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Sedan

 
(sĭ-dăn', sə-däN') pronunciation

A town of northeast France on the Meuse River near the Belgian border. It was the site of the decisive defeat and surrender of Napoleon III (September 2, 1870) in the Franco-Prussian War. Population: 20,300.

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Town near the Belgian frontier, scene of the French defeat in 1870 [see Franco-Prussian War] and of a German breakthrough in May 1940.

Sedan, in northern France between Mézières and Montmédy close to the Belgian frontier, was the scene of the decisive German victory on 1 September 1870 (see Deutsch-Französischer Krieg). A French army under Macmahon marching to the relief of Metz was pushed back upon Sedan and encircled by the Prussian Third Army under the Crown Prince (see Friedrich III) and the Army of the Meuse (Maasarmee) under Crown Prince Albert of Saxony. The out-generalled French surrendered in the evening after fierce fighting and the capitulation was formally drawn up the following day. The Emperor Napoleon III was among the prisoners. The fighting was particularly severe in the south-east of the Bavarian sector at Bazeilles and at Givonne to the east where the Prussian Guard was engaged. The victory was regarded as a great feat of arms and a triumph for the Chief of Staff Moltke. A symbol for the new Germany, the Sedantag became a public holiday. In literature Sedan evoked poetry only of a meretricious kind. Sedan was the scene of further fighting in 1914 and in May 1940 during the German invasion of France (see Weltkriege).

Sedan (sədäN'), town (1990 pop. 22,407), Ardennes dept., NE France, on the Meuse River. A noted textile center since the 16th cent., Sedan also has metal and brewing industries. The town became part of French crown lands in 1642. It was a Protestant stronghold in the 16th and 17th cent., and a noted Calvinist academy was located there. Sedan was the site of the decisive French defeat (1870) in the Franco-Prussian War and the surrender of Napoleon III. The town saw heavy fighting in World War I and was the point of the first German breakthrough (1940) in the invasion of France in World War II.


Sedan may refer to:

Vehicles

  • Sedan (automobile), a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo
  • Litter (vehicle), or sedan chair, a human-powered, wheelless device for transport of persons
  • Aeronca Sedan, a light aircraft

Places

France
Australia
Azerbaijan
United States

Miscellaneous


 
 
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American Heritage Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2007. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Companion to French Literature. The New Oxford Companion to Literature in French. Copyright © 1995, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Oxford Companion to German Literature. The Oxford Companion to German Literature. Copyright © 1976, 1986, 1997, 2005 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/ Read more
Wikipedia on Answers.com. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article Sedan Read more

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