Bastogne is a city in Belgium in the middle of the Ardennes.
When you enter the city centre there is on the market place a statue of a American General Anthony Clement McAuliffe. For his action's in Bastogne he received the Distinguished Service Cross. He died at 11 Augustus 1975.

The town Bastogne is also known as "Nuts City!".
The German army wanted the surrender of the American army. General McAuliffe responded with the words "Nuts!" (go to hell!). This battle started 16 December 1944 and ended 27 January 1945. The title of battle was "Battle of the Bulge" to stop the German offensive of code name "Wacht am Rhein" which began on 16 December 1944.

Bastogne is complete re-build after the war. A few buildings are still standing there with the memories of the war.

The monument was inaugurated on the 16th July 1950, in the presence of highly respected Belgium and American dignitaries; delegations from England, France, the Netherlands and Luxembourg reinforced the international character of the event. It goes without saying that many veterans associations were present, not to mention the architect Mr. Georges Dedoyard, laureate of a competition for the project and the contractor Mr. Félicien Calay.

A sealed parchment, signed by various Belgian and American dignitaries, is to be found in the foundations. The Memorial is shaped to represent the star of freedom, with five points, each one measuring 31 meters. The central atrium's diameter is 20 meters with a height of up to 12 meters, the summit is encompassed by a circular gallery leading to the orientation tables (scale models showing different stages of the battle), one for each point of the star. The names of the 48 states which then made up the United States are engraved on the crown. Around the outside, badges from the main battalions to have participated in the Battle of the Saillant can be found. On the inner wall the battle's progression is explained in English and in ten paintings.

A crypt was also dug in the rock; a reminder of the sacrifice made by the 76,890 Americans heroes killed, injured or reported missing in the battle. Three altars are dedicated respectively to the catholic, protestant and Jewish religions. The beautifully colored mosaics are by the artist Fernand Léger.

At nightfall, when floodlit, the Memorial stands out majestically.

On the first picture you see the stairs to go up on the memorial. This stairs is the 4th point of the memorial.

On every point there is a tablet of the area to where you look to. Every city or town is also there on the tablet. I explain this later.

The picture below here is the middle point of the memorial with a tablet also. The story of that you can read next to the picture with also the text of it.

It was above this central point that the stone bearing the following inscription would later be placed.

LIBERATORIBUS AMERICANIS

POPULUS BELGICUS MEMOR

4. VII. MCMXLVI

(The Belgian people remember their American liberators - 4th July 1946)

This is the 1st point.

The city's here are:

Foy (B)
Noville (B)
Bourcy (B)
Longvilly (B)
Bizôry (B)
Mageret (B)
Wardin (B)
Neffe (B)
Benonchamps (B)
Niederwampach (L)
Oberwampach (L)

This is the 2nd point.

The city's here are:

Bertogne (B)
Longchamps (B)
Foy (B)
Noville (B)
Bourcy (B)

This is the 3rd point.

The city's here are:

Chenogne (B)
Flamierge (B)
Champs (B)
Givry (B)
Longchamps (B)
Bertogne (B)

This is the 4th point.

The city's here are:

Chenogne (B)
Sibret (B)
Morhet (B)
Hompré (B)
Hollange (B)
Wardin (B)

This is the 5th point.

The city's here are:

Mont (B)
Marvie (B)
Wardin (B)
Benonchamps (B)
Bras (B)
Hompré (B)
Villers-La-Bonne-Eau (B)

(B) = Belgium
(L) = Luxembourg

When you walk there you sure get the impression "Here was something big going where many people wounded or died".

I have then respect for all those people who fought for our freedom in Europe.

If this was not there then Germany had won the war. What or how Europe looks like I don't know and don't think about it.

Every year around 30th of May and 22nd of December there is a memorial of all who has fallen in this battle. Many veterans are coming then to Bastogne to remember there friends who died in the war.

3rd Air Division

9th Air Division

IX Fighter Command

IX Tactical Air Command

XIX Tactical Air Command

IX Troop Carrier Command

53rd Troop Carrier Wing

12th Army Group

First Army

Third Army

First Airborne Army

III Corps

V Corps

VII Corps

VIII Corps

XII Corps

XVIII Corps Airborne

1st Infantry Division

2nd Infantry Division

4th Infantry Division

5th Infantry Division

9th Infantry Division

26th Infantry Division

28th Infantry Division

30th Infantry Division

35th Infantry Division

75th Infantry Division

76th Infantry Division

78th Infantry Division

80th Infantry Division

83rd Infantry Division

84th Infantry Division

87th Infantry Division

90th Infantry Division

94th Infantry Division

99th Infantry Division

106th Infantry Division

2nd Armored Division

3rd Armored Division

4th Armored Division

5th Armored Division

6th Armored Division

7th Armored Division

8th Armored Division

9thArmored Division

10th Armored Division

11th Armored Division

17th Airborne Division

82nd Airborne Division

101st Airborne Division

In 1945, the war being over at last a lot of private collectors hurried to gather a lot of military objects which laid strewn about battlefields. Nevertheless a large part of these objects left by the two armies were used by the population to reconstruct, the people were lacking everything. Those objects were then lost. Among those collectors, one of them, Guy Franz Arend managed to preserve a large part of those objects and opened as early as 1950 the "Bastogne Nuts Museum" in an old house of the Grand Rue.

Encouraged and helped by the generals who had fought in Bastogne, notably McAuliffe and von Manteuffel, Mr. Arend pursued his undertaking and soon settled in the Maison Siville which was demolished in 1954. It is at that the museum moved into a building of the Place McAuliffe, which was named Place du Carré before 1954.

The collections of the museum kept growing richer thanks to donations made by collectors and veterans as well as thanks to the constant research made by Mr. Arend.

Keen negotiations between the originator, the tourist office and the City of Bastogne delayed the project for 10 years. Finally the tourist office of Bastogne built the star-shaped building, realized according to Mr. Arend's ideas and plans and intended to receive his collections.

The new museum, named Bastogne Historical Center, was inaugurated on 31st May 1976 by His Royal Highness, the prince Albert of Liège, who is now the King Albert II of Belgium. On that day, Bastogne celebrated the bicentennial of the United States' independence together with it's American friends.

In 2000, the tourist office of Bastogne bought the whole collection of the Bastogne Historical Center to Mr. Arend.

In 2004, significant renovation work was realized in the museum and in the shop thanks to a subsidy granted by the Ministry of Tourism. This subsidy notably allowed the museum to redo the tour of the visit, to equip itself with audio guides in four languages which, thanks to detailed comments, allow visitors to understand even better the Battle of the Bulge.

The cost of entering the museum is 8,50 Euro each person.
Inside you can see uniforms, weapons and also the jeep of General Anthony Clement McAuliffe.

This is a M4A3 Sherman Tank. This Sherman was part of the 11th Armored Division, 41st Tank Battalion, Company B. This tank have a 105mm canon.

Fox hole with snow in that time of the war.

It's me in front of the tank

This was a great day, okay the sky was grey but it was not raining. I got my souvenirs also 2 mocks with pictures of this place. Next time when I come back here I will stay a couple of days and do the walking routes you got here. The walking routes takes you to the places where the fights were. Next trip for me is Normandy, when I'm back from Normandy I will setup a new page and tell my story.

Kind Regards,

Pierre