken. Culture The town is notable f ...

, Neunkirchen, Bexbach, Homburg and

Blieskastel Blieskastel () is a city in the Saarpfalz (Saar-Palatinate) district, in Saarland, Germany which is divided into villages. It is situated on the river Blies, approximately southwest of Homburg (Saar), west of Zweibrücken, and east of Saarbrüc ...

(Blieskastel being named after the river). Its lower extent demarcates part of the Franco–German border. The section within France and on the French-German border is long.

Tributaries

Tributaries of the Blies are, from source to mouth: *

Todbach Todbach is a river of Saarland, Germany. It flows into the Blies in Sankt Wendel. See also *List of rivers of Saarland A list of rivers of Saarland, Germany: B *Bickenalb * Bist *Blies * Bos E * Ellbach *Erbach F * Franzenbach G * Gailbac ...

(left) *

Oster Oster ( uk, Осте́р ; russian: Остёр, Ostyor) is a city located where the Oster River flows into the Desna, in Chernihiv Raion, Chernihiv Oblast of Ukraine. Oster hosts the administration of Oster urban hromada, one of the hromadas ...

(left) * Mutterbach (right) *

Erbach Erbach may refer to: Places *Erbach im Odenwald, a town in Hesse, Germany *Erbach an der Donau, a town on the Danube River in Baden-Württemberg, Germany *Erbach, Rheingau, a district of Eltville, Hesse, Germany *Erbach, Rhineland-Palatinate, a mun ...

(left) *

Lambsbach Lambsbach is a river in southwestern Germany. It flows into the Blies near Homburg (Saar), Homburg. See also

*List of rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate *List of rivers of Saarland Rivers of Rhineland-Palatinate Rivers of Saarland Rivers of G ...

(left) * Schwarzbach (left) *

Würzbach Würzbach is a river of Saarland, Germany. It flows into the Blies in Blieskastel. See also

*List of rivers of Saarland Rivers of Saarland Rivers of Germany {{Saarland-river-stub ...

(right) *

Hetschenbach Hetschenbach is a river of Saarland, Germany. It flows into the Blies in Gersheim. See also *List of rivers of Saarland A list of rivers of Saarland, Germany: B *Bickenalb * Bist *Blies * Bos E * Ellbach *Erbach F * Franzenbach G * Gailba ...

(left) * Gailbach (left) * Mandelbach (right)

World War II

Fighting took place on the Blies during the Lorraine Campaign, fought from September to December 1944 by the

Third United States Army Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (disambiguation) * Third Avenue (disambiguation) * Hi ...

, famously led by

George S. Patton George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...

. The 35th Infantry Division fought along the Blies following its battle at

in early December, the former part of the larger assault on the

West Wall The Western Wall ( he, הַכּוֹתֶל הַמַּעֲרָבִי, HaKotel HaMa'aravi, the western wall, often shortened to the Kotel or Kosel), known in the West as the Wailing Wall, and in Islam as the Buraq Wall ( Arabic: حَائِط ...

References

External links

Rivers of France Rivers of Saarland International rivers of Europe France–Germany border Neunkirchen, Saarland Rivers of Grand Est Rivers of Moselle (department) Rivers of Germany Border rivers {{France-river-stub