Download Battle Bulge Hist Trail

TRANSATLANTIC COUNCIL
BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
BATTLE OF THE BULGE
HISTORICAL TRAIL
2002 UPDATE
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BATTLE OF THE BULGE HISTORICAL TRAIL
INFORMATION FOR UNIT LEADERS
Background: In December 1944, when it seemed like Nazi Germany was beaten and the
Second World War in Europe was just about over, the Germans launched a major attack
on a weak portion of the Allied line held by US troops in the rough terrain of the
Ardennes Forest in Belgium and Luxemburg. Caught by surprise, the American soldiers
resisted fiercely but were forced back by the heavy German attacks, creating a huge
“
bulge”in the Allied lines, which gives the battle its name. One very important city Bastogne - was surrounded, but the 101st Airborne Division, which had been rushed there
to prevent the Germans from capturing this vital road junction needed for their resupply
efforts, continued to hold out, beating off a number of strong German attacks. The siege
of Bastogne was broken by the advance of General Patton’
s armored divisions from the
south, and the Germans were finally driven out of the “
bulge”in January 1945.
The Transatlantic Council’
s Battle of the Bulge Historical Trail commemorates
this important World War II battle, especially the valiant stand of the 101st Airborne
Division in Bastogne. The trail’
s main objective is to provide Scouts and Scouters a
better understanding of this important part of our American Heritage, as well as to
provide opportunities for hiking and possible interaction with Scouts from other
countries. Because of the strong international focus of Scouting in Europe and the fact
that many BSA troops include non-US Scouts, unit leaders are encouraged to avoid a
strongly nationalistic approach to this battle and to remind their Scouts that there were
former Scouts and Scouters fighting on both sides of this battle (Germany had a very
active Scouting (Pfadfinder) movement until Adolf Hitler took power in 1933 and forced
all Scout units to merge with the Nazi Party’
s“
Hitler Youth”organization). The Battle
of the Bulge Historical Trail was officially approved by the Council Executive on 15 July
1980 after several troops from Heidelberg, Germany, visited Bastogne under the
leadership of Scouter Jim Steiner (Troops 1 and 26). The trail packet was revised in
1987, but by the late 1990s much of the information in it was out of date and incorrect, so
in 1998 Scouter Greg Pedlow of SHAPE prepared a completely revised and updated
version as a Wood Badge project. He also developed a new set of questions designed to
encourage the Scouts to learn more about the battle and also to make the trail more
interesting for them. This revision also included specific recommendations for hiking
routes and additional historical background material with maps, which can be copied and
given to Scouts to read before they go on the trail. The 2002 update takes into account
changes that have occurred since 1998, in particular the adoption of the Euro currency
and the creation of websites by some of the Scouting organizations providing lodging
opportunities in the Bastogne area.
Recognition: To recognize the achievement of Scouts and Scouters who complete this
Historical Trail, Transatlantic Council has created a special patch that incorporates the
star of the Bastogne Memorial at Mardasson on the outskirts of the city, the crest of the
city of Bastogne, and the American Eagle. The requirements for earning this patch are to
complete a hike to several historical sites in the city of Bastogne and then out to the
Bastogne Memorial and Historical Center at Mardasson. Units may also want to take one
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of the longer hikes out to the perimeter, as detailed below. Scouts should also complete
the attached questionnaire, which can be answered with information contained in the
attached historical overview of the battle (which means that your Scouts do need to read
this, preferably before starting on the trail) plus information that can only be found on the
trail, so each Scout should take a copy of the questionnaire and a pen or pencil with him
while hiking the trail. The questionnaire is not designed to be a test of historical trivia
but rather a “
scavenger hunt”of historical facts requiring the Scouts to keep their eyes
open while hiking the trail. An answer sheet is attached for the use of unit leaders; please
don’
t let the Scouts see this in advance, or it will spoil the challenge of the questionnaire.
At the end of the day, when you are back in your campsite or the Scout Hut, you should
go over the answers together, with the Scouts grading their own questionnaires. You may
want to make this questionnaire a patrol competition, with patrol members working
together to gather the information while on the trail.
