Guided WWII Battlefield Tour in Alsace
Colmar Pocket Battlefield Tour
From €549
5 Hours
English
Private Tour
Colmar Pocket Tour Description
The Colmar Pocket is one of the most overlooked campaigns of the Western Front — and one of the most brutal. Between November 1944 and February 1945, Allied forces fought village by village through Alsace to destroy the German 19th Army and reach the Rhine. Total casualties on both sides exceeded 59,000. Four Medals of Honour were awarded. Heinrich Himmler directed German ground operations in person, and almost nobody has heard of it.
This guided Colmar Pocket battlefield tour covers seven stops in chronological order across the key sites in Alsace — from the 1940 Maginot casemate at Marckolsheim, through the Ill River crossings at Sélestat, the Sherman memorial at Kaysersberg, and Audie Murphy's stand at Holtzwihr. It ends at Jebsheim — the "Alsatian Verdun," where the Pocket finally broke, and the road to the Rhine opened.
Tour Highlights
Four Medals of Honour. 59,000 casualties. The forgotten winter campaign of the West
Walk the ground where Audie Murphy made his famous one-man stand near Holtzwihr
An M4A4 Sherman at the gates of Kaysersberg— where American and French forces broke into the wine country
Jebsheim's Mill Cross memorial— every unit, three armies, one inscription
Seven battlefield stops in chronological order — from the Maginot Line to Jebsheim
Can't Find a Date That Works?
Get in touch, and we'll find a date that works for you —Reserve Your Place on the Colmar Pocket Battlefield Tour
Contact us.
info@onthefront.com
+49 (0)152 0468 9477
(Available on WhatsApp)
Tour Itinerary
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![New Synagogue]()
Maginot Casemate 35/3 — Marckolsheim
You begin in 1940, at a Maginot casemate on the Rhine — where the German invasion first broke into France. Five years later, the war comes back to this same river.
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![River and road bridge at Sélestat, Alsace, where US infantry forced the Ill crossings in December 1944 during the Colmar Pocket.]()
Sélestat — Block by Block
December 1944. Sélestat controls the roads feeding the German 19th Army. American infantry fight block by block, charging tanks through roadblocks under fire to force the river crossings.
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![tone bridge parapet in Alsace pitted with shrapnel and bullet scars from the 1944–45 Colmar Pocket fighting.]()
Kaysersberg — The Sherman at the Gate
An American M4A4 Sherman stands at the town gate, where American and French forces broke into the wine country. You stand at the machine, on the ground its crews crossed.
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![American memorial above Sigolsheim, US flag and unit-insignia walls overlooking the Colmar Pocket battlefield and the Vosges.]()
Sigolsheim — "Bloody Hill"
On Hill 351 — "Bloody Hill" — Able Company is cut off in the village below. Out of ammunition and surrounded, the survivors are captured, then interrogated by Himmler himself.
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![Berlin’s Oldest Jewish Cemetery]()
Bennwihr — The Village That Burned
House by house, the village is destroyed overnight — by dawn, rubble on fire. Here Staff Sergeant Gus Kefurt earns the Medal of Honour, and is killed leading the fight.
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![Audie Murphy's Memorial]()
Holtzwihr — Audie Murphy's Stand
26 January 1945. Audie Murphy climbs onto a burning tank destroyer, alone, and turns its gun on German infantry at ten yards. Wounded, he holds the line — then counterattacks.
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![Inter-Allied Memorial at Jebsheim — red sandstone cross inscribed 'Jebsheim 25–30 Jan 1945', a Colmar Pocket battlefield site.]()
Jebsheim — "The Alsatian Verdun"
The "Alsatian Verdun." Three armies fight street to street through frozen snow as the town changes hands again and again. When the line finally breaks, the road to the Rhine opens.
Why Choose Us?
Led personally by Matt Menneke — battlefield historian, featured on National Geographic and the Discovery Channel — guides this day himself, start to finish.
Historical storytelling at this level isn't dates and names. It's Audie Murphy climbing onto a burning tank, Able Company running out of ammunition
Engage in discussions and ask Matt anything about this pivotal battle!
Private tour: The day moves at your pace and goes as deep as you want — no shared coaches, no strangers, no fixed script.
Planning Your Tour
Meeting Point
This is a private tour, so we arrange the starting point around you. Most guests join us from one of three hubs — Colmar, Strasbourg, or Freiburg — and we sort the exact pick-up together once we know where you're staying.
Because every group travels differently, we confirm the meeting point, timing, and route with you directly when you book — so the day runs around your plans, not a fixed timetable.
Get in touch, and we'll build the day around where you are.
What’s Included
Private expert battlefield historian for the full day
Private vehicle and all travel between the seven sites
Hotel pick-up and drop-off (if you go with the pick-up model)
'Then & Now' battlefield photographs and maps
Bottle of water
What to Bring
Sturdy, comfortable shoes — terrain varies (vineyards, riverbanks, hill ground)
Warm, weatherproof clothing — much of the day is spent outdoors
Camera
Your questions about the Colmar Pocket
Cancellation
Free up to 48 hours before the tour
Pricing
Private tour from €549 — up to 4 guests. Larger groups by arrangement.
Frequently Asked Questions
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The Colmar Pocket was the last major German bridgehead west of the Rhine — a foothold in Alsace held by the German 19th Army from November 1944 until February 1945. Clearing it took some of the most brutal winter fighting on the Western Front, yet it remains one of the war's least-known campaigns.
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Audie Murphy earned the Medal of Honor at Holtzwihr, in the Colmar Pocket, on 26 January 1945. With his company reduced and German tanks and infantry advancing, the 19-year-old lieutenant climbed onto a burning tank destroyer and used its machine gun to hold off the attack alone, then led a counterattack. The field where he made his stand is a stop on this tour.
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In central Alsace, France, around the city of Colmar — between the Vosges mountains to the west and the Rhine to the east, close to the modern French–German border.
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Yes — the Colmar Pocket tour runs as a private tour only, for your group alone with a specialist battlefield guide. [CONFIRM: €549, up to 4 guests]
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The tour runs around five hours and covers seven battlefield stops in chronological order, from the 1940 Maginot casemate at Marckolsheim to the breaking of the Pocket at Jebsheim.
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The tour is conducted in English.
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We recommend ages 12 and up, with parental judgement. The tour covers the realities of combat and heavy casualties, handled with accuracy rather than sensationalism. As it travels between battlefield sites by vehicle, children need to be comfortable riding seated between stops.
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Comfortable shoes and weather-appropriate clothing — much of the battlefield is open, exposed Alsatian plain and can be cold or wet, especially in winter. Some stops involve walking on uneven ground.
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Free cancellation or rescheduling up to 48 hours before the tour
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Because this is a private tour, we build the start point around you. Most guests join from one of three hubs — Colmar, Strasbourg, or Freiburg — and we confirm the exact meeting point, timing, and route together once you book, so the day runs around your plans rather than a fixed timetable.
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Yes — once we know where you're staying. As a private tour, we arrange pick-up around your accommodation across the Colmar, Strasbourg, or Freiburg areas, and confirm the details with you directly when you book.
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