Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Chasseurs Alpin at Hartmannswillerkopf

Hartmannswillerkopf, also known as the Vieil Armand or Hartmannsweiler Kopf (Hartmansweiler Head) is a pyramidal rocky spur in the Vosges mountains of Alsace. The peak stands at 956 metres (3,136 ft) overlooking the Rhine valley. At Hartmannswillerkopf stands a national monument of World War I for the fighting which took place in the trenches here.
The French (Chasseurs Alpin) and Germans fought for control of the mountain peak during the First World War. Fighting took place throughout 1915. 30,000 died near Hartmannswillerkopf during the First World War, with the majority of deaths suffered by the French. 
After about 11 months of fierce combat, both sides began to focus most of their attention farther north on the Western Front. Only enough men to hold the lines were left at Hartmannswillerkopf. The lines remained relatively stable for the remainder of the war and generally only artillery exchanges took place.

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