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| Europe |
| Depot maintenance for M4A4 Sherman - Thank you Belgium! |
| 2006-11-11 |
| Belgian workman prepare to lift a partially disassembled Sherman tank from its site in Bastogne, Belgium, so it can be taken to a nearby Belgian military base for a six-month refurbishment. The tank was used by the U.S. in World War II. A walk, three wreaths and 60 pounds of walnuts sum up next month’s annual commemoration of the Battle of the Bulge in Bastogne, Belgium. But for the first time in nearly a half-century, a gritty, steely veteran of the war will miss the observance, scheduled this year for Dec. 16. “I don’t think it has been renovated since it was first put there,” Marie-Lise Baneton, a spokeswoman for U.S. Army Garrison Benelux, said of the absent vet — an M4A4 Sherman tank used during World War II. Several days ago, Belgian soldiers removed the tank — No. 3081532 — from its low, stone perch in Bastogne’s town center, renamed McAuliffe Square after the war. The tribute is to Army Brig. Gen. Anthony McAuliffe, the commander in Bastogne in December 1944 and the guy who uttered the famous one-word reply — “Nuts!” — to a German surrender demand. The 11th Armored Division tank, knocked out of the war on Dec. 30, 1944, near the village of Renuamont, is undergoing a six-month refurbishment at a nearby Belgian military base. Meanwhile, an effort is under way to find a replacement, possibly from one of the many World War II re-enactment groups that return each year, Baneton said. During the one-day observance, which shifts from year to year to keep it a weekend affair, Bastogne becomes a magnet for re-enactors. This year’s event falls on the actual anniversary of the beginning of the battle. The Battle of the Bulge, the largest land battle in Army history, involved a series of engagements over several hundred miles from Dec. 16, 1944, to Jan. 25, 1945. U.S. forces incurred 19,000 deaths and more than 1 million combatants took part. Bastogne, a strategic crossroad in Germany’s quest to turn the tide after its defeat in Normandy, became an enduring symbol of grit and courage when the U.S. Army held the city despite being encircled for several days. The Belgians have never forgotten. “Every year we get swamped,” said Tom Larscheid, one of the organizers of a commemorative walk, now in its 29th year. The crowd is one reason Larscheid is asking people to sign up early for the walk. The memorial walk covers a different section of the Allied perimeter around Bastogne each year. This time the route goes north of Bastogne, to villages such as Foy and Noville. The area was defended by the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, immortalized in the TV series “Band of Brothers.” Larscheid said re-enactors plan to man foxholes along the route. “The re-enactors look good in their foxholes,” he said. “It adds some realism to the walk.” A group of Boy Scouts from Heidelberg, Germany, will have the honor of laying a wreath — one of three planned for the day — along the route, he added. In the afternoon after the walk, city officials joined by special guests will toss walnuts to crowds gathered below the town hall balcony. It is a tradition that predates the battle, but it is now included in the commemoration. |
| Posted by:Slanter Snaimble1937 |
| #2 There is now an obelisk memorial in that field. Some eleven Medals of Honor were issued for that fight alone. Where's that 'Moose? |
| Posted by: Shipman 2006-11-11 16:06 |
| #1 I did a route walk through the Hurtgen forest battle area. One part I will never forget was when US forces battled up the side of a mountain, on slick oil shale, through dense forest with artillery sending deadly showers of splinters down from the treetops. Their objective was well-defended positions on the top of the mountain. They had to fight days for inches. Just looking at it made me want to throw up. In the densest blanket of fog Europe had seen in over 200 years, one US battalion spotted another on an adjacent hillside. Thinking they were enemy, they called in artillery fires, slaughtering them. In one place, where the Battle of the Bulge began in earnest, it looked as flat as a football field. Two small units met up there, and each side kept sending in reinforcements. For days there was a pitched battle on that spot, with knives and pistols. Visibility was just a foot or two, so men had to run up to each other to tell what uniform the other had, then to part or fight to the death. There is now an obelisk memorial in that field. Some eleven Medals of Honor were issued for that fight alone. The memorial at Bastogne is grander. |
| Posted by: Anonymoose 2006-11-11 13:27 |