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59-597: Mosan may refer to: any attribute of the Meuse (river) or Meuse valley area Mosan languages Mosan art Malin Moström , Swedish footballer Mosan, Iran (disambiguation) , places in Iran Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Mosan . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change

118-726: A massive rise in morale among the German people. With the fighting ended, the Germans began to consider ways of resolving the question of how to deal with Britain. If the British refused to agree to a peace treaty, one option was to invade . However, Nazi Germany's Kriegsmarine , had suffered serious losses in Norway, and in order to even consider an amphibious landing , Germany's Air Force (the Luftwaffe) had to first gain air superiority or air supremacy . With

177-598: A massive strategic air war considered to be an additional front), which began in June 1944 with the Allied landings in Normandy and continued until the defeat of Germany in May 1945 with its invasion . On 1 September 1939, World War II began with the German invasion of Poland . In response, Britain and France declared war on Germany on 3 September. The next few months in the war were marked by

236-579: A substantial reserve of such mobile divisions also, but these were dispersed over a large area: the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was still in the Netherlands , the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and the Panzer-Lehr Division were located in the Paris–Orleans area, since the Normandy coastal defence sectors or ( Küstenverteitigungsabschnitte – KVA) were considered

295-417: Is notable because a few days after the incursion the Germans issued a propaganda communiqué implying at least one prisoner had escaped and two were shot while resisting having their hands tied. This instance of tying prisoner's hands contributed to Hitler's decision to issue his Commando Order instructing that all captured Commandos or Commando-type personnel were to be executed as a matter of procedure. By

354-807: The Battle of the Atlantic . While the Western Front remained quiet in April 1940, the fighting between the Allies and the Germans began in earnest with the Norwegian Campaign when the Germans launched Operation Weserübung , the German invasion of Denmark and Norway. In doing so, the Germans beat the Allies to the punch; the Allies had been planning an amphibious landing in which they could begin to surround Germany, cutting off her supply of raw materials from Sweden . However, when

413-764: The Langres plateau in France from where it flows northwards past Sedan (the head of navigation ) and Charleville-Mézières into Belgium. At Namur it is joined by the Sambre . Beyond Namur the Meuse winds eastwards and passes Liège before turning north. The river then forms part of the Belgian-Dutch border, except that at Maastricht the border lies further to the west. In the Netherlands it continues northwards through Venlo closely along

472-758: The Luftwaffe unable to defeat the RAF in the Battle of Britain , the invasion of Great Britain could no longer be thought of as an option. While the majority of the German army was mustered for the invasion of the Soviet Union , construction began on the Atlantic Wall – a series of defensive fortifications along the French coast of the English Channel . These were built in anticipation of an Allied invasion of France. Because of

531-475: The Mediterranean coast . It was not possible to predict where the Allies might choose to launch their invasion. The chance of an amphibious landing necessitated the substantial dispersal of the German mobile reserves, which contained the majority of their panzer troops. Each army group was allocated its mobile reserves. Army Group B had the 2nd Panzer Division in northern France, 116th Panzer Division in

590-573: The North African campaign . The Western Front was marked by two phases of large-scale combat operations. The first phase saw the capitulation of Luxembourg, Netherlands, Belgium, and France during May and June 1940 after their defeat in the Low Countries and the northern half of France, and continued into an air war between Germany and Britain that climaxed with the Battle of Britain . The second phase consisted of large-scale ground combat (supported by

649-715: The Oude Maasje . In the late 19th century and early 20th century the connection between the Maas and Rhine was closed off and the Maas was given a new, artificial mouth – the Bergse Maas . The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Maas reduced the risk of flooding and was considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works and Delta Works . The former main branch was, after

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708-653: The Pas-de-Calais , while the real target was Normandy . Following two months of slow fighting in hedgerow country, Operation Cobra allowed the Americans to break out at the western end of the lodgement . Soon after, the Allies were racing across France. They encircled around 200,000 Germans in the Falaise Pocket . As had so often happened on the Eastern Front Hitler refused to allow a strategic withdrawal until it

767-627: The Ruhr Area , rapidly fanning out into a broad front. As this was the strategy favoured by the Supreme Allied Commander , General Dwight D. Eisenhower , and most of the American high command, it was soon adopted. On 15 August the Allies launched Operation Dragoon – the invasion of Southern France between Toulon and Cannes . The US Seventh Army and the French First Army , making up

