Located near Alsace in Eastern France, the Colmar Pocket was the site of a ten-day battle during the Second World War that saw four divisions of the French Army and an entire Corps from the U.S. Army overwhelm German resistance. Capital Strasbourg Area 8,280 km² Regional President Adrien Zeller Population  - 2004 estimate  - 1999 census  - Density 1,793,000 1,734,145 209/km² Arrondissements 13 Cantons 75 Communes 903 Départements Bas-Rhin Haut-Rhin Alsace (French: Alsace; Alsatian/German: Elsass) is a région and also a province... Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ... The French Army (Armée de Terre) is one component of the French Armed Forces. ... The Army is the branch of the United States armed forces which has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ...

A bridgehead forty miles long and twenty-five miles deep on the west bank of the Rhine, was surrounded by the First French Army when the Germans decided to break out to supplement the troops now faltering in the Ardennes Offensive. The U.S. 3rd Infantry Division was re-routed to help the French retain the Germans, through an attack against the forest of Bois de Riedwihr, while the French armour captured the village of Colmar. A bridgehead is literally a military fortification that protects the end of a bridge that is closest to the enemy. ... The Rhine canyon (Ruinaulta) in Graubünden in Switzerland Length 1,320 km Elevation of the source Vorderrhein: approx. ... The term Ardennes Offensive (or Battle of the Ardennes) refers to multiple battles throughout history, all of which took part in or around the Ardennes Forest in France and Belgium. ... Shoulder sleeve patch of the United States Army 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized). ... Houses on a canal, Colmar Location within France Colmar is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin département of Alsace, France. ...

The Battle

On January 23, following the capture of the forested area, the 30th Regiment met 10 German tanks and tank destroyers as well as their accompanying infantry. Without cover and unable to dig foxholes due the frozen terrain, the unit was forced to withdraw taking heavy casualties. The 15th Regiment made the same attempt the following day, but saw 102 of their 120 men shot before reaching their assigned vantage-point, where they spent the night before being reinforced with two Tank Destroyers from the 601st Tank Destroyer Battalion Self-propelled anti-tank vehicles, generally known as tank destroyers, are a type of armoured fighting vehicle, used primarily in the defensive role in destroying enemy tanks. ...

The Aftermath

After the battle, the French granted the members of the US Division the right to wear the Croix de Guerre, and the President awarded the division as an entity the Distinguished Unit Citation The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ...