Surrounded But Not Defeated
Visiting Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge battle grounds
Our last stop on our World War II trip to France and Belgium came to a close in the town of Bastogne. It was here that Germany mustered one last desperate offensive push in what is now known as the Battle of the Bulge.
In late 1944, Germany had lost significant territory to the Allies. The Normandy invasion had been so successful that, at times, the troops thought the war would be over by Christmas. But now, winter was closing in and they needed to regroup. Despite some setbacks, the Allies had successfully forced a German retreat out of France and to the eastern line along Belgium and Luxembourg.
Christmas was approaching and the troops were settling in for what would become one of the harshest European winters in history.
Hitler was desperate to turn the tide.
On December 16th, Germany made a blitz through the Adrennes forest. Thought to be impassable, the dense forest provided the cover Germany needed for its surprise offensive. They quickly fought through the undersupplied and unprepared Allied lines.
The goal was to cut off the Allied supply lines and retake the Belgian port of Antwerp. If successful, Hitler saw this as an opportunity to force the Allies to negotiate a peace treaty.
What they didn’t plan on was how fiercely the outnumbered, outgunned Allied troops would respond.
Arriving in Bastogne
We arrived in Bastogne mid-afternoon on a Wednesday in April. The weather was cooler after having left Lille earlier that day. Despite the cooler weather, the sun was out and we enjoyed a nice walk through the town center.
On our walk, we decided to visit the 101st Airborne Museum. For those unaware of the history of this location, the United State’s 101st Airborne played a huge role in repelling the Axis advances in this area.
On December 19, 1944, the 101st was quickly rushed into service by truck. Light on ammo and without proper winter clothing, they had little knowledge of what they were in for. By the 21st, the 101st was completely surrounded by the German forces.
Despite some of the worst conditions and circumstance of the war, they held out for weeks in the bitterly cold weather, fighting and delaying the Axis advance.
As mid-January approached the conditions started to improve. They had stood their ground against Hitler’s elite SS troops and came out on top.
The 101st Airborne Museum is housed in a building used by the German Army while it occupied Bastogne. Inside, it had all the usual uniforms, equipment, information, and stories that you’d expect. It really helped to bring home the situation that these brave men fought through as well as what it would have been like to live in this area at the time.
After our visit, we enjoyed a nice meal in town before retiring to the Hotel Wagon Leo for the evening.
The next morning, we woke up to some snow flakes and chilly damp weather. We would have preferred a warm spring day but this was more fitting for our historical tour. It seemed just the right type of weather to help further understand how this battlefield must have felt.
The Ardennes
One of the things that excited me most about visiting Bastogne, and perhaps right up there with visiting the D-Day beaches, was experiencing the Ardennes.
I’m a huge fan of the “Band of Brothers” HBO TV series and having the opportunity to stand in the locations where these troops dug in and held the line, fighting right on top of the enemy, brought chills.
It was incredible to see just how close and how difficult it could be to distinguish friend from foe. It wasn’t unusually to fall into an enemy foxhole or run into an enemy soldier while going to the bathroom.
We spent most of the day exploring the Luxembourg and Belgium forests and countryside as our tour guide explained the fighting and stories of this important time in the war.
Ally Victory
Despite Germany’s early success, they were not able to sustain their forward momentum. They would suffer from breakdowns and supply line problems. Trying to move over 400,000 men, 1400 tanks, and 2600 artillery pieces is an incredibly complex process and doing this through thick forests over several miles of territory was just too much.
By January, Germany was running out of time. The weather was starting to break and the Allies were able to drop supplies to the surrounded troops. On January 12th, German forces in Belgium began to retreat and the German offensive would officially end on the 25th.
In February, the Allies had recaptured all the territory lost during the Battle of Bulge. There was much more fighting to go before the war would end but this would be Germany’s last major push.
Their spirit now broken, it was just a matter of time before the war would end. Now, it was a race against Russia to get to Berlin.
Visting Bastogne
You’ll want at least 2 full days in Bastogne if you want to cover all the historical sites. We only had about 24 hours so we went to the 101st Airborne Museum, stopped at the Mardasson Memorial, and drove by the Bastogne Barracks.
We hired a tour guide to take us to several stops around Bastogne and into Luxembourg. I would recommend doing this too but we didn’t have great luck with our guide so I don’t have a recommendation.
During the tour we went to the Ardennes Forest and through a couple other towns where we could get a view of the battlefield.
For me, the Battle of the Bulge Memorial Trail was my favorite stop. It takes you through portions of the Ardennes where you can see the foxholes and just how closely the two sides faced off. There are signs throughout the trail to tell you about the battle and the lives of the troops.
We made a few other stops at the National Liberation Memorial, the Recogne German Military Cemetery, and a section of the Ardennes where the 101st Airborne sheltered in foxholes.
As our journey came to a close, we made our way back to Paris for one last day in the city before flying back home.
Below is a list of the places we visited or would have spent more time at if we had more than 24 hours in Bastogne.
Recommendations
101st Airborne Musuem
Cost: Adults: €14, Kids 7 to 12: €8, Kids under 7: FreeBastogne War Museum - Including the Mardasson Memorial
Cost: Check the web site. The costs vary based on how much of the museum you want to see.Bastogne Barracks
Cost: Adults: €12, Kids 6 to 18: €9, Kids under 6: FreeBattle of the Bulge Memorial Trail
1.9 mil loop trail through the woods of Schuhmanns Eck.
Cost: FreeBois Jacques Battlefield
Included with the Bastogne War Museum ticket, this is the position occupied by the 101st Airborne Division.
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