Bastogne

Since we need to return to Heidelberg tomorrow night, we split the trip in two and decided on Trier as tonight’s destination and Bastogne as the mid-day stop.  We were able to avoid autoroutes and enjoy the rolling hills and farmland of Belgium.

American soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge

The WWII museum outside Bastogne was another excellent example of providing a variation on the same material, namely WWII, with an emphasis on Belgium and especially Bastogne which lay at the heart of the Battle of the Bulge.  Much of the story was told in audio form by four individuals:  a German soldier, an American soldier, and two civilians of the town—a teacher and a 13 year old boy.

Belgium capitulated early to the German onslaught, hoping to save lives by limiting the bombing.  The museum covered the subsequent resistance movement and those who collaborated.  Video interviews of civilian survivors effectively gave a sense of those years under German control.  

interview with one of Bastogne's civilian survivors

After D-Day the Germans were pushed east and Bastogne was liberated.  The Germans held the line to the east and slowly surrounded the town.  The famous Battle of the Bulge occurred in December 1944 to January 1945 when American troops under General McAuliffe held off for six days German attempts to recapture the town. Patton’s troops arrived as reinforcements and the Germans retreated.  The Battle of the Ardennes which included the Bulge took a heavy toll:  100,000 men killed, wounded  or missing on the German side, and 85,000 on the Allied side.  The Americans suffered heavier losses than in the entire Normandy campaign.

We lunched in the cafe and left after 4 for another scenic ride to Trier which we have visited twice previously.  This city has much to offer—a fantastic Cathedral, Roman Constantine Basilica, huge Roman gate and ruins, and the Moselle running through it.  And Karl Marx’s house.  Whether we revisit any of these sites tomorrow remains to be seen.