The Battle of the Bulge
Trip Start
Aug 26, 2010
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5
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Trip End
Sep 07, 2010
Bastogne, The Ardennes, Belgium
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Side note: (It's unusually cold in Europe this week, the high today was 55 degrees with mostly overcast sky's. And it's August, I can't imagine winter here. It already feels like late October in Virginia. I'm hoping the weather clears up for the coming days.)
Our guide then led us to the northern edge of the battle of the bulge. En route, we passed through a round-a-bout that is literally on the border with Germany, entering the country for a few seconds. It's quite impressive that there are no 'borders' between the countries of the European Union. In fact the EU just passed a resolution that all citizens have the right to paid vacation. And here I am on vacation from the 'first world' US w/o paid leave...
I have studied WW2 extensively, but when it comes to the Battle of the Bulge, I have always focused on the siege of Bastogne, where my grandfather fought. It was fascinating to learn the history of the northern end of the battle. One of the more interesting stories was how a group of 28 men halted the advance of the Germany Army for an entire day, fighting from one hilltop. We also visited the scene of the Malmedy Massacre, where the german SS executed 120 American prisoners of war. This was the largest, but only one of the many examples of Germans executing large numbers of american POW shortly after surrendering.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre
We went on to visit St. Vith, Legleize, and various other sites. We toured a battlefield, with intact foxholes, both German and American left over from the war. The battlefield is located on a active Belgian Army firing range. It was spooky to walk around the battlefield, deep in the forest, on a damp cold day with the sounds of gun fire in the near distance. It was also impressive to see the damage that artillery can inflict on the land scape. Especially when taken into account that this is what it looks like 65 years later. (One crater from the winter of 44/45 was big enough to bury an SUV)
We concluded our tour at a Museum for the battle of the bulge. Outside the museum sits a German King Tiger tank, the largest tank of WW2. It's truly an awesome sight, I couldn't fathom the fear it would cause in the midst of a battle. The front armor is 7 inches thick, and impossible to penetrate. The tank weights nearly 70 tons. I'll be sure to include a picture. I tried to get a picture beside the tank, but it was raining to heavily as we were leaving,
I'm completely exhausted from the tail end of jet lag, lack of sleep last night and a long day. I had intended to only write a little for yesterdays (playing catch up today) and today's blogs. But I've decided to write as much as I can. Tomorrow we leave Bastogne and head to the country of Luxembourg, one of the smallest and wealthiest countries on earth. On the way, we are going to spend the morning at the site that my grandfather fought during the battle of the bulge. I can't wait!
And now, I'm off to sleep. I hope everyone is enjoying the NFL preseason. I only get two english channels here and they are both news channels...
Comments
My father was wounded in the Battle of the Bulge. This is very interesting to me.
Robin, where did he fight during the bulge? We have covered the north and central area's of the battle. Going to see the southern edge of the battle today. What unit was he with?
Hey Wynn, glad you're having a good trip. I can only imagine the thoughts and emotions experienced by everyone while touring the combat areas. This was a place of exemplary actions and absolute bravery. I think the sheer will of the American troops shocked even the German forces.
Thanks for sharing your trip with us.
I don't know....It is terrible but I don't know..He would never really talk about it. I
I am going to ask my oldest sister...maybe she will know...Have fun!