Uniform: Scouts and Scouters should wear the official BSA uniform. Remember that
you are representing the Boy Scouts of America to the Belgians of the Bastogne area, so
please discourage your unit members from wearing camouflage-pattern items of clothing
that would make you look like a paramilitary unit. The wearing of BSA headgear is
strongly encouraged, since uniform shirts may not be visible under outer garments.
Participants should also carry a small rucksack or fanny pack with water, raingear, first
aid supplies, and a sack lunch. Make sure that your Scouts wear proper hiking boots, not
sports shoes, since the trail is long and the shoulders of the roads are often not paved. In
addition, the weather may change for the worse while you are on your hike, since it rains
a lot in Belgium. Because your unit is representing BSA and ultimately the United States
of America, we strongly encourage you to take a US flag with you on the hike. Rather
than carrying your large unit US flag with its heavy wooden staff, you may want to take
one of the slightly smaller flags with light-weight aluminum poles, which are available in
military exchanges.
Atmosphere in Bastogne: The citizens of Bastogne are proud of their town’
s role in the
Battle of the Bulge and are very pro-American. This is why we encourage you to carry a
US flag and wear BSA uniforms so that the Belgians will know who you are. Don’
t be
surprised if people come up to you and express interest in what you are doing, once they
see that you are Americans.
Accommodations: There are two options involving local Scout facilities.
1) The Bastogne Scout Hut: On the west side of the city there is a small Scout
hut run by the local Belgian Scout association. It is located just off the Rue des Maies,
and there is a green and white sign saying “
SCOUTS-PATROS”to show the way (see
attached map). The hut has a large heated room with about 120 square meters of
available floor space where up to 40 people can sleep on the floor. The room has a large
number of tables and chairs; if you use these, please put them back in stacks the way you
found them. The Scout Hut also has bathrooms, running water (but the hot water is
turned off in the winter), and a large kitchen with two gas stoves (4 burners each) plus 3
large gas-fired burners which can be used to heat large containers of water. The hut also
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contains the meeting rooms of the local Belgian Scout units, but these are not available
for use by visiting units except during the months of July and August, when the Belgian
Scouts do not meet. The fee for Scout units wishing to use the Bastogne Scout Hut is 125
Euros per weekend (Friday evening until Sunday afternoon). The hut must be reserved in
advance by calling, faxing, e-mailing or writing to Mr. Benoit Fairon. If you call him, it
would be best to have a French speaker make the call, but he also understands some
English and Dutch. A sample letter in English and French is attached, which you can
mail or fax to him. A map showing the location of the Scout Hut is also attached. To
reach Mr. Fairon from outside Belgium, call evenings at 0032-61-215090, and from
inside Belgium, just dial 061-215090. This phone number is also his fax number. His email address is [email protected] . Mr. Fairon requests that units wishing to use the hut
tell him their precise arrival time, so that he can meet you at the hut to give you the keys
and explain the workings of the heating system, etc. Please don’
t make him wait a long
time for your arrival. Mr. Fairon’
s address is: M. Benoit Fairon, Avenue Olivier 8, B6600 Bastogne, Belgium.
The Bastogne Scout Hut does not have its own campsite (except for a small
triangle of grassy area in front of the hut next to the road, where it is possible to put up 56 tents), but Mr. Fairon can arrange for a unit to use a larger grassy area very close to the
Scout Hut, where it also possible to have a campfire. This area is owned by the Belgian
Girl Scouts (the Guides), who also have a hut nearby. If your unit wishes to camp there,
you should still rent the Bastogne Scout Hut so that you will have toilet facilities and
running water available. You can also use the Hut for shelter if the weather turns nasty,
as can happen rather quickly in the Ardennes.
