Battle of Normandy Tours

Bastogne is the name that most people think of when they hear of the Battle of the Bulge, and this small town is situated just thirty kilometers (twenty miles) from the German border, then the front line. The town is a major crossroads giving access in all directions to a first class road network and was defended mainly by the 28th Infantry Division which had seen continuous fighting from 22 July to 19 November, before being assigned to this relatively quiet area. The Allies believed only an infantry division was present opposite the 28th Infantry, and they believed any attack along this sector would be limited in scale. When attacked by an entire German Army on the 16th of December and outnumbered 20 to 1, this veteran Division fell back in disarray. Despite this, the Germans were significantly delayed in their timetable of advance and it wasn't until the 19th of December that Bastogne itself first came under attack.

But Eisenhower had been busy and on the evening of the 17th of December the XVIII Airborne Corps was ordered into 'the Bulge' from their reserve area in western France. The 82nd Airborne Division moved first so when reserves were called for to oppose SS Colonel Peiper's Advance (see below) in the north, they were the closest and were sent there by default. Thus, when the importance of Bastogne and the need to reinforce the town was recognized the other Airborne Division, the 101st, was moved in there. They had arrived by the morning of the 19th of December and moved into position that day occupying positions all around the town. By the next morning the town was under attack by the Germans but after their initial assaults on the town had been sharply rebuffed by the Paratroopers and other mixed troops in position, the main German force continued on their offensive further to the west, completing their encirclement of the town by the morning of December the 21st. The Paratroopers were to occupy these positions for the next three weeks.

Although the German offensive to the west continued for a further ten days after the encirclement, the denial of this crucial road junction meant the attacking columns were forced to use much less direct, smaller roads that were often little more than dirt tracks. After the initial passage of the German armour the roads were often unusable by the supply trucks that were meant to follow. Bastogne was more of a festering sore than a thorn on the side of the German southern advance. When the Commander of the surrounding German forces gave an offer of honourable surrender to the American defenders, the Commander, General McAuliff famously replied “Nuts” (after several other possible words to use were turned down). While the German attacks continued over the next few days the Paratroopers ran critically low on ammunition, food and medical supplies, but finally, the weather finally cleared allowing the Americans to fly in supplies and medical staff.

In Bastogne you can visit the Bastogne Museum and walk around the Memorial to the defense of the town. Scattered through the village you will be shown various positions were the fighting was taking place during the siege and the many memorials and monuments to these soldiers. You can also have a drink at the “Nuts” Cafe, named in honour of Gen McAuliffe's reply to the German surrender offer.

You will be driven out to the Bois Jacques to the positions that Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment occupied during their part in the defense of the town. The fox-holes are still there to be seen, much shallower now than in 1944 but still clearly visible. You will hear their story of the defense of Bastogne and their later part in the American attacks into the villages of Foy, Noville and beyond as the American forces pushed north in January of 1945 to pinch out the German salient in the Allied front line.

General Patton had meanwhile swung his 3rd American Army north from their positions in the Saar region to the south and was attacking the Germans in the south of the Bulge. He finally broke through to Bastogne on December the 26th after a record breaking run by his Army. Apart from needing to evacuate their casualties, the Paratroopers always claimed that did not need to “Rescued”, just “Supplied” in Bastogne. This was not the end however, as the Paratroopers went back over to the attack on January the 9th staying in the fight until relieved on January the 18th.

You will be driven into the town along the advance route taken by General Patton's relieving force and shown the positions occupied by the German defenders and the positions the American were attacking from. As you come into the town you will see the spot where the lead American tank met the defenders and hear the story of their rather tentative first meeting.

It is here in the tranquil surroundings of the American Military Cemetery of Luxembourg that those who died during the fighting in the Ardennes in the winter of 1944 are buried, among them many of the Paratroopers of the Airborne Divisions that fought here in 1944. Here there is also the grave of General Patton, commander of the 3rd American Army, who died in Germany on the 21st of December 1945. He is buried at the head of those of his relieving force who paid the ultimate price to buy the Freedom and Democratic Principles of the Western World today.