La Horgne
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Expand French|topic=geo|date=December 2008|La Horgne}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name = La Horgne
|commune status = Commune
|image = La Horgne (Ardennes) église.JPG
|caption = The church in La Horgne
|arrondissement = Charleville-Mézières
|canton = Nouvion-sur-Meuse
|INSEE = 08228
|postal code = 08430
|term = 2020–2026
|intercommunality = Crêtes Préardennaises
|coordinates = {{coord|49.6278|4.6711|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m = 210
|elevation min m =
|elevation max m =
|area km2 = 5.27
|population = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}
La Horgne ({{IPA|fr|la ɔʁɲ}}) is a commune in the Ardennes department in northern France.
History
During the German Invasion of France there was a battle fought at La Horgne on 15 May 1940. The German 1st Rifle Regiment were advancing as part of Kampfgruppe Krüger when they came up against the French 3rd Spahis Brigade who had fortified the village. The local geography prohibited the use of tanks and artillery to support the infantry attack which failed to break through. The regimental commander, Oberstleutnant Hermann Balck, came forward to lead his men and encourage them. The village fell to the Germans by the afternoon but delayed their advance and inflicted more casualties on the regiment than any other day of the campaign.{{Cite book|title=Blitzkrieg : myth, reality and Hitler's lightning war - France, 1940|last=Clark, Lloyd, 1967-|isbn=978-0-85789-732-9|location=London|oclc=959236698|year = 2016}}
Of his opponents, Balch recorded -
{{Blockquote|text=I fought against all foes in both wars and I was always in the thick of it. Rarely did anyone fight as outstandingly as the 3rd Spahis Brigade. Its commander, Colonel Maré, was captured having been wounded... Out of the brigade's twenty-seven officers, twelve were killed in action, seven were wounded, along with 610 Spahi dead or wounded. The brigade had ceased to exist. It had sacrificed itself for France. I gave orders that prisoners we took be given especially good treatment.|sign=Hermann Balck|source=Ordnung im Chaos / Erinnerungen 1893 - 1948}}
Population
{{Historical populations
|align=left
|1962|39
|1968|53
|1975|53
|1982|81
|1990|107
|1999|106
|2008|185
}}
{{clear left}}
See also
References
{{reflist}}
{{commons category}}
{{Ardennes communes}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horgne}}
Category:Communes of Ardennes (department)
Category:Ardennes communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
{{Ardennes-geo-stub}}