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Founded: 1346Category: Statues in France
Historical period: Valois Dynasty and Hundred Year's War (France)
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Memorial of the battle of Crécy (26 August 1346) was built in the place of a windmill where the king of England waited for the attack of the king of France. The battle of Crécy was one of the most important battles of the Hundred Years' War because of the combination of new weapons and tactics used. The English knights knew the importance of being willing to fight dismounted elbow to elbow with the pikeman and archers, a procedure which was learned from the earlier Saxons and also by their battles with the Scots from whom they learned tactical flexibility and the adaptation to difficult terrain. All of these factors made Edward III's army powerful, even when outnumbered by the French forces.
The size of the forces are not known exactly. Some historians have agreed on estimates of around 10,000–15,000 on the English side and 20,000–25,000 on the French side. The battle ended to the decisive English victory. At least 2,000 French knights and unknown number of common soldiers died. The English army lost only 100-300 men. Due the victory Calais became an exclave of England. It shook France to the core and established an English presence in France that was to last for over one hundred years.
References:Towering 52 meters above the sea, Bengtskär lighthouse is the tallest one in Scandinavia. The building started in in 1905 after the shipwreck of S/S Helsingfors and was completed in 1906. The lighthouse was designed by architect Florentin Granholm. On December a special petrol lantern, designed and built in Paris, was brought to Bengtskär and installed atop the tower.
German fleet bombarded Bengstkär in the First World War in 1914. Since the Gulf of Finland was heavily mined, it was not until 1919 that the surrounding seas were declared safe for shipping, that the light was lit again.
After the war the military value of Bengtskär increased as part of the defence system of independent Finland. In Second World War (1941) Soviet Union made a suprise attack to island. After a bloody battle, the small Finnish garrison emerged victorious. Intermittent repairs to the facility continued during the post-war period.