Noreuil

Noreuil
Noreuil
Commune
	The town hall of Noreuil
	show Location of Noreuil
	Noreuil Show map of FranceShow map of Hauts-de-FranceShow all
	Coordinates: 50°10′17″N 2°56′07″E / 50.1714°N 2.9353°ECoordinates: 50°10′17″N 2°56′07″E / 50.1714°N 2.9353°E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Arras
Canton	Bapaume
Intercommunality	CC Sud-Artois
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Paul Boussemard
Area 1	4.79 km2 (1.85 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)	154
• Density	32/km2 (83/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62619 /62128
Elevation	72–110 m (236–361 ft) ; (avg. 80 m or 260 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Noreuil is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Geography[]

Noreuil is situated 13 miles (21 km) southeast of Arras, on the D5 road.

Population[]

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	143	—
1975	128	−1.57%
1982	135	+0.76%
1990	117	−1.77%
1999	114	−0.29%
2007	130	+1.66%
2012	141	+1.64%
2017	160	+2.56%
Source: INSEE^[2]

History[]

World War One[]

The grave of 6042 Private Charles Buckley, 27th Battalion, of Melbourne, Vic, killed in action 21 April 1917, in the Noreuil Australian Cemetery

In 1917 it was the location of fighting during World War I. In early 1917, General John Gellibrand, acting commander of the 2nd Division, advanced as he suspected that the Germans were withdrawing. Gellibrand's advance began well but ended with a disastrous, ill-planned and ill-executed "unauthorised" attack on Noreuil.

On the morning of 2 April 1917, the village was attacked by the and , with the 49th and in support. Danish-born Australian Private Jørgen Christian Jensen of the 50th Battalion was awarded the Victoria Cross for the part he played. A Distinguished Service Order (and his first of two) was awarded to then-Major Noel Medway LOUTIT, an original ANZAC, who 'relieved the pressure' during these operations by working his way partly around the enemy flank and inflicting significant effective opposition. He continued in assisting and re-organising the front line under considerable hostile machine gun fire.

On 15 April 1917 the Germans launched a major counter-attack against the Australians at Lagnicourt-Marcel. Robert Smith, at his headquarters in a ruined house in Noreuil, about 1500 metres from Lagnicourt, directed the defeat of the German counter-attack. For his efforts in that engagement Smith was awarded a bar to his Distinguished Service Order (DSO).^[3]

Noreuil is close to Bullecourt, the southern end of the battlefront for the Battle of Arras.

Noreuil Park in Albury, New South Wales, Australia, is named in dedication to the men of the 13th battery, 5th field artillery brigade.

Places of interest[]

The twentieth century church of St.Brice, rebuilt after World War I
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission Australian cemetery.

References[]

INSEE commune file

^ "Populations légales 2018". INSEE. 28 December 2020.
^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
^ Mallett, Ross (2001). "Brigadier General Robert Smith". Australian Defence Force Academy. Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2007-01-19.

External links[]

The Australian CWGC cemetery

This Arras arrondissement, Pas-de-Calais geographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

This World War I article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[1] "Populations légales 2018". INSEE. 28 December 2020.

[2] Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE

[3] Mallett, Ross (2001). "Brigadier General Robert Smith". Australian Defence Force Academy. Archived from the original on 2007-06-02. Retrieved 2007-01-19.

[1]

[2]

[3]