826-588: The US 6th Army Group , rapidly consolidated this beachhead and liberated Southern France in two weeks; they then moved north up the Rhone valley. Their advance only slowed down as they encountered regrouped and entrenched German troops in the Vosges Mountains . The Germans in France were now faced by three powerful Allied army groups: in the north the British 21st Army Group commanded by Field Marshal Sir Bernard Montgomery , in

885-450: The sillon industriel , was the first fully industrialized area in continental Europe. The Afgedamde Maas was created in the late Middle Ages, when a major flood made a connection between the Maas and the Merwede at the town of Woudrichem . From that moment on, the current Afgedamde Maas was the main branch of the lower Meuse. The former main branch eventually silted up and is today called

944-501: The Allies made a counter-landing in Norway following the German invasion, the Germans repulsed them and defeated the Norwegian armed forces, driving the latter into exile . The Kriegsmarine , nonetheless, suffered very heavy losses during the two months of fighting required to seize all of mainland Norway. In May 1940, the Germans launched the Battle of France. The Western Allies (primarily

1003-407: The British awarded the "North-West Europe Campaign of 1942" battle honour were: Operation Biting – Bruneval (27–28 February 1942), St Nazaire (27–28 March 1942), Operation Myrmidon – Bayonne (5 April 1942), Operation Abercrombie – Hardelot (21–22 April 1942), Dieppe (19 August 1942) and Operation Frankton – Gironde (7–12 December 1942). A raid on Sark on the night of 3/4 October 1942

1062-514: The French armies either destroyed or taken prisoner, the Germans quickly broke through the French lines, taking Paris on June 14. As France was falling, the British began the strategic withdrawal of all remaining British troops from France, via French ports still under Allied control. With the war all but decided, Italy also declared war on the UK and France, but made little progress. With the situation becoming dire, French Prime Minister Philippe Pétain signed

1121-707: The French border. At the Maginot Line on the other side of the border, French troops stood facing them, whilst the British Expeditionary Force and other elements of the French Army created a defensive line along the Belgian border. There were only some local, minor skirmishes. The British Royal Air Force dropped propaganda leaflets on Germany and the first Canadian troops stepped ashore in Britain, while Western Europe

1180-496: The French, Belgian and British land forces) soon collapsed under the onslaught of the so-called " blitzkrieg " strategy. Following the German breakthrough at Sedan, the BEF, along with the best of the French and Belgian armies, became trapped in Flanders. With the use of paratroopers and concentrated firepower, the Belgian and Dutch armies surrendered after several days. Luxembourg fell within

1239-583: The Meuse basin was one of the many regions in Europe to experience catastrophic flooding during the 2021 European floods . The name Meuse is derived from the French name of the river, derived from its Latin name, Mosa , which ultimately derives from the Celtic or Proto-Celtic name * Mosā . This probably derives from the same root as English " maze ", referring to the river's twists and turns. The Dutch name Maas descends from Middle Dutch Mase , which comes from

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1298-597: The Meuse but pumps running water into the Meuse). Most of the basin area (approximately 36,000 km ) is in Wallonia (12,000 km ), followed by France (9,000 km ), the Netherlands (8,000 km ), Germany (2,000 km ), Flanders (2,000 km ) and Luxembourg (a few km ). An International Commission on the Meuse has the responsibility of the implementation of the treaty. The costs of this Commission are met by all these countries, in proportion of their own territory in

1357-440: The Meuse has been relatively stable over the last few thousand years. One recent study estimates that average flow has increased by about 10% since 2000 BC. The hydrological distribution of the Meuse changed during the later Middle Ages, when a major flood forced it to shift its main course northwards towards the river Merwede . From then on several stretches of the original Merwede were renamed "Maas" (i.e. Meuse) and served as

1416-418: The Meuse is bypassed by the 36 km (22.4 mi) Juliana Canal . South of Namur, further upstream, the river can only carry more modest vessels, although a barge as long as 100 m (328 ft). can still reach the French border town of Givet. From Givet, the river is canalized over a distance of 272 kilometres (169 mi). The canalized Meuse used to be called the "Canal de l'Est — Branche Nord" but

1475-558: The Paris area, and the 21st Panzer Division in Normandy. Army Group G, considering the possibility of an invasion on the Atlantic coast, had dispersed its mobile reserves, locating the 11th Panzer Division in Gironde , the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich refitting around the southern French town of Montauban , and the 9th Panzer Division stationed in the Rhone delta area. The OKW retained

1534-515: The Phoney War. The Phoney War was an early phase of World War II marked by a few military operations in Continental Europe in the months following the German invasion of Poland and preceding the Battle of France . Although the great powers of Europe had declared war on one another, neither side had yet committed to launching a significant attack, and there was relatively little fighting on

