Argentan: Information from Answers.com

Coordinates: 48°44′43″N 0°01′09″W / 48.7452777778°N 0.0191666666667°W / 48.7452777778; -0.0191666666667

Administration
Commune of Argentan
SNCF Train station
Location
Argentan
Country	France
Region	Basse-Normandie
Department	Orne
Arrondissement	Argentan
Canton	2 cantons
Intercommunality	Pays d'Argentan
Mayor	Pierre Pavis
Statistics
Elevation	152–228 m (500–750 ft)
Land area¹	18.18 km² (7.02 sq mi)
Population²	17,448 (1999)
- Density	960 /km² (2,500 /sq mi)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	61006/ 61200
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Argentan is a commune, and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in north-western France.

1 Geography
2 Sites of interest
3 History
4 Notable people
5 Twin towns
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Geography

Argentan is located 180 km (110 mi) NE of Rennes, 131 km (81 mi) ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, 188 km (117 mi) SE of Cherbourg, 58 km (36 mi) SSE of Caen, 133 km (83 mi) SW of Rouen and 100 km (62 mi) N of Le Mans.

Sites of interest

Donjon of Argentan

History

Heavy fighting following the Allied invasion of Normandy in August 1944 left the town in ruins.

Argentan is built along the Orne River. In ancient Gaul it was called Vagoritum, and during the Gallo-Roman period, Argentomagus. The town grew in importance during the Middle Ages. In the 20th century, it was one of the sites of the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket ("Falaise Gap") in August 1944 during the Second World War.

Following the Viking invasion on the coast of northern France, the north-western part of Neustria became Normandy (literally: Northman country). The Viking chief, Ganger Hrolf (Rolf the Walker), known also as Rollo, left the town to one of his lieutenants. Throughout the Middle Ages, Argentan was either a rich place or totally burnt. English forces occupied the city several times. In fact, the Plantagenet had considered this town as one of the most important of Normandy.

During the reign of Louis XIV, Colbert set Alençon against Argentan in an economic competition on lace making. Thus, the Point d'Argentan ("Argentan point") and the Point d'Alençon ("Alençon point") were created. Argentan became a very important town for traditional industry. It also gained in religious importance with the building of a Benedictine Abbey and two churches, Saint-Martin and Saint-Germain. Several mansions (hôtels particuliers) were also built.

Argentan did not go through much upheaval until the French Revolution, and its Reign of Terror^{[citation needed]}.

During the First World War (WWI), the French 104th Infantry Regiment (104e Régiment d'infanterie)14th Infantry Brigade (14e Brigade d'infanterie) was stationed at Argentan. It participated in the battle of Verdun in 1916.

During the Second World War (WWII), the city was almost totally destroyed. On 5 June 1944, on the eve of the Allied D-Day landing on the beaches of Normandy, the city suffered an important air raid in which the train station was destroyed. The city suffered further damage when it was bombed on 6 and 7 June by B-17 and B-24 bombers of the U.S. Eighth Air Force.^[1]. The greatest part of the city was, however, left in ruins two and half months later, at the end of August, during the battle of the Argentan-Falaise Pocket. The U.S. Third Army, under the command of general George S. Patton liberated Argentan after eight days of violent combat against the German 9th Panzer Division and the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich. The U.S. 80th Infantry Division liberated the city in the morning of 20 August. The city was burning.