Hartmannswillerkopf

The Old Armand , or Hartmannswillerkopf , is a pyramidal rocky outcrop, in the Massif of the Vosges, overhanging its 956 meters the plain of Alsace, in which is established a national monument in to remember the combat of 1915.

To 12 km of Cernay, 30 km of Mulhouse by the road, divided between the communes of Hartmannswiller, of Wuenheim, Wattwiller and Uffholtz, the Old Armand is a bitterly disputed Forteresse.

The principal combat took place the January 19th - January 20th, March 26th, April 25th - April 26th and December 21st - December 22nd 1915 making nearly thirty thousand dead of which a majority of French. Then the face was stabilized and gave place only to duels of Artillerie and which was worth at the top the name of Mountain Crowned of Alsace

In the impressive German defensive organization, sculptures of Antoine Bourdelle illustrate the sacrifice of the youth of these adjoining countries and cousins. To feel the Pathos it, it is necessary to make as these soldiers of the Kaiser who climbed the 560 steps of the “Himmelsleiter” (scale of the sky) which starts to 790 m of altitude on Bergpfad with the southern slope.

Daniel Ziegler carried out in 2004 “HWK, mangeuse respectful men” of the historical precision (the soldiers of the beginning of 1916 did not carry yet of helmets).
Its camera tracks the empty manholes, the jitter mortal, the desire for finishing some with the horror of the iron flood, fire and blood in the lunar landscape on the ground interfered with ground and flesh. The priests made sound the bells to mask the noise and the fury. There are also scenes of fraternity between the adversaries.

Anecdotes

the name of " Old Armand" comes from the germanized name of " Hartmannsweiler" village and hillock (the head, " Kopf ") who surmounts it. The Hairy ones of the time, not all well-read men, translated " weiler " by " vieil" and " Hartmann " by " Armand".

the same day, in 1958 or 59, I visited the memorial of the Old Armand then, a few hours later, that of Struthof. The guides were former survivors of these two places; I noted that the tone of the comments was without common measurement between the veteran of the war of 1914 and that which had differently suffered from cruelty during the Second world war.

See too

Collar of the Linen
military Cemeteries of the First World War
Duty to remember

External bonds

Official site of the photographic memorial
Work on the Old Armand
Small presentation of Hartmannswillerkopf with photographs

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