Battle of the Bulge anniversary

Mine was taken in the winter of 2008/2009 I believe.
Got some other Bulge remains to show... These pictures where all taken in the past year.
And most of the items are in safe hands today.

 

Amazing relics, Nick....some real 'barn finds'.....

 

When I was at Manderfeld, some years ago, the farmer where I stayed was replacing his wooden shed. To my surprise the shed was entirely constructed from wooden shellcases, which had held Sherman tank ammunition. So even the barns themselves sometimes are real 'finds'.

Back to the weather in the Ardennes. This is what I found in Cole's The Ardennes (p. 649 and on):

The high pressure system which came in from the Atlantic on 18 December, (...), worked momentarily against the attacker. A thaw set in which slowed his tanks and the erstwhile heavy ground fog began to show sudden openings, such as those which exposed the German tanks and infantry during the fight at Noville. On the 20th and 21st the higher ground began to freeze in patches, leaving stretches of the Ardennes roads slippery and muddy. By the 22d competing weather systems from Russia and the Atlantic had brought on a hodgepodge of snow, blizzards, fog, and rain. In the north the Sixth Panzer Army was bogged by rain and mud, in the south the Fifth Panzer Army was hampered in its swing around Bastogne by fog and snow, and along the German supply roads back over the Eifel snow fell continuously.
The dramatic change of the 23d, brought by cold, dry winds from the east, stripped the German armies of their immunity to air attack. But this was not the whole story. Snow began to drift in the Eifel hills, bringing traffic on the main supply roads west of the Rhine almost to a standstill. Horse-drawn snowplows were few and ineffective, hastily erected snow fences were torn down by troops scrounging for firewood, there was no gravel available, and a large number of the engineer construction battalions had been taken west for employment as infantry. By the time power snowplows reached the Eifel the American fighter-bombers were strafing and bombing every large vehicle that moved. Engineers were brought into the Eifel, but their very efforts delayed the German truck columns so urgently needed farther west.
For five days the weather favored the Americans, in the air and on the ground. Superior numerically in tanks, the Americans benefited more than the Germans from the sure footing the big freeze provided for armor. Then, on 28 December, came clouds and overcast followed, a day later, by arctic air from Scandinavia, heavy snows, blizzards, and greatly reduced visibility at ground level. Vehicular movement was slow, the riflemen exhausted themselves wading through the drifts, and the wounded-those in a state of shock-died if left in the snow for more than half an hour or more. This was the state of the weather when, on 3 January, the Allies began their final counterattack.


Some days before the start German offensive, General Krebs, the chief of staff of the HGrB, reported to OBWest on the concentration of the assault formations in the Eifel region. In this he gives a snippet of information on the weather just prior to the attack. These reports can be found in the annex to the War Diary of OBWest.

On the morning of Thursday 14 December 44, after the bulk of the German armor of Sixth Pz Army had made its first of two nightly bounds into the Eifel region, Krebs declared that some trouble had been experienced with frozen roads in the higher parts of the Eifel, causing vehicles to skidd off icy roads or collide with one another, but "no great traffic congestions had formed up" and "traffic control and discipline were properly conducted". For the next night, 14/15 December, Krebs reported that the marching colums were hindered by extremely poor weather. A mixture of sleet and snow flurries considerably limited visibility and slowed down all traffic. As Friday, 15 Dec dawned, grey with a low overcast, many columns had not yet reached their destination and were still out in the open on the roads. Fortunately, for the Germans, the low overcast and continuing bad weather concealed all movements and the columns were able to complete their moves undetected. Troughout the night, Krebs reported, discipline was properly maintained "except for the 2nd and 12 SS-Pz Divisions, where many vehicles drove with headlights blazing".

 

Ah the Ardennes,I used to visit every year for the spring classics cycle races,Liege-Bastogne-Liege or the Tour of Flanders,to name but two.A beautiful part of the world.I used to think to myself"it's hard to believe this was once a true hell hole of a battlefield".
It was quite earie in places.If you get the chance,go there!,cheers.

 

This is a picture taken from the woodsline, just to the northwest of Lanzerath, where the I&R platoon was located.

The picture is probably taken at the tip or sharp angle of wood (nearest the road leading north-westwards out of Lanzerath), with a view to the east. The German border is on the horizon. The view to the south (not on the picture) is even more sweeping, giving a bright view of the Schnee Eifel ridge. Because of copyrights, I only can give the link:

www.google.nl/imgres?imgurl=http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1101/1418267706_38c4d216d7_z.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.flickr.com/photos/16833954%40N00/1418267706/&usg=__742uPPD9W5KR_1Gw8kYacwEbUgw=&h=221&w=640&sz=60&hl=nl&start=216&zoom=1&itbs=1&tbnid=TDWgGVNxnp8gwM:&tbnh=47&tbnw=137&prev=/images%3Fq%3DLosheim%2BGap%26start%3D200%26hl%3Dnl%26sa%3DN%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D20%26tbs%3Disch:1

 

Hotton 24 Dec
Hotton. Men of the 3rd U.S. Arm Div inspecting two knocked out German tanks of the 116th Pz Div, in front of the Fme Verdin, on the Chemin de Rahisse (nowadays Rue de la Roche). This picture was taken after the Germans had vacated Hotton on 24 December 44. From 21 until 23 Dec the Germans held the eastern and north-eastern part of the town. The area has changed significantly since the war: the Fme Verdin now is the house next to the traffic roundabout.

There is no snow, not yet.




The same spot, picture taken from the air ... date unknown, with snow; the embankment in the background is of the Remblai du vicinal, the local tramway line - not in use anymore (nowadays route des Vergers). The picture is taken with a view slightly west /south-west. Hotton is beyond the railway embankment (houses in background). Has the Pz IV disappeared ... ?




Not, quite .... it has been moved just behind the pole, to the right, just outside the photograph. It's still visible on this one (photo number A8 & A9):

Ardennes

At some point the Americans set fire to both tanks (see still number 00.00.05 - 00.00.47; they are still burning at 00.01.18 until 00.02.00). Do I see a thin layer of snow/ or is it 'just' frost?

INVASION SCENES - EUROPE: US TROOPS - British Pathe

 

Nice snowscene in Hotton. Its long ago since I visited that place.
Is the turret of the Pz.V also turned the other way around?

 

See my recent pictures here taken Bastogne earlier this week.