2) The Wiltz International Scouting Center: This is a much larger Scouting
facility (the largest in Europe), which is located 26 kilometers east of Bastogne. While
less convenient because of the distance, Wiltz offers 10 cabins of different sizes with
beds rather than just space on the floor (the number of beds per cabin ranges from 15 to
45), as well as campsites that can hold up to 200 people. In the cabins, the cost ranges
between 48 and 180 Euros. Campsites cost 2 –2.50 Euros per night per person. The
cabins are open all year round, and the campsites (with toilet facilities and water points)
are normally open from late March until the end of October, when the water is turned off
to prevent pipes from freezing. There is also one campsite that is suitable for year-round
camping because its toilets and water are located in a heated building. The cost for this
site is 3.20 Euros per adult and 1.60 per child plus 2.50 per tent. In the Scout Center in
the Chateau de Wiltz, there is a small Scout shop run by the Luxembourg Scout
Association. Because Wiltz is an internationally known Scout Center, you may have an
opportunity to meet Scouts from other countries. For more information about staying at
Wiltz, see their website at www.scoutswiltz.lu (with text in English, French or German)
or e-mail them at [email protected] ; you can also reach them by phone at 00352-958199
(within Luxemburg just call 958199). The secretary, Mrs. Anita Dahm, speaks French
and German. The address for writing is: Scouts de Wiltz A.S.B.L., Chateau, L-9616
Wiltz, Luxembourg.
Food and Supplies: Shops in Bastogne are open on both Saturdays and Sundays.
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Bastogne Historical Center: Normal entrance fees to the museum in 2002 are 7.50
Euros for adults and 5 Euros for children aged 6 to 11. Groups of at least 15 Scouts can
get a special admission rate equivalent to that for school classes, which is 4 Euros per
Scout. Adults accompanying the group pay a reduced rate of 6 Euros, and one adult
leader is admitted free for every 15 Scouts. There is a very good book and gift shop in
the museum, so you may want to bring extra money for books, postcards, and souvenirs.
The museum can be reached at 0032-61-211413 (or 061-211413 in Belgium), and the
staff speaks English. There is also a website at www.bastognehistoricalcenter.be with
information in English. The museum is closed for the month of January. For more
information on opening hourse see the website.
Tourist Information: The Tourist Office in Bastogne is located very close to the tank
parked at the corner of the town square (Place McAuliffe) and can be reached at 0049-61212711 (or 061-212711 in Belgium). The hours are 0800-1200 and 1330-1730, and you
can purchase maps and some guidebooks there.
Description of the Trail: Remember to have each Scout bring his questionnaire and
something to write with. Start at the Sherman tank located at the town’
s central square
(Place McAuliffe), which is an easy walk from the Bastogne Scout Hut. There are
several questions that can be answered here. Proceed southeast about two blocks on the
Rue Joseph Renquin until you reach the Patton Memorial Park located on the right side of
the road. Answer the questions about this site and then return to the central square, where
you should turn right (northeast) following the signs toward the Bastogne Historical
Center. Scouts should keep looking at the questionnaire, because there are several
questions to be answered along the way to the museum. At the Bastogne Historical
Center you should watch the excellent film about the battle and also see the electric map
showing the various stages of the battle. Scouts can then look at the exhibits in the
museum and try to answer the questions in their questionnaires about the displays. After
you have finally succeeded in getting all of your Scouts out of the large and interesting
gift shop, your next stop should be the impressive Mardasson Monument next to the
museum. The story of the battle is shown inside the monument, and there are also good
observations points on the roof, with bronze maps showing details of the battlefield
visible from each point. There will be some more questions to be answered here.
Depending on what time you started the trail, you may wish to take your lunch break at
the Mardasson, either before or after you visit the museum. Please make sure that your
Scouts clean up all of their trash before leaving the site. The visit to the Mardasson
Monument concludes the required portion of the trail, and your troop can return to the
city square via the same route. Troops desiring a greater challenge can hike out to the
actual battlefield lines surrounding the city, and one recommended route of
approximately 5 miles (in addition to the hike to and from the Bastogne Historical
Center) is described below.
Hike to the Battlefield Perimeter: If your troop wishes to hike out to the actual
battlefield perimeter, you can start at the Mardasson Memorial/Bastogne Historical
Center parking lot and turn right at the exit toward the town of Bizory, where heavy
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fighting occurred on several occasions. Scouts can keep an eye out for battle damage on
some of the older buildings. From Bizory you can continue to the town of Magaret,
another town in which considerable fighting took place. You can then begin to return to
Bastogne on the N874. At the town of Neffe there is a historical display of photos from
the battle next to the old church, which also shows scars from the fighting. If you wish
to shorten this tour somewhat, you can leave out Magaret and go directly from Bizory to
Neffe. From Neffe you continue to Bastogne past the Mardasson Memorial. When you
reach town, you don’
t need to go back to McAuliffe Square. The fastest way back to the
Scout Hut is to turn right at the road junction next to the church and old city gate, cross
the railroad tracks and then bear to the left (see attached city map).
