The southeastern boundary of Alsace is only 150 miles from Lyon and 40 miles from Dijon. Germany annexed this portion of France along the Rhine River after Paris fell in 1940 and drafted 130,000 young Alsatians into its armed forces with 40,000 of those dying in the war. By late November 1944, French and American troops had cleared most German forces from this easternmost French territory and it seemed the whole of Alsace would be cleared in a matter of days. The war's focus soon shifted northward, however, when the Germans mounted their Battle of the Bulge' and the Allies were not able to eliminate German resistance in the Colmar Pocket until February 2, 1945, at the cost of 8,000 American and 16,000 French casualties. This fight was the last on French soil in the war. Today Colmar is a beautiful city of half-timbered homes with the legacy of its being French and German in its past. The city is only 45 miles from Basel, Switzerland and 20 miles from the German university city of Freiburg. Visitors will enjoy that Colmar is also considered the center of the Alsatian wine country, almost exclusively dry white wines. Lots of aromatic fruit brandies, too!

Another exceptional city, Strasbourg, is located only 40 miles north of Colmar, directly on the Rhine River and border with Germany. The Cathedral of Notre Dame was begun in the 11th Century and underwent a comprehensive renovation a decade ago. Several wonderful museums are within a few blocks of the cathedral, usually along streets lined with 16th Century homes. Strasbourg is home to the political organ of the European Union, the European Parliament. Very colorful Alsatian pottery is made and sold in Soufflenheim, about 25 miles north of Strasbourg, and visitors will not want to experience Alsace without taking a few pieces home.

An American military cemetery is located 150 miles north of Colmar and 115 miles northwest of Strasbourg, on the east side of Luxemboury City. Many of the 5,076 heroes buried here served in Gen. George Patton's Third U.S. Army which helped fight back the savage German counteroffensive in the Battle of the Bulge' and GEN Patton is buried prominently among his soldiers. Luxembourg City is 3 miles to the west and home to the Grand Ducal Palace built in the Spanish Renaissance style from 1572-1574 and the Notre Dame cathedral built from 1613-1621. The city is only 25 miles from the ancient Roman outpost in Trier, Germany and the beginning of the Moselle River's vineyards and vintners.

The site where WWII ended in Europe is 100 miles southwest of Luxembourg City - Reims. On May 8, 1945, German officers representing the German government surrendered unconditionally to Gen. Eisenhower's headquarters in a small schoolhouse in Reims. Visitors may enter the room where the surrender occurred and still see the room the way it was on that day, maps on the walls and desks and chairs filled with the equipment and paper of a military headquarters commanding millions of troops. Reims' cathedral in the center of town even retains the very visible bullet holes of WWI and WWII. The city is in the center of the French champagne region and home to several vintners' caves filled with millions of champagne bottles. Tours and tasting are available!

The Allies' seizure of the eastern regions of France by the late fall of 1944 appeared to mean the end of the war was imminent but the massive 'Battle of the Bulge' and the savage fighting around Colmar proved that conclusion wrong; the Rhine was still a barrier to Germany. See the World War II history .... and history and culture of many centuries.

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