For those of you who know me, you know I'm a history nerd, especially dealing with military history. You'd be dissapointed to learn that before this trip, I didn't know what the Battle of the Bulge was, or its importance to the war. For those that share that unfortunate trait: here's the abbreviated Cliff's Notes: Towards the end of the war, after the Allies had already landed at Normandy, Hitler decided he wanted to make one last offensive through Belgium, cut off supply lines from the Northern sea ports in Belgium, and then execute a flanking maneuver South. He would have been successful, if American troops hadn't dug themselves in like a hungry tick in a little Belgian town near the German border called Bastogne. If you've ever watched the "Band of Brothers" mini-series, this is where the action is set, as I understand. As the Germans swept past and completely enveloped the town moving further Westward, the order was given to circle back and attack the Americans there. The paratroopers from the 101st and several other units fought and fought through nasty winter weather and intense bombardments until help arrived in the form of Patton and his troops. All the fighting wore the German troops down, stalled them in their tracks, and they never made their objective. This marked the last major offensive effort of Hitler's, making pretty much everything after that a defensive fight. The fight was called 'the Battle of the Bulge' not for some landscape feature or fat General, but rather that was the form that the German offensive line took, as it bulged out, enveloped Bastogne, and then got beaten back.
The people of Bastogne are still incredibly grateful for our help in saving their town, although they took big losses to do so, too. Incredibly, they have tons of WWII memorabilia on display in several museums, and took wrecked and ruined tanks from the area and made memorials out of them. The tank with the brand-new paint job downtown has at least three spots where shells entered, including one that hit the engine, making it unusable. Elsewhere in town, there are streets named after US states. The town itself has an unofficial nickname, "Nuts City," after the American General when asked by the German General to surrender, who replied simply (and in the negative) "NUTS." Patton was impressed with his eloquence.
This large grey cross overlooks the German cemetery. Its nicely done, but a very simple affair. The German government couldn't afford to put this cemetery together at the end of the war, so private citizens promoting peace did. If you look carefully, you'll see multiple names on one cross in the German cemetery, speaking to the lack of funds. Soldiers here were either buried on top of each other in the same hole, or side by side and marked with one marker to save money. Both sides of the grave markers are used for names. Notice all the leaves laying around, too. Although there wasn't a German flag to be found, there was a group of three German soldiers in uniform picking up leaves that day, but they were fighting a losing battle. Now notice the American cemetery:
The American flag flys proudly atop a tall flagpole. The Marines place the memorial flowers in the chapel for the ambassador to Luxembourg (in the boots and black cape). Can anyone tell me how to get that job?? (Luxembourg may be one of Europe's tiniest countries, but it's also one of the prettiest.)
Air Force folks from a nearby base stand during the ceremony, while the honor guard posts the colors. It was very cold and windy during all this. These folks had a lot of discipline just to be able to stand still.
Notice how impeccable this cemetery is kept- nicer than most golf courses. Despite this place being surrounded by a forest, there are no leaves to be found, and the grass is still green.
Kristin fraternizes with the Army reenactors. And a shot of the chapel's interior.
Kristin stands next to rows and rows of crosses. This is a shot of the side of the chapel.
General Patton's grave stands at the head of them all. (As he might have liked it.) He was originally one of the many anonymous crosses out in the field his cross now overlooks, but so many people were coming to see his grave, that they were wearing down the grass in that one spot. Patton was killed just a few months after the war in Germany in a car wreck. He wanted to be buried here.
We love tanks! A tank and a turret a little farther beyond. Kristin stands next to the tank with the new paint job downtown.
The church downtown took some hits during the war, and during the refurbishing, an anonymous artist painted the great seal of the United States onto a corner vault of the ceiling in the back of the church.
One of the old towers that flanked either side of a medieveal gate in the old town. The town used to be ringed by a nice wall, but the wall was knocked down and the stone used for building. This is one of very few structures left from the Medieval (I think) period. The statuary was all that was left of a WWI memorial that took damage when the church was hit in WWII.
A waffle eater caught in the act. Belgian Waffles are the best. They have little chunks of sugar in them!
The WWII museum in Bastogne is near the memorial, and is atop a local hill. When you climb up to the top of the memorial, you get a great vantage point from which to view the battleground, with all of the open fields and lines of trees still pretty much looking the way they did back then.
Our guide (bottom) was 9 years old when the Battle of the Bulge happened, and served as a guide for American troops back then. His dad was killed accidentally by US troops, and yet he still loves the USA.
The interior of the chapel at the Bastogne memorial features a plaque in the floor and three modernist mosaics by a famous French artist. I'm not big on modern art, so I didn't remember the name. He did one for each alter, for each major faith group.
The Bastogne memorial is in a five point star shape. The view from the top. Man was it cold up there. The cold wind a sometimes rain throughout the day helped lend a little reality and perspective to what the soldiers were fighting through. It was a good education.
Some of the open fields surrounding the town, looking much the same as they did back then.
Proof positive not all Hollywood types are fruitcakes: Notice on the plaque on bottom that the first names appearing on this monument to the 101st Airborne troopers are "Mr. & Mrs. Tom Hanks from Hollywood California"
Just beyond the plaque and down the road a bit, Our tour guide led us off into these somewhat gloomy and lonely woods. The road we were on was one of the minor roads leading into town, so we stationed some of our troops there in WWII to keep the Germans from entering town. To keep safe from enemy fire and to conceal themselves, they dug out and built up with logs and mud around them, "fox holes"- big enough for two men. They couldn't even light a fire to keep warm, for fear the light would draw enemy fire and give away their positions. It's hard to get scale for these holes, even with Kristin or me standing next to or in them, but they're still highly recognizable, 60+ years later.
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