1593-562: The Rhine distributaries. The resulting separation of the rivers Rhine and Meuse is considered to be the greatest achievement in Dutch hydraulic engineering before the completion of the Zuiderzee Works and Delta Works . In 1970 the Haringvlietdam has been finished. Since then the reunited Rhine and Meuse waters have reached the North Sea either at this site or, during times of lower discharges of

1652-412: The Rhine, at Hook of Holland . A 2008 study notes that the difference between summer and winter flow volumes has increased significantly in the last 100–200 years. It points out that the frequency of serious floods ( i.e. flows > 1000% of normal) has increased markedly. They predict that winter flooding of the Meuse may become a recurring problem in the coming decades. The Meuse flows through

1711-580: The Second Armistice of Compiègne on June 22, 1940, with its terms taking effect on the 25th of June. The terms of the armistice called for the occupation of Northern France, along with the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine into the German Reich. Italy also was allowed a small occupation zone in the southeast. France was allowed to continue its existence in the form of Vichy France, a rump state of the former French Republic, led by Philippe Pétain. The Vichy regime

1770-627: The Waal, the main stem of the Rhine at Woudrichem , and then flows under the name of Boven Merwede to Hardinxveld-Giessendam , where it splits into Nieuwe Merwede and Beneden Merwede . Near Lage Zwaluwe , the Nieuwe Merwede joins the Amer, forming the Hollands Diep , which splits into Grevelingen and Haringvliet , before finally flowing into the North Sea. The Meuse is crossed by railway bridges between

1829-909: The area north of the Seine and the 7th Army , (HQ in Le Mans ), between the Seine and the Loire defending the English Channel and the Atlantic coast; and Army Group G with responsibility for the Bay of Biscay coast and Vichy France , with its 1st Army , (HQ in Bordeaux ), responsible for the Atlantic coast between the Loire and the Spanish border and the 19th Army , (HQ in Avignon ), responsible for

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1888-579: The basin of the Meuse: Netherlands 30%, Wallonia 30%, France 15%, Germany 14.5%, Flanders 5%, Brussels 4.5%, Kingdom of Belgium 0.5%, and Luxembourg 0.5%. The map of the basin area of Meuse was joined to the text of the treaty. As for culture, as a major communication route the River Meuse is the origin of Mosan art , principally (Wallonia and France). The first landscape painted in the Renaissance

1947-644: The border to Germany, then turns towards the west, where it runs parallel to the Waal and forms part of the extensive Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta , together with the Scheldt to its south and the Rhine to the north. The river has been divided near Heusden into the Afgedamde Maas on the right and the Bergse Maas on the left. The Bergse Maas continues under the name of Amer , which is part of De Biesbosch . The Afgedamde Maas joins

2006-618: The center the American 12th Army Group, commanded by General Omar Bradley and to the south the US 6th Army Group commanded by Lieutenant General Jacob L. Devers . By mid-September, the 6th Army Group, advancing from the south, came into contact with Bradley's formations advancing from the west and overall control of Devers' force passed from AFHQ in the Mediterranean so that all three army groups came under Eisenhower's central command at SHAEF (Supreme Headquarters, Allied Expeditionary Forces). Under

2065-430: The coast, facts on the ground might have turned the argument in favour of a narrow front. However, as the breakout took place during Operation Cobra at the western end of the bridge-head, the 21st Army Group that included the British and Canadian forces swung east and headed for Belgium, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, while the U.S. Twelfth Army Group advanced to their south via eastern France, Luxembourg and

2124-482: The dam at its southern inlet was completed in 1904, renamed Afgedamde Maas and no longer receives water from the Maas. The Meuse and its crossings were a key objective of the Battle of France , the Battle of Sedan and also for the last major German WWII counter-offensive on the Western Front , the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944 and January 1945. The Meuse is represented in the documentary The River People released in 2012 by Xavier Istasse. In July 2021,

2183-408: The first day. The majority of the British and elements of the French forces escaped at Dunkirk . This was due to the combined factors of poor weather, Germans mishaps, and the incredible number of British civilian ships assembled for the undertaking. Following the conclusion of events at Dunkirk on June 4, the Wehrmacht commenced Fall Rot, an offensive against the remaining French armies. With most of

2242-1508: The following departments of France , provinces of Belgium , provinces of the Netherlands and towns: Main cities and tributaries will be in bold . France Grand Est Region Haute-Marne Department [REDACTED] Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse [REDACTED] Premier pont de la Meuse [REDACTED] Pont de Malroy [REDACTED] Pont du Pâtis des Vannees [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Pré Chatenay [REDACTED] Pont de Meuse (D429 Val-de-Meuse - Dombrot-le-Sec ) [REDACTED] Ruisseau d'Avrecourt [REDACTED] Railway bridge Culmont-Chalindrey - Toul line [REDACTED] Ru d'Ouette [REDACTED] Ru des Fossés [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Bocheret [REDACTED] Provenchères-sur-Meuse [REDACTED] Pont de Val-de-Meuse (D189) [REDACTED] Ruisseau des Aimeguenons [REDACTED] Pont de l'A31 ( A31 Nancy - Dijon ) [REDACTED] Ruisseau de Joncourt [REDACTED] Pont de D132 [REDACTED] Ruisseau de l'Étange Western Front (World War II) 1939–1940 : Axis victory 1944–1945 : Allied victory 1939–1940 1944–1945 1939–1940 1944–1945 1940 1944–1945 Total: 1940 1944–1945 Total: Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups Luxembourg The Netherlands Belgium France Britain 1941–1943 1944–1945 Germany Strategic campaigns The Western Front

2301-505: The following stations (on the left and right banks respectively): There are also numerous road bridges and around 32 ferry crossings. The Meuse is navigable over a substantial part of its total length: In the Netherlands and Belgium, the river is part of the major inland navigation infrastructure, connecting the Rotterdam-Amsterdam-Antwerp port areas to the industrial areas upstream: 's-Hertogenbosch, Venlo, Maastricht, Liège, Namur. Between Maastricht and Maasbracht , an unnavigable section of

2360-451: The ground. This was also the period in which the United Kingdom and France did not supply significant aid to Poland, despite their pledged alliance . The French forces launched a small offensive, the Saar Offensive against Germany in the Saar region but halted their advance and returned. While most of the German Army was fighting against Poland, a much smaller German force manned the Siegfried Line , their fortified defensive line along

2419-401: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mosan&oldid=573945187 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Meuse (river) From 1301, the upper Meuse roughly marked

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2478-406: The massive logistical obstacles a cross-channel invasion would face, the Allied high command decided to conduct a practice attack against the French coast. On 19 August 1942, the Allies began the Dieppe Raid , an attack on Dieppe , France. Most of the troops were Canadian, with some British contingents and a small American and Free French presence along with British and Polish naval support. The raid

2537-615: The meantime, the Allies took the war to Germany, with a strategic bombing campaign - the US Eighth Air Force bombing Germany by day and RAF Bomber Command bombing by night. The bulk of the Allied armies were occupied in the Mediterranean , seeking to clear the sea lanes to the Indian Ocean , repulse the Axis from North Africa, and commence the invasion of Italy, partly to capture the Foggia Airfield Complex . Two early British raids for which battle honours were awarded were Operation Collar in Boulogne (24 June 1940) and Operation Ambassador in Guernsey (14–15 July 1940). The raids for which

2596-405: The men from Liège defeated, John ordered the drowning in the Meuse of burghers and noblemen in Liège whose loyalties he suspected. The border remained relatively stable until the annexation of the Three Bishoprics Metz, Toul and Verdun by King Henry II in 1552 and the occupation of the Duchy of Lorraine by the forces of King Louis XIII in 1633. Its lower Belgian ( Walloon ) portion, part of

2655-420: The most likely areas for an invasion. The 17th SS Panzergrenadier Division Götz von Berlichingen was located just south of the Loire in the vicinity of Tours. On 6 June 1944, the Allies began Operation Overlord (also known as " D-Day ") – the long-awaited liberation of France . The deception plans, Operation Fortitude and Operation Bodyguard , had the Germans convinced that the invasion would occur in

2714-450: The onslaught in both the north and south of France, the German Army fell back. On 19 August, the French Resistance ( FFI ) organised a general uprising and the liberation of Paris took place on 25 August when general Dietrich von Choltitz accepted the French ultimatum and surrendered to General Philippe Leclerc de Hauteclocque , commander of the Free French 2nd Armored Division , ignoring orders from Hitler that Paris should be held to

2773-434: The presumed but unattested Old Dutch form * Masa , from Proto-Germanic * Masō . Modern Dutch and German Maas and Limburgish Maos preserve this Germanic form. Despite the similarity, the Germanic name is not derived from the Celtic name, judging from the change from earlier o into a , which is characteristic of the Germanic languages. The Meuse rises in Pouilly-en-Bassigny, commune of Le Châtelet-sur-Meuse on

