Vexin

During the liberation of Vexin, German troops in the forests of Marainville, Montgison, and Longues carried out a surprise attack against the American defenders in attempt to reoccupy the village of Fontenay-Saint-Père.

There were around 3,000 casualties in total during the fighting, but the victory at Fontenay allowed the American troops to lead a successful counteroffensive, and eventually led to the liberation of Vexin on 30 August 1944.

The French Impressionist artist Claude Monet made his home at Giverny, and the Dutch Post-Impressionist Vincent van Gogh painted the wheat fields of Vexin.

Ownership of Vexin, and the court intrigue related to securing it, is a key plot point in James Goldman's play The Lion in Winter (1966).

It also features in the Angevin novels of Sharon Kay Penman, and in the BBC series The Devil's Crown (1978), which stars Brian Cox.