Bastogne Downtown

Historical information

Bastogne, an important crossroads, was defended tenaciously by paratroopers of the 101st US Airborne Division and a unit of the 10th Armored Division. Von Manteuffel decided to cut the main roads leading into the town and to bypass it to the north and south, ordering his 2. Panzer to press on towards the River Meuse. But on Christmas eve, the spearhead of the 5th Panzer Army was suddenly stopped and annihilated within sight of Dinant. Realising that the 5th Panzer Army would not cross the River Meuse, the German High Command decided to take Bastogne at any cost. The day after Christmas, a column of the 4th Armored Division charged towards Bastogne and in Assenois succeeded in breaking the German siege of the city.

Just before dark on the day after Christmas 1944, elements of Lieutenant General George S. Patton, Jr's 4th Armored Division, attacking from the south, succeeded in making contact with the beleaguered Americans at Bastogne. The encircled 101st Airborne Division had occupied that critically vital Belgian town for several days, categorically refusing German demands for surrender. The dramatic linkup of the two forces broke the siege of Bastogne and was one of the great turning points in the Battle of the Bulge.

Mc Auliffe Square

The central town square has been renamed "McAuliffe" square after W.W.II. On the corner of the square stands an American Sherman Tank as a symbol of the victorious US Army in the Battle of the Bulge. This tank and its audacious crew (6 victories) managed to come very close to the hamlet RENUAMENT, which was being heavily defended by the Germans, but got stuck in the mud and was hit by anti-tank weapons. General McAuliffe was ordered to go in with his airborne troops and hold Bastogne with little food, insufficient ammo, and inadequate winter clothing and held as ordered. Division Artillery Commander and Acting Division Commander of the 101st US Airborne Division, "the Screaming Eagles", Brigadier-General Mc Auliffe commanded the successful defence of Bastogne, and on 22 December, when German emissaries demanded his surrender, he gave them his now famous reply of "NUTS".
In July 2007 the Sherman tank has been submitted to maintenance and got brand new paintings.

The Wood of Peace

American veterans of the Battle of the Bulge were very touched by the idea that their name could be inscribed on a plaque at the base of a tree, their "personal tree" that will survive them and blossom. In 1994, at Bizory not far from Mardasson, on the initiative of a local UNICEF Committee, the "Wood of Peace" was inaugurated. Viewed from the sky, the 4000 trees planted in an area of 3 hectares (7,4 acres) represent the UNICEF symbol: mother and child, the universal symbol of tenderness. The perimeter is flanked by panels representing the towns of the World Union of Martyred Towns of Peace, established in 1982 on the initiative of town of Bastogne. In 1944 airborne troops bore the brunt of the Assault and fought like Tigers and kept the Germans from taking the town, the 101st US Airborne Division has its own tree in the Wood of Peace...

The Original museum

This is a private museum which includes small weapons and medals of both belligerants as well as an American Jeep with its machine gun. It includes a shop where war souvenirs (like helmets for instance) can be purchased.

Patton Memorial

Just outside of the town center, alongside the road to Arlon, is a little park (at Place Merceny) where at the back one can see the monument of General PATTON, the liberator of Bastogne. The Memorial was unveiled in 1963 in the presence of Patton's grandson. More information about Patton can be obtained here and about the battle of Bastogne there.

Location information

The Sherman tank is located at Mc Auliffe Place in Bastogne (Belgium), the Patton Memorial as well as the original museum are located nearby.

More information on the city of Bastogne can be found here. You can see a city photo tour there.