Distances: The Bastogne Historical Trail itself, which consists of the walk to the various
sites in Bastogne itself and then out to the Mardasson Memorial, is slightly less than 4
kilometers going out and around 2½ kilometers returning directly back to the Scout Hut,
bypassing the center of town. The total distance is 6½ kilometers. If you decide to take
the long hike out to the battlefield perimeter, you begin with the 4 kilometers of the
historical trail out to the Mardasson. From the Mardasson to the town of Margaret is
another 4 kilometers. Margaret to Neffe is 2½ kilometers, and from Neffe back to the
Scout Hut by the most direct route is a little less than 4 kilometers. The total distance for
this hike (including the Bastogne Historical Trail) is thus around 15 kilometers. Of
course, you can always shorten the hike by leaving a vehicle at one of the points along
the trail, such as the church at Neffe.
Other Sites to Visit: There are no US military cemeteries in the Bastogne area; US dead
from the Battle of the Bulge are buried in the cemeteries near Liege and Luxembourg.
But there is a large and impressive German military cemetery just north of Bastogne on
the outskirts of the village of Recogne, and it is worth a visit. Scouts can see the wide
range of ages among the German dead, including many teenagers, and they can also
search for particular surnames using the register in the chapel.
Additional Reading about the Battle: Lots of books have been written about this
important battle. Here are a few of my favorites:
Guy Franz Arend, The Battle for Bastogne: “If you don’
t Know What Nuts Means”: A
Chronology of the Battle for Bastogne with Comments, 1994 (also published in French,
Dutch and German). - A Belgian perspective on the battle by the founder of the Bastogne
Historical Center and the Victory Memorial Museum. Lots of interesting stories.
John S. D. Eisenhower, The Bitter Woods: The Dramatic Story, told at all Echelons From Supreme Command to Squad Leader - of the Crisis that Shook the Western
Coalition: Hitler’
s Surprise Ardennes Offensive, 1969. - An excellent account of the
battle by the son of General Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Charles B. MacDonald, A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge,
1984.
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- A very thick but highly readable account that gives the soldiers’perspective on the
battle.
Jean Paul Pallud, Battle of the Bulge: Then and Now, 1984. - A fascinating collection of
battlefield pictures placed next to modern photos of the same sites, plus excellent text.
U.S. Army Center of Military History, The Ardennes: The Battle of the Bulge (from the
”
Green Books”series - the United States Army in World War II), 1965. - The official
history of the battle, with excellent maps and description of the fighting.
The 1998 and 2002 Updates were prepared by Scouter Greg Pedlow, Charlemagne
District Scout Roundtable Commissioner and Committee Chair of Crew 325,
SHAPE, Belgium. In addition to the “one hour per week”that he spends on
Scouting, he serves as Chief of the Historical Office at the Supreme Headquarters
Allied Powers Europe and can be reached at DSN 423-4749 or 0032-65-444749.
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Request for Reservation of Bastogne Scout Hut
Monsieur Benoit FAIRON
Avenue Olivier 8
B-6600 Bastogne
Belgium
Dear Mr. Fairon,
I am writing on behalf of the Boy Scouts of America, Troop
, from
We intend to visit Bastogne during the period
to
in order to hike the Historical Trail, and we would like very much to be able to stay in the
Bastogne Scout Hut. Our troop consists of
scouts and
leaders.
We will arrive on
at
hours and plan to depart on
at
hours.
We are looking forward very much to visiting Bastogne and using the Bastogne Scout
Hut. Thank you very much for your assistance.
Sincerely yours,
P.S. I am enclosing a translation of this letter to assist you in processing our request.
Traduction en français:
Cher Monsieur FAIRON,
Je vous écris au nom des Scouts des États-Unis, Troupe
de
Nous avons l’
intention de visiter Bastogne du
au
afin de parcourir ce site historique, et nous aimerions beaucoup nous loger dans le
batiment des Scouts de Bastogne. Notre troupe consiste en
scouts et
adultes.
Nous arriverons le
à
heures et repartirons le
à
heures.
Nous serions tres hereux de visiter Bastogne et pouvoir utiliser le batiment des scouts
belges. Merci de votre aide.
