Hartmannswillerkopf

Mountain in Upper Alsace (956 m) situated on the eastern edge of the Vosges. The vantage point on the summit affords a commanding view of the Upper Rhine Plain.

The front in the area of the Hartmannswillerkopf was not firmly established until late 1914/early 1915, at which point the summit was in German hands. In the spring of 1915, French troops were temporarily able to occupy the mountaintop. After the successful counteroffensive, the Germans consciously abandoned the classic notion of establishing forw…