Fresnoy-en-Gohelle (, ) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.INSEE commune file
Geography A small farming village situated northeast of Arras, at the junction of the D919 and the D33 roads.
Population
Places of interest The church of St. Armand, rebuilt as was the rest of the village, after World War I.
World War I Fresnoy was virtually destroyed in 1917 during the First World War.
After their successes in the spring campaigns (including the taking of Vimy Ridge), the Canadians and British pushed eastwards across open country until they reached German defence lines that, in this sector, ran north to south from Arleux, on to Oppy and then down to Gavrelle.
Following a successful push by the Canadians through Arelux in late April, German positions in and around Fresnoy became the scene of fierce fighting on April 28, 1917. The German lieutenant Ernst Jünger recalled the barrage on the village:
In Fresnoy the shells were sending up the earth in fountains as high as church towers. Each seemed bent on outdoing its predecessor. As though by magic, one house after another was sucked into the earth. Walls collapsed, gables fell, and bare rafters were flung through the air to mow the roofs of neighbouring houses. Clouds of splinters danced above whitish swathes of vapour. Eye and ear hung as though entranced upon this dance of destruction.
A few weeks later, on May 5, the Canadians managed to capture the village. It was lost, however, when ferocious German counterattacks were launched on May 7 and pushed the Canadians and British back. The frontline then stabilised just outside the village.
In commemoration of this battle, Fresnoy Mountain in the Canadian Rockies was given its name in 1919.
See also Communes of the Pas-de-Calais department
References
Sources Bilton, D, Oppy Wood, Pen and Sword Military, 2005 Nichols, J, Cheerful Sacrifice: The Battle of Arras 1917, Pen and Sword Military, 2003
External links
Finding Private Adams, a soldier who fought near Fresnoy The Battle of Fresnoy