2832-425: The primary outflow of that river. Those branches are currently known as the Nieuwe Maas and Oude Maas. However during another series of severe floods the Meuse found an additional path towards the sea, resulting in the creation of the Biesbosch wetlands and Hollands Diep estuaries. Thereafter the Meuse split near Heusden into two main distributaries, one flowing north to join the Merwede and one flowing direct to

2891-402: The river Meuse. The first fossils of it were discovered outside Maastricht in 1780. An international agreement was signed in 2002 in Ghent , Belgium, about the management of the river amongst France, Germany, Luxembourg , the Netherlands, and Belgium. Also participating in the agreement were the Belgian regional governments of Flanders , Wallonia , and Brussels (which is not in the basin of

2950-413: The sea. The branch of the Meuse leading direct to the sea eventually silted up (and now forms the Oude Maasje stream), but in 1904 the canalised Bergse Maas was dug to take over the functions of the silted-up branch. At the same time the branch leading to the Merwede was dammed at Heusden (and has since been known as the Afgedamde Maas ) so that little water from the Meuse entered the old Maas courses or

3009-444: The summer of 1944, when an expectation of an Allied invasion was freely admitted by German commanders, the disposition of troops facing it came under the command of OB West (HQ in Paris ). In turn, it commanded: the Wehrmacht Netherlands Command ( Wehrmachtbefehlshaber Niederlande ) or WBN, covering the Dutch and Belgian coasts ; Army Group B , covering the coast of northern France with the German 15th Army (HQ in Tourcoing ), in

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3068-404: The western border of the Holy Roman Empire with the Kingdom of France , after Count Henry III of Bar had to receive the western part of the County of Bar ( Barrois mouvant ) as a French fief from the hands of King Philip IV . In 1408, a Burgundian army led by John the Fearless went to the aid of John III against the citizens of Liège, who were in open revolt. After the battle , which saw

3127-401: Was a military theatre of World War II encompassing Denmark , Norway , Luxembourg , Belgium , the Netherlands , the United Kingdom , France , and Germany . The Italian front is considered a separate but related theatre. The Western Front's 1944–1945 phase was officially deemed the European Theater by the United States, whereas Italy fell under the Mediterranean Theater along with

3186-462: Was a disaster, almost two-thirds of the attacking force became casualties. However, much was learned as a result of the operation – these lessons would be put to good use in the subsequent invasion. For almost two years, there was no land-fighting on the Western Front with the exception of commando raids and the guerrilla actions of the resistance aided by the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Office of Strategic Services (OSS). However, in

3245-450: Was allowed to keep their colonial empire and navy, as some of Hitler's few concessions. In six weeks of fighting, the combined allied armies suffered more than 375,000 killed or wounded, as well as 1,800,000 soldiers becoming prisoners of war. Meanwhile, Germany suffered a more modest 43,110 killed and 111,000 wounded. Hitler had expected a million men to die in the conquest of France. Remarkedly low casualties and France's quick defeat led to

3304-445: Was in a strange calm for seven months. In their hurry to re-arm, Britain and France had both begun to buy large numbers of weapons from manufacturers in the United States at the outbreak of hostilities, supplementing their own production. The non-belligerent United States contributed to the Western Allies by discounted sales of military equipment and supplies. German efforts to interdict the Allies' trans-Atlantic trade at sea ignited

3363-402: Was recently rebaptized into "Canal de la Meuse". The waterway can be used by the smallest barges that are still in use commercially almost 40 m (131 ft) long and just over 5 metres (16 ft) wide. Just upstream of the town of Commercy, the Canal de la Meuse connects with the Marne–Rhine Canal by means of a short diversion canal. The Cretaceous sea reptile Mosasaur is named after

3422-415: Was the landscape of Meuse by Joachim Patinir . He was likely the uncle of Henri Blès , who is sometimes defined as a Mosan landscape painter active during the second third of the 16th century (i.e. second generation of landscape painters). The main tributaries of the Meuse are listed below in downstream-upstream order, with the town where the tributary meets the river: The mean annual discharge rate of

3481-456: Was too late. Approximately 150,000 Germans were able to escape from the Falaise pocket, but they left behind most of their irreplaceable equipment and 50,000 Germans were killed or taken prisoner . The Allies had been arguing about whether to advance on a broad-front or a narrow-front from before D-Day. If the British had broken out of the Normandy bridgehead (or beachhead ) around Caen when they launched Operation Goodwood and pushed along

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