 The canal which runs from the Marne to the Saône served as a border, dividing the department into east and west.The east was a "reserved zone", intended for the creation of a new German (Ripuarian) state, whereas to the west would be the traditional "occupied zone".Haute-Marne was finally liberated by the Allies, in the form of the division of General Leclerc, between August and September 1944.