Construction of ambulance début 1915 (≈ 1915)
Creation at Camp Nicolas during the fighting.
21 juillet 1915
Death of Commander Nicolas
Death of Commander Nicolas 21 juillet 1915 (≈ 1915)
The camp bears his name in homage.
2005
Rediscovered site
Rediscovered site 2005 (≈ 2005)
By the Vosges Club after decades.
1er juin 2023
Official protection
Official protection 1er juin 2023 (≈ 2023)
Registration as a historical monument.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The vestiges of the Alpine ambulance, in whole, within a perimeter of 5,8455 hectares in elevation and basement, as an archaeological reserve, located at the mountain station at the place called Le Gaschney, on forest plot No. 78, shown in the cadastre section 31: inscription by order of 1 June 2023
Key figures
Commandant Nicolas - French officer
Give his name to the camp, which died in 1915.
Origin and history
The Alpine ambulance 2/75, also known as 306, was built at the beginning of 1915 on the flanks of the Reichackerkopf massif in the Nicolas camp, named in tribute to its commander killed on 21 July 1915. This camp, located at the back of the Vosges front, housed one of the six French Alpine ambulances known to the Great War. A temporary structure in hard form, it illustrates the reforms of the military health service that began in 1915, combining granite, masonry and sheet metal over 45 metres. Its underground rooms, with an area of 9 to 12 m2, were used for treatment and surgery.
Rediscovered in 2005 by the Vosges Club, the Gaschney Ambulance stands out for its strategic hillside location near the eponymous mountain resort. Its access, now hidden by dense vegetation, is via a forest path 15 minutes walk from the parking lot. The original plan, kept in the archives of Val-de-Grâce, reveals deviations from the current reality: the lateral entrance (instead of the front), the absence of planned rails and shelters, and a time-modified configuration. These remains, protected since 2023 on 5.8 hectares, testify to the extreme conditions of the care provided in the mountains.
Classified as a historical monument, the Alpine ambulance 2/75 embodies the logistical and medical adaptation to the constraints of the Vosges front. Its sober architecture, designed to withstand weather and bombardment, reflects the urgent health needs during the 1915 fighting. The accuracy of its location remains mediocre (level 5/10), but its archaeological and memorial interest makes it a key site to understand the organization of relief at altitude during the First World War. The property today belongs to the municipality of Stosswihr, in the Upper Rhine.
