Country France Department Somme Intercommunality Pays du Coquelicot Area 7.25 km² Arrondissement Péronne | Region Hauts-de-France Canton Albert Population (2006) 174 Local time Sunday 4:06 PM | |
 | ||
Weather 13°C, Wind W at 34 km/h, 72% Humidity | ||
Mametz is a commune in the Somme department in Hauts-de-France in northern France.
Contents
Map of 80300 Mametz, France
Geography
Mametz is situated on the D64 road, some 32 kilometres (20 mi) northeast of Amiens and 4 miles (6.4 km) east of Albert. Fricourt lies to the west, Contalmaison is to the north, Montauban to the north-east and Carnoy and Maricourt are to the south-east. Mametz Wood is 1,000 yards (910 m) to the north-west. Before the First World War, the village was the fifth largest in the area, with about 120 houses and had a station on the line from Albert to Péronne.
History
In the First World War, the area was the site of intense and sustained fighting between German and Allied forces. Between 1914 and 1916, the Western Front ran through Mametz, and the area was devastated. In 1916, Mametz was the site of particularly heavy fighting during the Battle of the Somme (see Capture of Mametz). It was also one of the sites where British mines were exploded on the first day of that battle. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918, the former inhabitants returned and gradually rebuilt most of the infrastructure as it had been before the war. There is a memorial in the commune to the 38th (Welsh) Division at Mametz Wood.