Today was a free day so the students could do what they wanted. Most spent the morning touring additional sites in Colmar and then the afternoon relaxing. A small group of students - Nicole, Brooke, Allie and Christina - along with my mom spent a good portion of the day at the Linge, a World War I battle site about 25 miles from Colmar. This is located 3,000 feet up in the mountains of Alsace. The worst fighting occurred in the summer and fall of 1915 when approximately 30,000 men were killed along a two mile stretch. Mustard gas, flame throwers, massive artillery bombardments were all used. The Germans held the high ground in stone trenches while the French were down the slopes in dirt trenches. In the early spring 1916, it was clear that neither side could defeat the other and so while there was sporadic fighting after this the men basically held their positions for the next two and a half years. Due to the isolated nature of the battle site, the trenches are remarkably well preserved.
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at the Linge Battlefield looking toward the French positions
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In the German trenches from 1915
barbed wire in no-mans land
Looking down at the French trenches across no-mans land
trenching defences from 1915
Location:Rue Stockmeyer,Colmar,France
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