The Battle at Wingen-sur-Moder

I recently had the chance to travel through the Alsace and Lorraine region in eastern France and visit Wingen-sur-Moder. I learned about this small town when I read the book Seven Days in January, which describes the fighting that took place there as part of Operation 'Nordwind'—a lesser-known German offensive that began a couple of weeks after 'the Battle of the Bulge'. 

I find field trips such as this invaluable for understanding the tactical context of a battle. This visit provided that and much more, especially when it came to gaining a glimpse into the human dimension of the conflict and the lasting impact this battle has left on some of the town’s residents. What started out as a self-guided tour, based on whatever little information I could gather online—there isn’t much out there—turned into a very fruitful and rewarding day when we met a very nice couple who serve as the town’s WWII historians. Their names are Jacky and Linda Bergmann, and their family lived in Wingen during WWII. Decades later, they spearheaded efforts to commemorate the events and to recognize the men who contributed to the town’s liberation. This led to several reunions with veteran groups—initially just U.S. veterans, but eventually German veterans as well.

And as if that were not enough, Jacky and Linda have also set up a small museum to document and share with the world what took place in Wingen during Operation 'Nordwind'. It is this wealth of knowledge—drawn from firsthand accounts by surviving soldiers on both sides and townsfolk who lived through these events—combined with our hosts’ eloquent and precise explanations, that made our visit far exceed all expectations.

I hope I can do it justice throughout this post and, along the way, help Jacky and Linda spread the word and keep alive the memory of what took place in Wingen 81 years ago.


HOW I GOT THERE

This is the book that put Wingen-sur-Moder on my radar. It was written by Wolf Zoepf who was second in command of the 3rd battalion, 12th regiment of the 6th SS Mountain Division 'Nord'. He wrote it after several visits back to Wingen during which he met US veterans who helped him clarify and complement his recollections about the tactical aspects of the battle. Jacky and Linda also got to meet him in person. Given his role during the battle, it was good that he took the time to document it because he died a month before his book was published in 2001.


THE HIGH LEVEL PICTURE

Operation 'Nordwind' took place between December 31st 1944 and January 25th 1945. It started two weeks after Operation 'Wacht am Rhein' (aka 'the Battle of the Bulge'). Both operations were called off concurrently. 
Operation 'Nordwind' was conceived as an opportunistic attack after the US had weakened their sector of the line north of Strasbourg in order to respond to the German offensive in the Ardennes, about 250 kilometers to the north. Not only was this sector weakened, but the Allied advance to capture Strasbourg had left their front protruding dangerously to the east surrounded by German forces on three sides. For Germany, recapturing this territory along with the destruction of several US divisions meant a stronger negotiating position as the tide of war continued to change rapidly. 
It is with this backdrop that a battalion of the 6th German SS Mountain Division descended into Wingen-sur-Moder moving southwards as part of a larger pincer movement meant to link up with other German divisions attacking north after breaking out of the Colmar area. Unfortunately for the Germans, despite the initial success, their attack was halted and repelled. For a more complete explanation of Operation 'Nordwind' here is a useful article. 
The fighting in the town of Wingen-sur-Moder itself took place between the very early hours of January 4th and the early hours of January 7th when the Germans retreated as stealthily as they had arrived through the heavily wooded hills on the north side of town. The fighting was intense. Of the approximate 725 Germans who attacked, only about 225 made it back to their lines, including the wounded who could walk. On the American side there were close to 250 casualties. In exchange for those losses, 306 GIs who had been initially taken prisoner during the battle were freed.
During my visit to Wingen I was trying to understand better what transpired during those intense 72 hours. 
You can also read a very good description of the battle at Wingen-sur-Moder here.

The above map comes from Wolf Zoepf's book. It shows the events of the 3rd day, but it is helpful to illustrate the overall situation. Wingen is a small town. It has a railway that divides it into a northern and a southern side. The north side has a main street running through it, which leads to an underpass beneath the railway that connects with the southern side. As the street comes out of the underpass it creates a 3-way intersection with a street leading east of town, and another one leading southwest of it. My visit was mostly focused on the southern side of town, although there was also significant fighting on the north side when the US forces counterattacked. On the southern side of town I mainly focused on the Church, the former Hotel Wenk, and the Bergmann House, highlighted in yellow above.

