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Origin and history

The Linge battlefield, located in the Vosges massif in the communes of Orbey, Hohrod, Sultzeren and Labaroche (Haut-Rhin), was part of a fierce battle between the French and German armies during the First World War. From 20 July to 16 October 1915, the fighting aimed to control this strategic point for a future offensive in the plain of Alsace. Despite considerable loss of life (over 18,000 victims, including 8,867 on the French side), territorial gains remained minimal, illustrating the violence of the fighting in the mountains.

The Germans, installed for months, had fortified the Linen with blockhouses, trenches and barbed wire networks, making the position almost unobstructed. The French offensive, led by the 3rd fighter brigade and the 129th infantry division, failed to maintain the ridge despite repeated assaults. By August 1915, German counter-attacks, using flame-throwing and tear gas, pushed the French back, stabilizing the front until the end of the war.

The site, classified as a historical monument in 1921 and modified in 1932 for its preservation, now preserves remains of the fortifications of both camps. A nearby museum-memorial exhibits weapons, personal objects and archival documents, testifying to the intensity of the fighting. Among the notable figures, the poet Jules Dupin, second lieutenant killed on July 26, 1915, was honoured at the Pantheon among the writers who died in battle.

The battle of the Linge symbolizes the failure of the French strategy of "manoeuvring overflow by the highs", advocated by Joffre despite the opinions of his subordinates. This choice, inspired by Napoleonic tactics, met the reality of a war of position and the power of German defences. The human losses, disproportionate to the results, made it one of the bloodiest episodes of the fighting in the Vosges.

The massif, partially wooded and rocky, offered a terrain suitable for defence, with steep slopes and natural corridors transformed into traps. The remains still visible, although mostly after 1915, remind the two armies of the determination to strengthen the site after the stabilization of the front. Today, the memorial and neighbouring necropolises perpetuate the memory of these soldiers.

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