Hill 400, Bergstein
Hill 400 is the name given by Allied forces during World War II to a 400 metres (1,300 ft) high hill located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the village center of Bergstein, Germany (near Brandenberg). Today this hill is predominantly called by its civil name Burgberg (English: castle mountain or castle hill). This small mountain provides a view over the entire Hürtgen Forest (German: Hürtgenwald) area and was strategically important as a vantage point and German artillery station during the Battle of Hurtgen Forest in 1944.
The Hürtgen Forest occupies a wooded plateau and its deep, heavily forested valleys between treeless ridgelines. Hill 400 dominates the area and is at the end of the Brandenberg–Bergstein ridge, next to the Rur valley.
On Thursday, December 7, 1944, the New York Times reported that the 2nd Ranger Battalion had captured Bergstein, and castle hill. In a follow up report on the December 11 the Times reported that "enemy attempts to regain Hill 400 east of Bergstein have been repulsed."
[edit] Dramatization
- The Battle for Hill 400 was featured as a singleplayer mission in Call of Duty 2.
- The Battle for Hill 400 is a multiplayer map in the Red Orchestra mod Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45.
- The battle was featured on the History Channel series Shootout!, in the episode "WWII Assault on Germany".
[edit] See also
- Hill 400 in Vietnam was a position alongside the Ho Chi Minh Trail; its role in the Vietnam War is addressed in the Vietnam in HD episode featuring Karl Marlantes
[edit] External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hill 400, Bergstein |
- Hopes Dashed in the Hürtgen By Edward G. Miller and David T. Zabecki, August 16, 2005, originally an article in World War II magazine
- Hill 400 photos
- Google maps hybrid view of Bergstein and Hill 400 directly east of it.
