In March 1814 the departmentalprefecture, Chaumont, was the unwitting witness to the end of theFirst Empire. On 1 March,Prussia,Russia, theUnited Kingdom andAustria signed an accord forbidding any individual peace deal withNapoleon I, and to fight until his final defeat.
DuringWorld War II, Haute-Marne was partitioned under German occupation. The canal which runs from theMarne to theSaône served as a border, dividing the department into east and west. The east was a "reserved zone", intended for the creation of a new German (Ripuarian) state, whereas to the west would be the traditional "occupied zone". Haute-Marne was finally liberated by the Allies, in the form of the division ofGeneral Leclerc, between August and September 1944.
The highest mountain is Haut-du-Sac, in theLangres Plateau, in the southwest of the department, which rises to a height of 516 m (1,693 ft). The lowest points at 117 m (384 ft) are found on the plains ofPerthois andDer.[4]
The department is named after the riverMarne, whose source is nearLangres. This river covers 120 km (75 mi) within the department. The department is to the east of the Parisian basin, and is characterised by a concentric sequence of cliff faces of varying geological origin, oriented northeast–southwest.
The most populous commune isSaint-Dizier; the prefectureChaumont is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 3,000 inhabitants:[3]
The Haute-Marne department is not a famous department but this peaceful territory has numerous interesting places to visit. Indeed, the department was one of the most powerful in French history thanks to metallurgy economy and was a land of confrontations along history.
Thus, among other examples, theFrench Wars of Religion (from 1562 to 1598) began with theMassacre of Vassy in the north of the Haute-Marne department. Following this event, open military conflicts across France Kingdom began. TheEdict of Nantes is the consequence of this period.
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