The Vosges Mountains and Alsatian Battlefield - A Brief History

1914

7th August 1914 – Bonneau's VII Corps of the French First Army with the 8th Cavalry Division attached, moves into Upper Alsace and occupies Altkirch and Thann.
8th August - French occupy Mulhouse (Mülhausen). German forces belonging to the Seventh Army (von Heeringen) make an ordered withdrawal to their fortress of Neu Breisach.
10th August – General Berthold von Deimling's German 15th Army Corps moves from Thann with superior forces and French withdraw from Mulhouse. Meanwhile French occupy a number of passes through the Vosges Mountains together with Ste Marie-aux-Mines and Château-Salins.
11th August – Joffre creates the Army of Alsace under General Paul Pau, to command all troops in the Vosges/Alsace region.

General Paul Pau. From firstworldwar.com.

15th-20th August – French, under Pau, reoccupy Mulhouse and Thann and advance to Lorquin and towards Colmar after driving Germans out of Blamont and Cirey. French secure possession of Dieuze, Delme and Chateau-Salins in Lorraine. There is heavy fighting along the line of advance as German reinforcements arrive and defences stiffen.
28th August – French forces, after suffering heavy losses, retire from the vicinity of Mulhouse, leaving a small force in Thann.

French outpost on alert behind a barricade in Alsace-Lorraine. From firstworldwar.com. Click on image for full size.

2nd September – Under German pressure French retreat back on north-south axis running Col du Bonhomme (the Bonhomme Pass) – Tete des Faux - Le Linge (Lingekopf) – Wettstein Pass – Fecht.
October to December – Critical situation in Lorraine and further north forces French onto the defensive in the Vosges. Divisions are withdrawn to defend Paris and both sides seek better tactical positions throughout the region and begin to build fortified positions and trenchlines. For the most part French forces held a majority of the highest peaks and the heads of the wooded valleys that led down into the Alsatian plain. The Germans retain a number of the lower spurs and some key heights although around Cernay and to the south they are pushed back onto the plain. Germans repeatedly attack Thann but fail to capture the town.
25th-30th December – French GHQ tries to regain the initiative in Alsace and newly created Vosges Army Detachment under General Putz tries to break into the plain between Aspach-le-Bas and Steinbach towards Cernay. French capture Steinbach after five days of bitter fighting.

Stubborn fighting in Alsace: Steinbach and Cernay in flames in 1915. From firstworldwar.com. Click on image for full size.