Beaumont-Hamel

Beaumont-Hamel
Beaumont-Hamel

Coordinates: 50°05′02″N 2°39′26″E / 50.084°N 2.6572°E / 50.084; 2.6572Coordinates: 50°05′02″N 2°39′26″E / 50.084°N 2.6572°E / 50.084; 2.6572
Country France
Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie
Department Somme
Arrondissement Péronne
Canton Albert
Intercommunality Communauté de communes du Pays du Coquelicot
Government
 • Mayor (2001–2008) Bernard Omiel
Area1 8.31 km2 (3.21 sq mi)
Population (2010)2 188
 • Density 23/km2 (59/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 80069 / 80300
Elevation 70–148 m (230–486 ft)
(avg. 75 m or 246 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Beaumont-Hamel is a commune in the Somme department in Picardy in northern France.

During the First World War, Beaumont-Hamel was very close to the front lines of the conflict and saw heavy combat, especially during the Battle of the Somme which was the largest Allied offensive of the entire war. By 1918 the village was almost totally destroyed. West of the village was Hawthorn Ridge Redoubt, one of the sites of the mines exploded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

July 1,1916, nearly 700 men of the Newfoundland Regiment (later to become the Royal Newfoundland Regiment) were killed or injured by German soldiers when they were ordered "over the top" by British officers. Newfoundland commemorates this event as Memorial Day on July 1 each year.

The fields around Beaumont-Hamel after the Battle of the Somme.

See also

References

    External links

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