My wife booked the hotels for our European touring holiday and we spent a few days in the idyllic village of Kientzheim, which despite its name is in France...

We arrived on a hot afternoon, booked into our Hotel on the village square and sat down to a glass of chilled Riesling while I flicked through 'After The Battle' No 125 - The Colmar Pocket.

This was our view.....




..and this was the scene as captured by a US Army photographer on December 19th, 1944.......




I was amazed - my wife, slightly less so.....but she'd booked the Hotel, not me !

As the French 5eme Division Blindee attacked over the Vosges mountains into Alsace via the Bonhomme Pass, the Begleit-Battalion Reichsfuhrer-SS mounted a strong counterattack from Kientzheim. When the French tanks attacked Kientzheim on December 17th, they came under fierce fire from the German defenders. Elements of the US 36th Infantry Division joined in the house-to-house fighting. Nearly every building in the village had ( and has.. ) a wine cellar, which were ocupied by Germans with MGs and Panzerfausts.

Today, the village has been beautifully restored and you need to look for signs of the battle....but they are there......

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

These are are absolutely great now and then pictures! Amazing they chose to restaure those houses. Some of the Colmar pocket was occupied until the Feb 19th 1945 offensive. I have a German registered letter from Ribauvillé (Rappolstweiler) to Ricquewihr (Reichsweier) dated february 18th 1945; probably the last one to be sent under the German occupation.

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More great pictures Martin. I was wondering why they bothered using tanks in a town with such narror streets ? It would seem like they would be very easy targets and not much value unless the target stood still directly ahead of them. Bad use of resources but great pictures on your part !

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Work Harder ! Millions on welfare are depending on you.

Excellent pics, Martin! You really get the deja-vu feeling here...

Thanx again!!

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Well, I was hesitating about where to spend a few days next week, it seems lke I got an excellent idea thanks to Martin.

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Nice one Martin - and great 'Then & Now'!

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Paul Reed
Webmaster - Battlefields of WW2- http://www.ww2battlefields.info
D Day Ancestors: The British Army in Normandy - http://www.ddayancestors.com

Back from Alsace with some tanks pics! Firstly I went to Kientzheim to see the "Renard" recommended by Martin and posted earlier.



But then I came accross the "Porc Epic" by pure chance at Illhausern . It was destroyed during the battle of Colmar and became a memorial. One of the crew members mentionned on the memorial is from the Orleans region.



Then while I was driving in the center of Mulhouse , my wife spotted the "Austerlitz at an abandonned caserne. It was almost night , rainig and it was behind a fence, but I did a quite good job to picture it.



We didn't expect anything more, but on the way home, while just over the Lorraine border at Phalsbourg, we saw the "Bourg en Bresse" This tank was knocked out during the Liberation of Phalsbourg and gen. Leclerc decided to keep it there as a memorial. Look at the direct hit on the turret.



So four tanks and three found by chance, just by patrolling on small roads..

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Very well done, Skipper ! For sure, there's more to Alsace than meets the eye....

I trust you found time to sample the wines.....

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

Yes, I tried the local wines. I got some from a local winegrower at Bernardswiller, near Obernai. I also went to Germany and got some German wine too.
If you like pictures of the Colmar pocket, I posted other ones on Marne's thread (U.S. 30TH )

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Excellent pictures gents !

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http://www.costnet.com/images/skyhawk-pic.jpg

I see that the cars are still there

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Time is only enemy you'll never get rid of.

Unfortunately I did not have much time to venture around at the Schwendli tavern, but still could take a few pics, including the old tower with the Heraldry. My only regret is that I missed the museum at Turckheim.

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Great photos chaps, yet more ideas forming now for family-holidays that can have a WW2 interest for Dad.

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I really recommend Alsace, it's wonderful and the food is great. There is so much history there. Almost every village reminds me of a Battle, a crashsite , a memorial etc.. and there are no lager lads with football T-shirts. It's a great place for a relaxed and cultural holiday that would interest the entire family.

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I heartily agree. It has the additional benefit that no-one in Britain seems to have heard of it !

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson

True, most of the tourists there were either Dutch or German and Frecnh from other provinces, what the Alsacians call "Français de l'interieur". There were also a couple of Poles here and there. I love the way Alsacians switch from one language to another depending on who is addressing them. When you climb higher in the Vosges you's almost think you were in the Alps, the next second you are in a vineyard and later in a medieval town. It's like travelling to several countries in one go. The food is gorgeous and the quantities are extremely generous.

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Regards the history of Alsace, do the local war memorials commemorate locals who fought on both sides or just in the French forces?

I've only been to Strasbourg once, back in 1990 when a mate and I were interailing. We were on the way to Switzerland and between trains we went to the top of the nearest multi-story car-park to have a good view whilst having breakfast before catching the next train.

My wife wants to go down the Rhine next year, she went there with a school trip and wants to return.
I'll make sure we include Alsace too, what are the campsites like?

I've just been reading about Riquewihr in a book my mother-in-law bought me. Looks lovely.
Anyone been there?

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I was at Riquewihr last week. If you want pictures send me a private message with your email.

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Cheers Skipper.
Looks like a "must see" place.

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