Tête du Coquin summit & bunker, Vosges

After their failures in August 1914 with the Charmes battle, and in September 1914 (battle of the Marne, Haute-Meurthe battle), the Germans must pull back in Lorraine almost to the old frontier close to Senones and the Chapelotte pass. On the Vosges slopes, they withdraw and settle on the mountain ridges. The front is stabilized in this sector at the end of September. The German consolidate their positions by building shelters and observatories bunkers.

Nevertheless, the unnecessary and costly local fighting will continue till the end of the war.

La Tête du Coquin (844m) is a conglomerate stone, 15m high, sculpted by the erosion of the red sandstone rock.

On its top was constructed by the Germans in October 1914 a artillery observation blockhaus. Around you can also find concrete shelters, connected to the observatory bunker by a protected staircase carved out in the rock.

This shelter became a refuge of the Club Vosgien.

More recently, a metal bridge has been put in place, securing access.