Editing Béthune (section)

==History==
[[File:Picturesque view of the ruined town of Bethune (4688609382).jpg|thumb|200px|left|Béthune after the German bombardment of May 1918]]

[[Hugh Hastings (died 1347)|Hugh Hastings]] (died 1347), King [[Edward III of England]]'s captain and lieutenant in [[County of Flanders|Flanders]], mounted an attack and laid siege to Béthune, with a combined English and Flemish force, during a diversionary raid as part of [[Chevauchée of Edward III (1346)|Chevauchée of Edward III of 1346]]. The Flemish component proved undisciplined and the siege was abandoned in failure before the end of August.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Livingstone|first1=Marilyn|last2= Witzel|first2=Morgen|date=2005|title=The Road to Crécy: The English Invasion of France, 1346|location= Harlow |publisher= Pearson Education |page=143 |isbn=978-0582784208 }}</ref>

During the [[War of the Spanish Succession]] in July–August 1710, Béthune was besieged by forces of the [[Grand Alliance (League of Augsburg)|Grand Alliance]]. The town eventually surrendered after a vigorous defence conducted by Antoine de Vauban (1654–1731), a relative of the famous military engineer [[Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban|Vauban]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Reeve |first1=JPF |title=The Siege of Bethune 1710: The Journals of Private Deane and General Vauban Compared |journal=Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research |date=1986 |volume=64 |issue=260 |pages=205–211 |jstor=44226494 }}</ref>

[[File:Bethune Town Cemetery -16.jpg|thumb|upright|Béthune British Military Cemetery]]
In [[World War I]], Béthune was an important railway junction and command centre for the British [[Canadian Corps]] and [[Indian Army during World War I#Indian Expeditionary Force A|Indian Expeditionary Force]],  as well as the 33rd Casualty Station until December 1917. It initially suffered little damage until the second phase of the [[Ludendorff Offensive]] in April 1918, when German forces reached [[Locon]], {{convert|5|km|0|abbr=on}} away. On 21 May, a bombardment destroyed large parts of the town, killing more than 100 civilians.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bethune; Monuments aux Mortes |url=http://memoiresdepierre.pagesperso-orange.fr/alphabetnew/b/bethune.html |website=Memoires de Pierre |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref> Over 3,200 casualties are buried in [[Bethune Town Cemetery|Béthune Town Cemetery]], the Commonwealth section of which was designed by [[Edwin Lutyens]]; the majority are British (2,933) or Canadian (55), the remainder German.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bethune; Monuments aux Mortes |url=http://memoiresdepierre.pagesperso-orange.fr/alphabetnew/b/bethune.html |website=Memoires de Pierre |access-date=5 January 2019|language=fr}}</ref>

Rebuilt after the war (the rebuilding of the [[Hôtel de Ville, Béthune|Hôtel de Ville]] was completed in 1929),<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA62000040}}</ref> Béthune was badly damaged once more by air attacks and house to house fighting on 24–26 May 1940 when it was captured by the [[3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf|SS Panzer Division Totenkopf]]. The Totenkopf suffered heavy casualties and anger at their losses allegedly played a role in the [[Le Paradis massacre]] on 27 May, when 97 members of the [[Royal Norfolk Regiment]] were shot after surrendering.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Jackson |first1=Julian |title=The Fall Of France: The Nazi Invasion of 1940 (Making of the Modern World) |date=2003 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]], U.S.A. |isbn=978-0192805508 |pages=301–302}}</ref> During the war, many townspeople were deported to work in Germany; the town was officially liberated on 4 September 1944.<ref>{{cite web |title=Béthune en 1939-1945 |url=http://www.ajpn.org/commune-Bethune-en-1939-1945-62119.html |website=Ajpn.org |access-date=5 January 2019}}</ref>