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February 2003
| Ardennes Pics |
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Coming to the Ardennes straight after Verdun was in many ways a good idea. Verdun was intense and so much information.
The Ardennes was a rest-bite and seeing we only did 24 hrs in the area, it was a fleeting trip. But after
Verdun it was a warm one.
The reason behind this is it is a mainly American site and the Americans love a museum, so instead of wandering around
a cold February battlefield we were snug in a museum !
The Museum at Bastonge is a great museum - including a Huge War memorial (Mardasson) and even a cinema. And boy
was it cold outside - ironic really as the 16th December 1944 was one of the coldest days on record in the area and the battle
was fought as much against the elements as it was the Nazis.
It would be not until 2008 that the NMBS did the whole of The Ardennes and the initial view of not many battlefields
was exposed.
| The Bastogne Mardasson Memorial |
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| With a Gerry on Top ! |
The town of Bastogne was made famous because of the seige of Bastogne - Bastogne had already been liberated and then
was surrounded in the Nazi's counter-attack - by the 22nd of December 1944 the town was cut off and a band of Americans were
surrounded - The Nazi's sent emissairies to the American commander in the area General McAuliffe, asking the Americans to
surrender. McAuliffe's answer was short, sweet and simple. He replied "Nuts" [to the surrender]. Since then
Bastogne has been called "Nuts City". By Boxing day 1944 General Patton had broken the deadlock and Bastogne was saved.
Bastogne features heavily in the HBO/BBC TV series "Band of Brothers". For me, this is one of the reasons that
I really got interested again in Second World War battles. Band of Brothers is one of the best TV mini series ever,
and although there is a lot of American slant (the other allies hardly get a look in, and when they do the Brits are usually
Dick Van Dyke "Cockanyee" sounding) the series does show the horrors of war, no more so than episode simply called "Bastogne".
| Bastogne Mardasson Memorial |
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| Steve on top |
A hidden gem of a museum in the area was the "Ardennen Poteau '44 Museum" which is in Poteau, near St. Vith in Belgium.
The Museum is usually closed during the winter - but a quick email to them and the nice couple that own it opened up for the
NMBS. They have lots of bikes, tanks, half-tacks and Jeeps and is a well presented museum.
We would recommend to either email or phone them before hand.
Click on the picture of them for the website
| The nice couple at The Ardenne Poteau ' 44 Museum |
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| near St. Vith |
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