Amiens SC

Amiens Sporting Club (French pronunciation: ​[amjɛ̃]; commonly referred to as Amiens SC or simply Amiens) is a French association football club based in the northern city of Amiens in the Picardy region. The club was formed in 1901 and currently play in the Championnat National, the third level of French football. The club plays its home matches at the Stade de la Licorne located within the city. Amiens is managed by Olivier Echouafni and captained by defender Stéphane Mangione.

History

Amiens Athlétic Club (AAC) was set up in 1901 by a group of players from the Association du Lycée d'Amiens, French schoolboy champions in 1902, 1903, and 1904. AAC crushed its very first opponents, Saint-Quentin, 13–0 a few months after its creation. In April 1902, the Comité de Picardie de l'U.S.F.S.A was established by the then-president of the AAC (Henri-Frédéric Petit). AAC dominated the early USFSA league for the first 12 seasons. In 1909, the club got a new ground, at the Henry Daussy Park, allowing an attendance of more than 1,000. In 1933, the club got its first professional section, later abandoned in 1952, before becoming professional again in 1993. Since the early days, AAC has undergone two name changes: In 1961, to Sporting Club d'Amiens, and in 1989, as Amiens Sporting Club. Amiens played in Ligue 2 between 2001-2009.

Amiens

Amiens (French pronunciation: ​[a.mjɛ̃]) is a city and commune in northern France, 120 km (75 mi) north of Paris and 100 km (62 mi) south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in Picardy. The city had a population of 136,105 according to the 2006 census.

The first known settlement is Samarobriva ("Somme bridge"), the central settlement of the Ambiani, one of the principal tribes of Gaul. The town was given the name Ambianum by the Romans, meaning settlement of the Ambiani people. The town has been much fought over, being attacked by barbarian tribes, and later by the Normans. In 1113 the city was recognized by the King of France, and joined to the Crown of France in 1185. In 1597, Spanish soldiers held the city during the six-month Siege of Amiens, before Henry IV regained control. During the 18th and 19th century, the textile tradition of Amiens became famous for its velours. In 1789 the provinces of France were dismantled and the territory was organised into departments. Much of Picardy became the newly created department of Somme, with Amiens as the departmental capital. During the industrial revolution the city walls were demolished, opening up space for large boulevards around the town centre. The Henriville neighbourhood in the south of the city was developed around this time. In 1848, the first railway arrived in Amiens, linking the city to Boulogne-sur-Mer. During the 1870 Battle of Amiens, when the Somme was invaded by Prussian forces, Amiens was occupied.

Battle of Amiens (1918)

The Battle of Amiens, also known as the Third Battle of Picardy (French: 3ème Bataille de Picardie), which began on 8 August 1918, was the opening phase of the Allied offensive later known as the Hundred Days Offensive that ultimately led to the end of the First World War. Allied forces advanced over 11 kilometres (7 mi) on the first day, one of the greatest advances of the war, with Henry Rawlinson's British Fourth Army playing the decisive role. The battle is also notable for its effects on both sides' morale and the large number of surrendering German forces. This led Erich Ludendorff to describe the first day of the battle as "the black day of the German Army". Amiens was one of the first major battles involving armoured warfare and marked the end of trench warfare on the Western Front; fighting becoming mobile once again until the armistice was signed on 11 November 1918.

Prelude

On 21 March 1918, the German Empire had launched Operation Michael, the first in a series of attacks planned to drive the Allies back along the length of the Western Front. With the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with revolutionary-controlled Russia, the Germans were able to transfer hundreds of thousands of men to the Western Front, giving them a significant, if temporary, advantage in manpower and material. These offensives were intended to translate this advantage into victory. Operation Michael was intended to defeat the right wing of the British Expeditionary Force, but a lack of success before Arras ensured the ultimate failure of the offensive. A final effort was aimed at the town of Amiens, a vital railway junction, but the advance had been halted at Villers-Bretonneux by British and Australian troops on 4 April.