Boulogne-sur-Mer, often called just Boulogne, is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the Côte d'Opale, a touristic stretch of French coast on the English Channel between Calais and Normandy, and the most visited location in the region after the Lille conurbation. Boulogne is its department's second-largest city after Calais, and the 183rd-largest in France. It is also the country's largest fishing port, specialising in herring.
The Cantiaci or Cantii were an Iron Age Celtic people living in Britain before the Roman conquest, and gave their name to a civitas of Roman Britain. They lived in the area now called Kent, in south-eastern England. Their capital was Durovernum Cantiacorum, now Canterbury.
The Menapii were a Belgic tribe dwelling near the North Sea, around present-day Cassel, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
Ariovistus was a leader of the Suebi and other allied Germanic peoples in the second quarter of the 1st century BC. He and his followers took part in a war in Gaul, assisting the Arverni and Sequani in defeating their rivals, the Aedui. They then settled in large numbers into conquered Gallic territory, in the Alsace region. They were defeated, however, in the Battle of Vosges and driven back over the Rhine in 58 BC by Julius Caesar.
Cassivellaunus was a historical British military leader who led the defence against Julius Caesar's second expedition to Britain in 54 BC. He led an alliance of tribes against Roman forces, but eventually surrendered after his location was revealed to Julius Caesar by defeated Britons.
The Sicambri, also known as the Sugambri or Sicambrians, were a Germanic people who during Roman times lived on the east bank of the river Rhine, in what is now Germany, near the border with the Netherlands. They were first reported by Julius Caesar, who described them as Germanic (Germani), though he did not necessarily define this in terms of language.
Gaius Volusenus Quadratus was a distinguished military officer of the Roman Republic. He served under Julius Caesar for ten years, during the Gallic Wars and the civil war of the 40s. Caesar praised him for his strategic sense and courageous integrity.
Commius was a king of the Belgic nation of the Atrebates, initially in Gaul, then in Britain, in the 1st century BC.
The Morini were a Belgic coastal tribe dwelling in the modern Pas de Calais region, around present-day Boulogne-sur-Mer, during the Iron Age and the Roman period.
The site of the Claudian invasion of Britain in AD 43 has been a matter of academic debate. Although it is generally believed that the force left from Gesoriacum (Boulogne), it is possible that part of the fleet sailed from near the mouth of the Rhine. Rutupiæ has earthworks that defended a bridgehead dating from this period and is often stated as the site of the landing, though there are plausible arguments in favour of a landing further west along the south coast of Britain.
Cap Gris-Nez is a cape located in Audinghen, a commune of the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France.
An evocatus was a soldier in the Ancient Roman army who had served out his time and obtained an honorable discharge but had voluntarily enlisted again at the invitation of the consul or other commander.
Dubris, also known as Portus Dubris and Dubrae, was a port in Roman Britain on the site of present-day Dover, Kent, England.
In the course of his Gallic Wars, Julius Caesar invaded Britain twice: in 55 and 54 BC. On the first occasion, Caesar took with him only two legions, and achieved little beyond a landing on the coast of Kent. The second invasion consisted of 800 ships, five legions and 2,000 cavalry. The force was so imposing that the Celtic Britons did not contest Caesar's landing, waiting instead until he began to move inland. Caesar eventually penetrated into Middlesex and crossed the Thames, forcing the British warlord Cassivellaunus to pay tribute to Rome and setting up Mandubracius of the Trinovantes as a client king. The Romans then returned to Gaul without conquering any territory.
Servius Sulpicius Galba was a Roman general and politician, praetor in 54 BC, and an assassin of Julius Caesar.
Mamurra was a Roman military officer who served under Julius Caesar.
Wissant is a seaside commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.
The Battle of Lutetia was a battle on the plain of Grenelle in what is now Paris between Roman forces under Titus Labienus and an anti-Roman Gallic coalition in 52 BC during the Gallic Wars. It was a Roman victory.
Operation Undergo was an attack by the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division on the German garrison and fortifications of the French port of Calais, during September 1944. A subsidiary operation was executed to capture German long-range, heavy artillery at Cap Gris Nez, which threatened the sea approaches to Boulogne. The operation was part of the Clearing the Channel Coast undertaken by the First Canadian Army, following the success of Operation Overlord and the break-out from Normandy. The assault on Calais used the tactics of Operation Wellhit at Boulogne, sealing the town, bombardments from land, sea and air, followed by infantry assaults supported by armour, including flame-throwing tanks and creeping barrages.
The gens Mettia, also written Metia, was a plebeian family at ancient Rome. Few members of this gens occur in history, and none attained the higher offices of the Roman state under the Republic. Several Mettii rose to prominence in imperial times, with at least three obtaining the consulship in the late first and early second century.
