Biffontaine
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Commune of Biffontaine |
|
Location | |
Administration | |
---|---|
Country | France |
Region | Lorraine |
Department | Vosges |
Arrondissement | Saint-Dié-des-Vosges |
Canton | Brouvelieures |
Intercommunality | Communauté de communes du Val de Neuné |
Mayor | Denis Henry |
Statistics | |
Elevation | 456 m–660 m (avg. 465 m) |
Land area¹ | 8,88 km² |
Population² (1999) |
399 |
- Density | 44,93/km² |
Miscellaneous | |
INSEE/Postal code | 88059/ 88430 |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Biffontaine is a village in the valley of the River Neuné, near Bruyères, in France. It is the centre of a commune in the Vosges département. It has never had more than a few hundred inhabitants, and is centred around the church of Saint-Antoine.
[edit] History
In the Second World War, it was liberated from German occupation by soldiers from the Japanese-American soldiers of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team in late October 1944, who defended then it from fierce counterattacks. It is perhaps best known as being near the location of the rescue of the "Lost Battalion" of soldiers from 1st Battalion, 141st Regiment, 36th Infantry Division, who had been surrounded by German but were rescued by the 442nd.