Hill 400, Bergstein

Today's view of the top of Hill 400 with bunker and Krawutschke Tower

Concrete blocks in the wood just below the top of Hill 400

Hill 400 (German: Burgberg) is the name given by Allied forces during World War II to a 400.8 metres (1,315 ft)^[1] high hill located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) east of the centre of Bergstein, a village in the Eifel region of Germany.

The hill, which in medieval times was the site of Berenstein Castle, as well as a section of the Siegfried Line from the Second World War, now has an observation tower at the summit.

After Berenstein Castle was destroyed around the year 1200, the material was used to build Nideggen Castle and the tower of the church in Bergstein.

Today this hill is predominantly called by its civil name Burgberg (English: 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 Hürtgen Forest in 1944.

Location

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.

History

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."

Dramatization

• The Battle for Hill 400 was featured as a singleplayer level in Call of Duty 2.
• The Battle for Hill 400 is replicated in a multiplayer map in the Red Orchestra mod Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 and in the Red Orchestra 2 mod Heroes of the West.
• The battle was featured on the History Channel series Shootout!, in the episode "WWII Assault on Germany".

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

References

1. ↑ Map services of the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Burgberg (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.

Coordinates: 50°41′42″N 6°26′31″E / 50.695°N 6.442°E / 50.695; 6.442