Ardennes
a frontier department of named from the forest of Ardennes, and France, bordering on Belgium. It is formed a part of the old province of The N. E. belongs to the basin of the Champagne; area, 2,020 square miles.
Meuse; the S. W. is watered by the The N. E. belongs to the basin of the Ais Aisne; these rivers being united by a canal. About two-fifths of the whole surface is hilly, and covered with forests marble is obtained. South of this, and and wide tracts of pasturage. In the N., stretching across the department from E. to W., are great layers of slate. Only the valleys are fertile, and produce corn. and sheep are reared. Slate, marble, iron, The vine is cultivated in the S. W. Cattle clay, copper, and coal are found. Iron chief industry is cloth-making, especially working is largely carried on; but the in Sedan. There are also manufactures of clay pipes, glass, paper, sugar, and beer. The capital is Mézières, but the most important place is the great fortified city of Sedan. Pop. of department about 320,000. In the World War the department was the scene of some of the greatest battles between the German and the Allied forces. ARDMORE On Nov. 3, 1918, the First American Army destroyed the Mézières-Metz railway, and Nov. 6 gained the heights of the Woevre and Sedan. On Nov. 9 the French invested Mézières. See WORLD WAR.