Hatten (; gsw-FR, Hàtte) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Bas-Rhin Bas-Rhin (; Alsatian: ''Unterelsàss'', ' or '; traditional german: links=no, Niederrhein; en, Lower Rhine) is a department in Alsace which is a part of the Grand Est super-region of France. The name means 'Lower Rhine', referring to its low ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administra ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

,INSEE commune file
/ref> some fifteen kilometres (nine miles) to the south of

Wissembourg Wissembourg (; South Franconian: ''Weisseburch'' ; German: ''Weißenburg'' ) is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in Grand Est in northeastern France. It is situated on the little river Lauter close to the border between France and Germany a ...

Geography

Positioned at the northern edge of the Forest of Hagenau, the village is on the edge of the Alsace Plain, although the agricultural landscape surrounding this village and its immediate neighbors is one of rolling hills.

History

Second World War

In 1939, because Hatten was on the Maginot Line, the authorities had arranged for the town's 1,500 inhabitants to be evacuated to

Châteauponsac Châteauponsac (; ), also known locally as Château Lorraine, is a commune in the Haute-Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in western France. Geography The river Semme flows westward to the north of the commune, then forms part ...

in the

Limousin Limousin (; oc, Lemosin ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. On 1 January 2016, it became part of the new administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienn ...

region, six hundred kilometers to the southwest. Evacuees had been restricted to one suitcase per person, and so were obliged to leave behind most of their possessions. However, after July 1940, the village had survived the invasion of France undamaged; therefore, the residents were able to return to Hatten, since the whole of

Alsace Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...

had then reverted to its pre-

1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...

status as a part of Germany. On December 13, 1944, after four years of occupation, the village had been liberated without any fighting by the Americans and the residents looked forward to the resumption of peace. However, in January 1945, the Germans had launched one of their final counter-offensives under the name of Operation North Wind, with the intention of retaking Strasbourg. Hatten was on the route of the German columns and thus, the village had found itself at the heart of the battle. During the fierce tank battles between the Germans and the Americans that had taken place over the course of twelve days in the middle of January, 350 of the 365 houses which had inhabited the village had been destroyed. Along with 2,500 military deaths, 83 civilians in Hatten had perished. Many US or other allied troops were stationed there and counterattacked the Germans. One troop that won a Purple Heart, is Clayborn Cooley who was hit by a bullet while stationed at the 45th artillery division. This is just one of the many who fought bravely that day. Many call this part of

Battle Of The Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive, was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II. The battle lasted from 16 December 1944 to 28 January 1945, towards the end of the war in ...

. Many of the Allied troops stationed there were not prepared for war. They thought that the front lines would be in Strasbourg and they were just peacekeeping. The village was rebuilt after the war.

Geography

History

Second World War

See also