The Vosges Mountains and Alsatian Battlefield - A Brief History

1915

January – March 1915 – Both sides begin to build an infrastructure in the mountains to support the movement of artillery by mule and ox draught and to provide supplies to the troops. These include the Route des Crêtes, built by French engineers and running on a north to south axis to the west of the crest line. The conditions in winter are appalling with snow and ice cloaking the battlefield. The French use specially trained Alpine troops, the Chasseurs Alpins and Chasseurs-à-pied, to conduct night attacks and the like to keep the pressure on German forces.

On 3rd January the French advance north-east and south-west of Steinbach to take Hill 425, key to the German defences west of Mulhouse. Ground also taken on the Thann-Cerney road. Cernay evacuated by the Germans who bombard it to deny it to the enemy.

First battles for control of the mountain known as the Vieil Amand (Hartmannsweilerkopf). The struggle for this height and those nearby is explained by the commanding view they held of the surrounding countryside. For the Germans the Hartmannsweilerkopf barred the way to the Alsatian plain and the River Rhine. The French capture it in January, but lose it shortly afterwards to the Germans before launching another attack on it on 22nd March. In this they capture the first two lines of trenches and then, eventually, on 26th March, the summit itself. The Germans continue to cling to the south-eastern slope and try to make inroads onto the nearby Hirzenstein height to reduce their disadvantage. To the south the French edge closer to Altkirch via the valleys of the Ill and Rhine-Rhône canal.

In the middle of February, the Germans take the offensive on both banks of the River Lauch to relive the pressure on Mulhouse and Altkirch. They also make ground towards the Le Bonhomme Pass (one of the key crossings through the Vosges Mountains) and take Hill 607 but are stopped by French counter-attacks. Also heavy fighting at Stosswihr in the Münster valley (the most direct approach to Colmar) and on the Reichacker (Reichackerkopf) height to the west of Münster.

April to May 1915 – French take the Sillacker, Altmann and Schnepfenrieth crests and move towards Münster by the end of April but are stopped short by stiffening German resistance and counter-attacks. Germans capture village of Steinabrück. Artillery duels continued in this area and around the Hartmannsweilerkopf throughout May.

June to August 1915 – After consolidating their positions on the Hartmannsweilerkopf, the French gradually envelope Münster from the south, west and north by taking the height of Braunkopf to the south-west of Münster and endeavouring to dominate the heights of the Le Linge-Schratzmännele-Barrenkopf ridgeway to its north. The capture of the Braunkopf begins on 15th June with French Alpine troops taking Hill 830 before ascending the Braunkopf itself. Near Omlass the French attack is held for up for four days by stubborn German defences but, by 19th June they crumble and the Braunkopf falls. The French push on to capture the villages of Metzeral and Sondernach to the south-west of Münster. The offensive reaches a crescendo on 20th July 1915 in the first of many bloody French assaults on the Le Linge and Barrenkopf positions which last into August and leave 10,000 French dead on the Le Linge height alone.

Meanwhile French forces take the group of hamlets and villages known as the Ban de Sapt. These include Fontenelle and the nearby Hill 627 which falls at the end of July and part of the village of Launois where the French and Germans are in divided possession. Furious German counter-attacks throughout the summer succeed in recapturing some of the lost ground at Le Linge.

September 1915 to January 1916 – Fighting continues around the Hartmannsweilerkopf position. On 21st December the French commence another series of attacks to extend their front line from the crest. In so doing they take 1,668 German prisoners. In the New Year the Germans reply, re-taking a number of trenchlines south of the Hartmannsweilerkopf, capturing 20 officers, 1,083 chasseurs and 15 machine guns.

By 1916 it was becoming clear to commanders on both sides that the opportunity for decisive action that could lead to a breakthrough was impossible in such difficult and mountainous terrain. Once the German Verdun offensive opened up, attention shifted to the north-west and activity in the Vosges and Alsation region reduced. Aside from localised advances it was not to be the focus of major offensive action for the remainder of the war.