Short answers, pulled from the story.
The river begins its journey near Le Nouvion-en-Thiérache in the Aisne department of northern France. It travels southward through the Franco-Belgian coal basin before reaching the Belgian border at Jeumont.
The French portion spans 54 kilometers and contains nine locks measuring 38.50 meters long and 5.20 meters wide. These locks guide vessels down to the Belgian border where jurisdiction shifts to Belgium.
Structural failures halted navigation in 2006 ending direct access to central France. The junction connects to the central French waterway network until this disruption occurred.
Heavy fighting occurred along the river during World War I especially at the siege of Namur in 1914. The Battle of Charleroi took place near the town of that name on the north bank while another major engagement known as the Battle of the Sambre happened in the last month of the war in 1918.
On the 24th of February 1912 Regina Magritte drowned herself in this river at Châtelet. She was the mother of the famous surrealist painter René Magritte and her death cast a long shadow over the family.