Here's a picture, courtesy of the Bergmanns, which shows the two main streets on the southern part of town. The photographer was facing east. The Bergmann house is in the foreground along a street running left to right and hardly visible due to the snow. Note the hole on the right wall of the house, about where the floor joists of the second floor would be. Keep that in mind when we talk a bit more about the Bergmann House towards the end of this post. Hotel Wenk is burning a short distance away, and the Catholic Church a bit farther. The town's main intersection and the railway underpass leading to it would be a bit to the left of where the picture ends. The street going from the intersection to the Hotel Wenk is clearer to see.

THE TOWN TODAY

This is the view shortly after coming out of the railway underpass at the main intersection and looking towards the former Hotel Wenk. Note how even today, the town is quite sparsely populated. 

This is the view from a street parallel to the railway line, looking east at the town's train stop. The railway and this street are also parallel to the street running in front of the former Hotel Wenk. The hills to the left are where the Germans came from during the early hours of January 4th 1945.

This is the view standing in front of the former Hotel Wenk facing west, towards the town's main intersection and the underpass connecting with the north side of town. The distance from here to the main intersection is likely less than 500 meters. If you want to get better oriented with the town you can 'visit' it using the google maps street view. Here's a link that drops you at street view at the main intersection.   

OUR LUCKY ENCOUNTER 

We arrived in Wingen on a beautiful winter morning, a few days before the 81st anniversary of the battle. We parked at the Town Hall and started walking looking for a church that I had seen in some pictures taken shortly after the battle. We must have looked slightly confused because some locals kindly offered us their help and after figuring out where to turn, we were on our way. To our surprise, a few minutes later, as we were approaching the church a car zipped into the parking lot and out of it jumped Jacky Bergmann, who was no less than the town's WWII historian! As it turns out, those locals who helped us with directions alerted the Bergmann's that some folks were in town looking for the church and they guessed correctly that we were on a WWII field trip and Jacky was there offering to give us a guided tour. This turned our visit into something exceptional!

THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Below, to the left is the picture of the church that I had found online. On the right is the church as it stands today. I found it quite sobering to stand and walk past this place where those two GIs fell. When the Germans first descended into town they captured about 300 unsuspecting GIs and they guarded them in this church. Apparently as some of them were being escorted there, one of these two GIs knelt to tie his boot and a rattled German fired on them. Not a glorious way to go, but representative of how sad and wasteful war can be.


One thing to note about how the Germans caught the US forces by surprise is that many of the civilians at Wingen had evacuated to neighboring villages several days before. They left when refugees fleeing the fighting to the north of Wingen came through town. So it is a little surprising that the Germans were able to overrun the US positions so quickly during the early hours of Jan 4th. Was that thanks to the prowess of the German attack? After all, the 6th SS Mountain Division was highly skilled at night infiltration through difficult terrain. Or does it reveal a level of insufficient preparedness on the side of the US forces? But let's also not forget \that the US forces were thinly spread out after troops were sent north to help stabilize the front at the Battle of the Bulge. Perhaps it was the perfect combination of factors?

This is the back side of the church. Jacky made the point of showing it to us as it is heavily pockmarked by small arms and machine gun fire - you can tell the difference in caliber by the size of the holes. The church changed hands at least twice during the battle and after it was recaptured by the Americans, the Germans were then kept there. 

Here is the church as seen from the street in front of the former Hotel Wenk. Note by the way that I have been referring to it as the Catholic Church. That is because farther south, behind the Hotel Wenk there is another church, the Protestant one. In this picture you can also see the memorial to the US troops involved in the battle. 

THE MEMORIAL

These memorial plaques are the direct result of the Bergmann's sustained efforts to commemorate and recognize the sacrifice of the US forces involved in liberating their town and to honor the endurance of the local civilians during WWII. The Bergmanns have done so much for this cause that Linda is affectionately referred to as “G Lady” by U.S. veterans, due to the close relationships she forged with veterans of G Company, 2nd Battalion, 274th Regiment of the 70th U.S. Infantry Division and their relatives.

Here is a closer look at the plaque dedicated to the 70th Infantry Division. The 70th Division is the unit that counterattacked starting the afternoon of January 4th 1945 and eventually drove the Germans out of Wingen. This plaque was dedicated 35 year ago, in 1991, 46 years after the battle. At the time the men of the 70th Division must have been in their late 60s or early 70s. 
Here is also a link to the 70th division's website documenting their memorial at Wingen, It includes a picture of Linda and town officials during one of the anniversary commemorations. 

This is the plaque commemorating the contributions of the 45th Infantry Division. The unit which was initially defending Wingen when the German attack descended on them. 

This plaque is dedicated to the 100th US Infantry Division which liberated Wingen a month before it was retaken by the Germans during Operation Nordwind. 

