Battle of the Bulge 2016
About this time seventy years ago the Ardennes offensive (if you were German it was known as Wacht am Rhein or if you were an American it was referred to The Battle of the Bulge, etc.) in the frozen forests of Belgium were winding down with the Germans falling back across the Rhine and the Americans pushing eastward. This weekend at Fort Indiantown GAP, PA many re-enactors/history buffs, etc., drove long distances and hauled a lot of stuff to an event which commemorates the battle. Here is a photo of a Sturmgeschutz III and a Panzer III with other vechicles and men in the background.
I drove through the Gap last night. Looks like the weather helped make the reenactment more authentic.
ReplyDeleteIf you are ever in Belgium in early December you need to go to Bastogne to see the reenactment and liberation ceremony that they hold every year. They have a "must see" War Museum and the Mardasson Memorial is very moving. I was there 4 years ago and nearly got run over by a Sherman tank that was cruising down the road.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip TT. Yes, I've been going for years and more times than not, the weather is very authentic Anon. Thanks to both for stopping by!
ReplyDeleteMy wife's uncle Mike was with the 101st at Bastogne. He was wounded by tank sharpnel - they never took it out as it was too close to his spinal cord. That was the end of the war for him.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa was there. He also left a kidney somewhere in Belgium.
ReplyDeleteMy grandpa was at Bastogne as well. He was in the 481st AAA. It was one of a few AAA outfits that got caught in the encirclement with the 101st. His birthday was July 4th, 1913. When he landed at Omaha Beach he was just shy of being 31 years old. I bet most of his fellow soldiers saw him as an "old man".
ReplyDelete"Old men?" Hardly. There were a lot of them. My Dad was born in Feb. 2012. Landed in Australia in May 1942, and did the MacArthur Tour Route through New Guinea and the Philippines. He said his men called him "Pappy". God Bless 'em all.
DeleteIndeed!
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