Hurtigenwald-The Hurtgen Forest

Places you have visited,recommend etc.
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Gren.Johannes
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Jan 12, 2008 11:18 pm
Location: Monchengladbach Germany

Hurtigenwald-The Hurtgen Forest

Post by Gren.Johannes »

Hello There ,
Last Sunday i visited the Hurtgenwald along with a small but nice Museum in the nearby village .
What a awesome forest , so deep . With many ww2 Bunkers in very good condition and not vandalised at all , all the bunkers had the original green paint still very visible along with bunker number and unit markings , you can go inside them but i would reccomend a torch .
Along with the bunkers quite plainly you can see dug fortifications and rifle pits , this area is so deep we walked for three hours and saw no-one .
Next time we go i am taking a metal detector !!
A local guide came with us and showed all the ''hotspots'' especially the 1/16 gradient hill where tanks and vehicles had to go up , i really could not imagine the devastation that happened all around
and the forest totally destroyed , all the trees were post war as the entire forest was almost destroyed .
In the nearby village there is a small museum with many artifacts and original kit found in the ''forest''
along with personal kit of allies and axis soldiers , interestying to see were the sdoldbuchs with pictures of friends and family inserted into them .
Very nearby is the Windhunde memorial and soldiers memorials and for those who are interested the last surviving members of the Windhunde will be there at a dedication ceremony in October .
Photos to be posted later
Sattellite co-ordinates for the bunkers to be posted later .
john
Hoffman Grink

Re: Hurtigenwald-The Hurtgen Forest

Post by Hoffman Grink »

Just a small word
I have visited this area many times over the years - It is beautiful and it is sombre when you think of all the men and boys who lost their lives in those fields and forests and ravines - The Windhund Veteraner are not happy with re-enactment and will not readily welcome "sightseers" at their Treffe.

I'm not saying don't go but I am saying be VERY respectful and don't expect too much.

I give you this advice from experience.
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wolfsangel
Posts: 652
Joined: Tue Jan 17, 2006 11:37 pm
Location: bristol

Re: Hurtigenwald-The Hurtgen Forest

Post by wolfsangel »

You are talking about the museumin Vossenack.

I've been there a couple of times, I think hte museum is only open on Sundays they are quite helpful though if you want to go for a bit of a walk and find the few remaining bunkers they will give you directions if you ask politely

last time I was there I met a volkstrum veteran that had lived and fought in vossenack
Frontschweine, Regiment 409
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f.knieriemen
Posts: 125
Joined: Mon Jul 05, 2010 9:04 am

Re: Hurtigenwald-The Hurtgen Forest

Post by f.knieriemen »

I live in this area - so whenever you intend to take a visit, let me know ;)
btw - not only the Windhund Veterans, also other locals are pretty sensitive wrt 2nd world war. Be careful with the idea running around with a metal detector - it's strictly forbidden, and dangerous - there are still lots of explosives out there. And always bear in mind - some of this stuff you can't detect very well such as the mines type "Glasmine 43"...
Beside the weird stuff the area as such is also great - close by you'll find the "Ordensburg Vogelsang", you can have a walk on the famous "Siegfriedline" or visit the Ardennes with lots of museums and points of interest as well.

Maybe I see you once around ;)
cheers
Fritze
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