Height 17

Where the dune front meets the sea, there lies a round open plain that sometimes floods, the Seekessel. Nearby, the Germans occupy a high dune top they call Höhe 17, with a very good view over the dune front. The Höhe 17 is referred to by the French as La Grande Dune.
On the other side of the Seekessel were the Allies, hidden behind the dunes. A bit further lies the IJzer mouth.
Here, on July 10, 1917, Operation Strandfest took place, the assault and capture of the Allied bridgehead on the eastern bank of the Ijzer. This was also the first time mustard gas was used, later known as Ypresite.
Due to the strategic importance of the dune top Höhe 17, there were about 20 Allied attempts to recapture it. During one of the assaults, on January 28, 1915, the French troops were slaughtered, among them the 26-year-old lieutenant Pierre Thuret.
Initially, the Germans were taken by surprise by the attack and the French were able to take the dune top. Once they recovered from the surprise, the Germans fought back fiercely and were able to take a favorable position and from there simply mow down the French, who kept sending troops.
After the war, a monument was erected for Pierre Thuret, located today within the walls of the military barracks. The grave site became somewhat dilapidated over the years, but in 2007, the 14th Air Defense Artillery Regiment provided a new construction.
Next to the monument, a commemorative stone was also placed, a stone cross with the text "unknown French soldier – died for France," after playing children nearby the Thuret monument found remains of two French soldiers in July 1979 (!).
Photo: the German Marine Corps builds reinforced bunkers and trenches in the sand, high dune tops are used as observation posts and systematically reinforced (collection Ronny Van Troostenberghe).

Toerisme Middelkerke