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The Colmar Pocket

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    This guided 3 and 1/2 hour tour visits special places in the battlefield and retraces the course of the 3rd Division, where you'll hear the stories of the events that took place recounted.
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    Although WW II history, the tour gives information about Alsace in general. It stops in beautiful medieval villages, following the scenic Alsace wine trail and taking you through its vineyard clad hills. It also offers spectacular views of the Vosges mountains, the Rhine Valley and the 'Black Forest'. On the valley floor you will pass through (now) tranquil, picturesque countryside and hear about the UNESCO listed Louis XIVth fortress town of Neuf Brisach.
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The 'Colmar Pocket' is often referred to as the 'forgotten war'. It was the last German bridgehead In France, stretching 40 miles long and 30 miles deep, from the Rhine up into the Voges mountains behind Colmar. When the order came to clear the pocket, five French and two U.S. divisions, (the 3rd and 28th), faced eight divisions of 'Heeresgruppe Oberrhein', committed to a do or die defence.