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Rhine Battle Walks

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France
Colmar
Rhine Battle Walks

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Offering guided tours of the Rhine battlefields of WW1, WW2, Napoleonic and Franco-Prussian Wars.

21/09/2026

It’s always extremely rewarding when a tourist picks up on something I work very hard to bring to every tour: making the history relevant to the individual I am guiding.

Here is a review I got a while back during a private walking tour of Colmar:
“Was well versed, knowledgeable, and entertaining. Learned a good amount about Colmar history. Was able to provide details about my specific interests and very personable.”

That’s part of what makes guiding fun as no two groups come with the same interests or questions.

A tour should not only be a planned script from beginning to conclusion. If someone is curious about a certain building, or period, or person, or facet of history, I want to be able to go along that thread and explore with them.

Thank you very much to my guest for taking the time to post such a kind report.

11/09/2026

Another workshop at the Citadelle de Belfort last week, this time taking things back to the opening years of the French Revolution.

Here I am representing a sergeant of the former Régiment de Ch*****ne, one of the old Royal Army regiments, which became the 7e Régiment d’Infanterie during the Revolution.

For the workshop, I had laid out a table with the clothing, weapons, equipment and everyday accessories used by French infantrymen of the period. But one of the main things I wanted to explain was that the Revolutionary army did not suddenly appear from nowhere.

The professional soldiers of the old Royal Army, still recognisable in their white uniforms, provided much of the experience, discipline and military knowledge that formed the backbone of the early Republican armies. Alongside them came the new volontaires, often with little previous military experience, wearing the blue coats that we now associate much more readily with the armies of Revolutionary and Napoleonic France.

That contrast is one of the most interesting aspects of the period: experienced professional soldiers inherited from the monarchy serving alongside enthusiastic citizen volunteers in an army, and a country, undergoing enormous change.

A uniform tells part of the story. But when you can also show people the musket, cartridge box, clothing, equipment and everyday objects a soldier carried, the history becomes much more tangible. You begin to see not just “the Revolutionary Army”, but the individual soldier who had to wear, carry and use all of it. Within only a few years, these very different elements would be brought together to form the armies that fought across Europe.

It is also another reminder that Rhine Battle Walks is not only about the First World War. Eastern France has layer upon layer of military history — Revolutionary, Napoleonic, Franco-Prussian and twentieth-century — and Belfort is one of those places where those different periods constantly overlap.

Many thanks again to the Citadelle de Belfort for inviting me to take part.

10/08/2026

A view can explain why a battlefield mattered.

This photograph was taken from the former German front line trench towards the eastern end of the Hartmannswillerkopf battlefield.

We recently had the pleasure of guiding a group of Swiss school pupils here as part of their summer journey along the Western Front — a journey that will eventually take them all the way to the North Sea in Belgium.

Behind them stretches the southern Alsatian plain. Mulhouse can be seen spread out to the left. Further away lie Switzerland and the Black Forest, in what is now often called the Three Borders region.

Today, it is a beautiful view. During the First World War, it was much more than that.

From positions such as this, soldiers could observe movement across the plain, watch roads and settlements, direct artillery fire, and understand the wider geography of the front.

The Hartmannswillerkopf was not fought over only because it was a mountain. It mattered because of what could be seen from it. Observation meant information. Information could mean artillery fire. And artillery fire could mean control, destruction, fear, and survival.

For students walking the Western Front, places like this help connect the local battlefield to the wider geography of the war.

The trenches of the Vosges were not isolated from the rest of the front. They formed part of a vast line stretching across landscapes, borders, languages, armies and memories.

Standing in this trench, looking out over Alsace, Switzerland and the Black Forest, helps make that larger story visible.

A map can show where the front was.

But standing on the ground helps explain why it mattered.

German Front Line Trench
Hartmannswillerkopf / Vieil-Armand, Alsace

24/07/2026

A map can explain a battlefield. But the ground makes you understand it.

This is Roche Sermet, on the Hartmannswillerkopf.

Seen from a distance, the mountain is often described in simple terms: summit, slopes, trenches, observation points, French lines, German lines.

But standing here changes the way the battlefield is understood.
The ground is steep, broken, rocky, exposed and enclosed all at once. A few metres can mean the difference between cover and visibility, safety and danger, control and vulnerability.

The Hartmannswillerkopf was not an abstract line on a map.

It was a mountain of stone, forest, mud, snow, mist, artillery fire, machine guns, observation posts, shelters, trenches and exhausted men.

Places like Roche Sermet help us understand why this battlefield was so difficult to fight over.

- Visibility could change in minutes.
- Movement was physically demanding.
- Positions were close together.
- Artillery could turn a shelter into a tomb.

This is why walking the ground is so important.

A battlefield visit is not only about dates, units and movements. It is about understanding how terrain shaped decisions, limited options, increased fear, and made certain places worth defending at terrible cost.

At Rhine Battle Walks, the aim is to help visitors move beyond the map and into the landscape itself.

Because military history is not only written in archives.
It is also written into the ground beneath our feet.

19/07/2026

Not all those who served on the Western Front carried ri**es.

Although Noyelles-sur-Mer is rather far from the Rhine, Rhine Battle Walks sometimes follows the history wherever it leads.

This weekend, I was hired by a tour company to accompany a group of Chinese visitors to the Chinese Cemetery of Nolette, near Noyelles-sur-Mer, and to tell them the story of the Chinese Labour Corps during the First World War.

The men of the Chinese Labour Corps were not combat soldiers, but their work was essential. They unloaded ships, moved supplies, repaired roads and railways, worked in camps and depots, handled mu*****ns, and later helped clear the devastated battlefields of the Western Front.

At Noyelles-sur-Mer, the British established a major camp and hospital for Chinese workers. Thousands passed through the area, and many never returned home.

The cemetery contains the graves of 842 Chinese workers, many of whom died from illness, exhaustion, and the consequences of their service far from home.

For Chinese visitors, standing in this place is a powerful experience. It reminds us that the First World War was not only a European war, and that its history was shaped not only by soldiers, but also by thousands of men whose labour made the war effort possible.

The men buried at Nolette were not soldiers in the usual sense.

But they served.

And they deserve to be remembered.

📍 Chinese Cemetery of Nolette
Noyelles-sur-Mer, France

11/02/2026

A fantastic tour of historic Colmar with the Littles from Raleigh, North Carolina! 🇺🇲

31/01/2026

Starting 2026 in the best way — in our hometown!

We’re beyond excited to announce that we’ve partnered with LocalCityWalks.com to bring our tours to Colmar — our charming, colorful, historic hometown! 🏘️💛

Come wander the cobblestone streets, discover hidden gems, and experience Colmar like a local (because we are locals!).

📅 Book your tour today: https://www.localcitywalks.com/

07/11/2025

And that's another year wrapped up at Hartmannswillerkopf 1914-1918!

01/10/2025

Nouvelle mission, nouveau lieu...

À Paris pour les deux prochains jours sur les traces de la Révolution de Juillet 1830.

05/09/2025

Outing at the Hartmannswillerkopf 1914-1918 battlefield with a group of visitors from the Czech Republic.

As you can see, we have been lucky with the weather today. The last couple of weeks have been quite damp here in Alsace.

Want to visit the different battlefields along the Vosgian Line? Don't hesitate to get in touch to discuss your needs.

Adresse

Nohlen-Weg
Colmar
68000

Heures d'ouverture

Lundi	09:00 - 17:00
Mardi	09:00 - 17:00
Mercredi	09:00 - 17:00
Jeudi	09:00 - 17:00
Vendredi	09:00 - 17:00
Samedi	09:00 - 14:00

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