Veuillez croire, cher Monsier Fairon, à mes sentiments les meilleurs.
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Background Reading for the Battle of the Bulge Historical Trail
(Scouts should read this before going on the trail, and they
can use it to answer the first 10 questions on the questionnaire.)
By the autumn of 1944 World War II in Europe had already been going on for 5
years. The expansion of Nazi Germany had been stopped at the end of 1942, and the
Allies had been on the offensive since then, pushing the Germans back on all fronts. The
Allied effort to liberate Western Europe began with the “
D-Day”landings at Normandy,
France, on 6 June 1944 (and to learn more about this, your troop should go on the
“
Omaha Beach - Normandy”Historical Trail). After overcoming German resistance on
the beaches, the Allies succeeded in building up strong forces in the Normandy peninsula
and with the help of massed Allied bomber attacks on the Germans, the Allies broke out
of Normandy and raced across France toward Germany. The defeated German forces did
not try to resist in France any longer but headed back toward the “
West Wall”(also
known as the “
Siegfried Line”
), a line of fortifications along Germany’
s western border.
Here the Germans finally had time to organize an effective defensive line because the
advancing Allied troops had been forced to stop and wait until their supplies (especially
fuel for the vehicles) caught up with them.
To clear up the Allied supply problems once and for all and also to get across the
Rhine River and into Germany by going around the fortified “
West Wall”
, the Allies
tried a bold airborne and ground attack to seize a number of key river crossings. This
attack, known as Operation MARKET GARDEN, included parachute attacks by US and
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British airborne units deep into German-held territory. The paratroopers captured and
held two major river crossings for use by the advancing armored units, but the Germans
were too strong at the last key bridge in the Dutch town of Arnhem (which became
famous in the book and movie known as A Bridge Too Far) and the Allies failed to
achieve the hoped-for breakthrough in September 1944.
Afterward heavy fighting continued in a number of areas as the Allies slowly
ground their way forward against strong German resistance. In November the British
finally gained control of the rivers leading to the important port of Antwerp in Belgium,
so that it could be used by Allied ships to bring in supplies. The US First Army even
fought its way through a small portion of the “
West Wall”and captured the German city
of Aachen, while farther south the US Third Army under the command of the famous
Lieutenant General (3-stars) George S. Patton beat back a German counterattack near the
city of Metz and slowly advanced through strong German resistance toward the West
Wall. By the middle of December 1944, Allies armies had advanced up to the Germans’
main defenses all along the line.
There was one area where little fighting was going on, the large Ardennes Forest
in southeastern Belgium and Luxembourg. The heavy forests and hilly terrain of this
area made it difficult for the Allies to move large forces here, so this portion of the Allied
line did not have many troops defending it, and many of the US units there had been
worn out fighting on other portions of the line and had been sent to this “
quiet sector”to
get a rest and build up their strength again. Most Allied leaders thought that the war was
almost over, and they certainly did not expect the Germans to make a major attack at this
time, especially because Germany was threatened not only by the US and British armies
attacking from the west but the large Soviet (Russian) armies coming in from the east.
But Nazi Germany’
s leader (and that was his official title - Der Fuehrer which
means “
The Leader”
), the feared dictator Adolf Hitler, still thought that he could win the
war with new secret weapons that the Germans were beginning to produce - weapons like
rocket-propelled long-range missiles and jet fighters/bombers - if German troops could
win one last major victory in the West and gain the time he needed. Hitler decided that
this big German offensive should come in the Ardennes Forest, where the Allies would
not expect the Germans to attack. This was also the area where the Germans had broken
through the Allied lines in 1940, leading to the defeat of France. Hitler’
s goal was for
German troops to break through the Allied lines in the Ardennes Forest, capture badlyneeded supplies, and then advance to the port of Antwerp, cutting the Allied armies in
two. All of the Allied Forces to the northeast of Antwerp would be cut off from their
supplies and could then be destroyed. Such a tremendous victory - combined with the
new secret weapons - would make the Western Allies willing to make peace with
Germany, Hitler thought, and then the Germans could switch forces to the East and defeat
the Russians. Actually Germany no longer was strong enough to carry out such an
ambitious plan, but no one dared say this to the Fuehrer!