THE WENK HOTEL

Hotel Wenk served as the command post for the 3rd battalion of the 12th regiment, 6th SS Mountain Division while the Germans controlled the town. As such it suffered heavy damage and in some pictures you can see an intense fire consuming it.

After the battle, just a shell of the building remained. 

Today the former Hotel Wenk has become Restaurant Au Wingenerhof. If it weren't for the pictures above you would not be able to tell that it was reduced to a shell back in 1945.
By the way, note how the new name reflects the mixed heritage of the Alsace region which changed hands between France and Germany 4 times in the span of 75 years (1871-1945)

Restaurant Au Wingenerhof is where we stopped for lunch during our visit. The food there lived up to the French cuisine's delicious reputation.


THE MAISON BERGMANN MUSEUM

The Bergmann Museum at Wingen is a true labor of love. For years Jacky and Linda have been painstakingly collecting documents, photographs, film, and artifacts that tell the story of what happened during those fateful days in January 1945. This is a private, self-funded endeavor, housed in an extension to one of the original homes involved in the battle 81 years ago. 

It is hard to describe all the content and numerous pictures in detail. Suffice to say that when visiting in person they really help tell the story, not just of the places, and the battle movements, but also the participants involved.

US veteran groups have contributed some of their memorabilia.

Color-coded dots help identify the different buildings and places across the numerous pictures.

You could easily spend a couple hours just going through the content on these white walls. 

The opposing units' command hierarchies have also been meticulously documented.

All of the above was complemented by a highly knowledgeable and thorough explanation from the Bergmanns and enhanced with many personal first-hand anecdotes. And they don't do this just for visitors. They also take time to educate the local students about these events.

Some of the German artifacts in their collection. Much of it left behind after the hasty retreat.

Many of these items were found in the surrounding hills in the years that followed the war.

German entrenching tools, inert US hand grenade, ammo belt and clip, etc.

They even have a VCR and TV setup where you can watch original footage of film recorded by the combat cameramen of the 70th Infantry Division right after the battle. 
You can see more of this footage here.


MAISON BERGMANN
(The Bergmann House)

One of the most interesting aspects of our visit was the fact that we ended up inside one of the actual homes where the battle took place. After touring the museum, Linda and Jacky were kind enough to invite us into their home for coffee. This ended up being an amazing treat, not just because of the amazing display of hospitality, the tasty cookies of the traditional Alsatian sweets, but because we also got to learn in great detail about the events that transpired in their actual home. 

The Bergmann House is where Jacky's mother lived and it is also the home where he grew up. Growing up he learned much about the battle around town and the buildings that played a significant role, like the Church and Hotel Wenk. He also knew that there had been some fighting in their own home because a shell from a Sherman tank had exploded in their basement. He also heard from his mother that after the battle they had to take out buckets full of  shell casings which they dumped into the craters left behind by explosions in their garden. And they had also heard a story about how after the US forces retook the house, they had used a dead German soldier as protection when firing from one of the windows in their home. Years later, as Jacky and Linda began to research and document the events that transpired at Wingen, they came across the picture below. 

Initially it did not seem like anything more than just one more picture of the battle. As time went by, Jacky began realize that window was the second floor window of their house which faces north. One of the clues is the panes of broken glass which were patched with that cardboard material. As it turns out, years later when the windows were replaced, they were stored the attic and Jacky was able to corroborate that those were the same windows depicted in the picture, still with the cardboard attached to them. Jacky took me upstairs and from there it was fairly obvious why the US troops had chosen that location as the station for their machine gun. It provided a great field of fire that covered both the street leading up to the Wenk Hotel, the railway embankment above it, and the surrounding hills beyond. Those hills were being used by the Germans to target anything approaching from the west and I am fairly certain that this machine gun position helped negate that advantage. 

It is from standing in spots such as the window at the second floor of the Bergmann House and hearing the rich details of what transpired there that you begin to grasp what actually took place there. I am extremely appreciative towards Jacky and Linda for opening their home to a curious WW2 hobbyist and sharing all their knowledge and personal anecdotes. This was an extremely enlightening and rewarding experience. If you ever want to learn more about the events that took place at Wingen-sur-Moder you should definitely look them up and visit their Museum. As mentioned before, it is a true labor of love and on behalf of all people interested in WW2 I thank them for covering this subject so well and keeping the memory of this battle and its participants alive. 

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Click here to see a post about the West Wall museum at Pirmasens
Click here to see a post about the British Airborne museum at Arnhem
Click here to see a post about the rocket museum at Peenemunde

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