For the German plan to succeed, they had to catch the Allies by surprise, and this
would not be easy because the Allies had a big advantage. They had built special
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machines which were actually very early computers, enabling Allied codebreakers to read
most of the Germans’secret coded radio messages. As a result, the Allies usually knew
in advance what the Germans were going to do, but to protect this very important secret
so that the Germans did not find this out and change their codes, the information gained
from reading the German secret messages was classified as TOP SECRET ULTRA,
which was much higher than TOP SECRET, and very few Allied officers and leaders
knew about it. Because of the ULTRA Secret, the Allies didn’
t think that the Germans
could make any surprise attacks, but when Hitler ordered planning and preparations for
his Ardennes Offensive to begin, he also ordered radio silence (he didn’
t know that the
Allies could read the German messages, but he thought they might become suspicious if
they saw a lot more message traffic taking place next to the Ardennes Forest). As a
result, there were no radio messages about the attack, which meant that the ULTRA
Secret could not give advance warning, and the Allies were caught by surprise when the
German attack began in the early morning hours of 16 December 1944.
In the north, the German Sixth S.S. Panzer Army (“
Panzer”means tank, and the
S.S. were the infamous Nazi “
Schutzstaffel”troops who were much more fanatical than
regular German soldiers and who also committed a number of war crimes) ran into stiff
American resistance and did not advance anywhere near as far as it was supposed to,
while the southernmost German army, the Seventh Army, made slow progress because it
did not have very many tanks. Only the central German Force, the Fifth Panzer Army,
succeeded in making a major breakthrough in the Allied line, and it began racing
westward. The German advance was aided by bad weather, which kept Allied airplanes
from being able to launch attacks. The result of the German breakthrough in the center
was a huge bulge in the Allied lines, which soon led to the battle being given the
unofficial name of the “
Battle of the Bulge”
.
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To assist their advancing units, the Germans had also created a special force of
troops wearing US uniforms and driving captured US vehicles or German vehicles
modified to look like US ones. Many of these soldiers spoke English, and their job was
to dash forward through the holes created in the Allied line and capture key road
junctions and bridges while also cutting telephone and telegraph lines and possibly even
attacking US units from behind. A few were even dropped by parachute. Very few of
these fake US troops actually succeed in getting behind the Allied lines, but word of their
existence quickly spread, and US soldiers started questioning any strangers in US
uniforms to see if these men were real Americans or German spies. The strangers were
asked detailed questions about American movie stars or baseball players, which Germans
would not be able to know, even if their English was good. The result was lots of
confusion behind the lines, and anyone who was not interested in sports or movie stars
had a lot of explaining to do, but the Germans did not succeed in carrying out their
original mission and some of these Germans in US uniforms were captured and then
executed for being spies.
As soon as the German attack began, the Supreme Commander of the Allied
armies in Western Europe, General of the Army (5 stars!) Dwight D. Eisenhower (later
President of the United States from 1952-1960) started rushing reinforcements to the
threatened area. One of the reinforcing divisions, the 101st Airborne Division, was sent
to the Belgian town of Bastogne and told to hold this key road junction at all costs so that
the Germans would not be able to bring their supplies forward. Because the division
commander, Major General Maxwell D. Taylor, was back in Washington trying to get his
division moved from this “
quiet area”to the Pacific to fight the Japanese and the assistant
division commander was at a conference discussing the lessons learned from the recent
parachute landings in Operation MARKET GARDEN, Brigadier General Anthony C.
McAuliffe, who normally commanded the division’
s artillery, was temporarily in overall
command. Arriving in Bastogne just ahead of the Germans on 19 December, the
paratroopers (along with smaller armored units from several other divisions) began
setting up a strong defense that soon became a circle around the town as the Germans
started going around Bastogne after they were not able to break through from the east.
By 21 December Bastogne was surrounded by the Germans, and on the following
morning the Germans sent a messenger to General McAuliffe saying that his division was
surrounded and the situation was hopeless, so he should surrender. General McAuliffe’
s
reply was “
Nuts!”
, which meant that he thought that the Germans were crazy to think that
the 101st Airborne Division would surrender just because it was surrounded.
While the siege of Bastogne began, German Panzer divisions continued to
advance westward and even came very close to their initial objective of the Meuse River
by December 24th, but their supplies were not getting through (thanks in part to the 101st
Airborne Division’
s stubborn defense of the important road junction at Bastogne) and
their tanks began running out of fuel. In addition, the bad weather that had been keeping
Allied aircraft on the ground finally ended on December 23rd, and Allied air attacks soon
began causing heavy losses to German troops and vehicles.
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During the days immediately before, during, and after Christmas, the defenders of
Bastogne had to beat back a number of German attacks on the besieged city. But help
was on the way. General George S. Patton had stopped his Third Army’
s attack on the
Germans far to the south, turned his force in a completely new direction faster than
anyone had thought possible, and was now heading with all possible speed toward
Bastogne. On 26 December tanks of the 4th Armored Division broke through the German
circle and reached Bastogne, but the fighting in the area was not yet over. Hitler insisted
that Bastogne must be captured, and the town now became the Germans’main objective.
The Germans tried attacks at various points around the town in the days that followed but
were always stopped by the defenders, who were constantly being reinforced by General
Patton’
s troops. The last German attack against Bastogne took place on 4 January 1945,
and that same day the German High Command ended the attempts to capture the city and
ordered a retreat. At the same time the Germans were being pushed out of the rest of the
Bulge. On 16 January 1945 Allied troops attacking from the north edge of the Bulge
linked up with those coming from the south edge, and the battle was over, with the Bulge
in the Allied lines just about completely gone.
The 11,000 officers and men of the 101st Airborne Division who defended
Bastogne during the battle suffered 3,400 casualties; losses among the Germans trying to
take the town were much higher. The successful defense of Bastogne was one of the
main reasons why the Germans failed to break out of the “
Bulge”and accomplish their
original goals.
As for the battle as a whole, a total of around 650,000 Allied troops were
eventually involved in the battle, and their losses were approximately 82,000 men killed,
wounded, missing, or captured. The Germans, who used around 500,000 men in the
battle, lost at least 120,000 men. Both sides lost large numbers of tanks and assault guns;
the Allies could easily replace these losses with new equipment, but the Germans - whose
factories were under constant Allied aerial bombardment - could not. Hitler’
s attempt to
win the war had failed, and the heavy German losses actually hastened the end of the war
in Europe, since fewer troops and tanks were left to defend Germany.
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Name _____________________
Troop _______
Patrol _____________
QUESTIONNAIRE
BATTLE OF THE BULGE HISTORICAL TRAIL
Background (from the reading on the battle)
1. During World War Two the most powerful man in Germany was Adolf Hitler, and it
was his idea to attack the Allies in December 1944 even though the war seemed lost for
Germany. What was Hitler’
s official title?
ANSWER: ____________________
2. Who was the Supreme Commander of the Allied armies fighting against the Germans
in Western Europe? How many stars did he have?
ANSWERS: Name _____________________ Stars ____
3. By late 1944 the Allies thought the Germans would never be able to make a surprise
attack because Allied codebreakers had figured out how to read most of the Germans’
secret messages and thus usually knew in advance what the German were planning to do.
Naturally the Allies did not want the Germans to know that their secret messages were
being read, so this very important codebreaking ability of the Allies was given a security
classification which was much higher than TOP SECRET. What was this classification?
ANSWER: TOP SECRET ________
4. Which famous Belgian port was the place the Germans hoped to reach in order to split
apart the Allied armies?
ANSWER: __________________
5. On what date did the German attack begin?
ANSWER: __________________
6. At the start of the battle the Germans sent in special troops dressed as US soldiers and
speaking English. Their job was to capture key bridges and road junctions for use by the
main German attacking forces. When American soldiers ran into strangers in US
uniforms, how did they try to find out which ones were real Americans and which ones
were German spies? ANSWER: ___________________________________________
7. Who commanded the 101st Airborne Division troops when Bastogne was surrounded?
ANSWER: ____________
8. What was his normal job?
ANSWER: __________________
9. What was this general’
s famous reply to the Germans’demand that the US troops
surrounded in Bastogne surrender?
ANSWER: _______________
10. When did the Allied troops attacking from the north side of the “
Bulge”meet up with
the Allied troops coming from the south side, thereby getting rid of almost all of this
Bulge in the Allied lines?
ANSWER: ____________________
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On the trail, starting at the tank on the corner of McAuliffe Square
11. What kind of tank is parked at the corner of McAuliffe Square?
ANSWER: _____________
12. What is its serial number?
ANSWER: ____________________
13. Take a close look at this tank, which was damaged during the Battle of the Bulge.
Two hits are visible, but only one of these caused enough damage to knock out the tank.
Where is this hit? ANSWER: ________________________
14. When was the central square of Bastogne given the name “
McAuliffe Square”
?
(Hint: look around the area near the tank.) ANSWER: ______________
15. One of the reasons why the Germans wanted to capture Bastogne so much was that
the city was a major road junction. At the road intersection by the tank on McAuliffe
Square there are road signs showing that 5 major Belgian National Roads (“
Routes
Nationales,”which have “
N”numbers). What are these five National Roads?
ANSWER: Routes N-_____, N-_____, N-_____, N-_____, and N-_____
16. How many stars are shown on General Patton’
s helmet at the memorial to him? How
many did he actually have during the battle? (Check your reading.) ANSWERS: __ __
17. Until recently the US flag flying at the front of the Patton memorial was the version
used in World War II, but now it is the normal 50-star flag. How many stars were on the
US flags of World War II? ANSWER: ____
Extra Credit: Which two states have been added to the flag since World War II?
ANSWERS: _________ and __________
18. The Patton Memorial also contains a stone memorial to a Belgian unit that was
commended for meritorious and outstanding performance of duty while serving with
General Patton’
s Third Army. What was the name of this Belgian unit? ANSWER:
________________________
19. Right before you leave Bastogne on the road to the Mardasson Memorial and the
Bastogne Historical Center, you pass a large stone gate on the right that is the last
remaining part of Bastogne’
s old city walls. What is the name of this structure? (Hint:
there is no sign on this old stone gate, so you may have to look at the closest street sign to
find the answer.) ANSWER: __________________
20. How many steps lead up to the wooden entrance of this gate on the south side?
ANSWER: ___
21. When you return to the main road from the old stone gate and continue a very short
distance to the intersection where a road leads out of town to the Bastogne Historical
Center, you will see a large memorial to the citizens of Bastogne who died in World
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Wars I and II. How many inhabitants of Bastogne were killed during World War II while
fighting against the Germans as resistance fighters (“
Resistants”
)? ANSWER: ____
22. On the way to the Mardasson Memorial you will pass a US tank destroyer turret on a
monument. What division was this tank from? ANSWER _________
23. If you look carefully at the turret you will see where it was hit by an enemy shell or
rocket. Where is this hit located? ANSWER: _______________
24. Right before you turn left from the road out of Bastogne to walk up to the Mardasson
Memorial, you will see a concrete bunker used by the Belgian Army to defend the area
against the German invasion of 1940. On what day did Corporal Emile Cady of the 2nd
Regiment of Ardennes Riflemen (Chasseurs d’
Ardennes) die next to this bunker?
ANSWER: ____________
25. While going uphill you will make one more turn to the right just before you reach the
Bastogne Historical Center and Mardasson Memorial. At this intersection there is a stone
marker (milestone) that is part of a long trail of such markers that begin at Normandy and
stretch across France and Belgium, ending at the Mardasson Memorial. What is the name
of this trail marked by these milestones? (You can answer in English or French.)
ANSWER: ________________________
At the Bastogne Historical Center (Museum next to the Mardasson Memorial)
26. In front of the Bastogne Historical Center there is a tan-colored German assault gun
(a kind of tank that does not have a turret). What one-word name did this tank’
s crew
give it? [Historian’
s note: this is not the right color for German armored vehicles used
in the Battle of the Bulge. They would have been painted dark green or white or a
mixture of these colors; tan was the color used for desert camouflage.]
ANSWER: _________
Extra Credit for German Speakers: There is a motto stenciled on the right side of the
German assault gun. It says “
Trotzdem siegen wir!”What does this mean?
ANSWER: ____________________________________
27. In the displays inside the museum, which German general is shown wearing the
overcoat that he actually wore during the battle? ANSWER: ____________________
28. The museum contains a German amphibious jeep known as a KFZ 1/20
Schwimmwagen (”
swimming car”
) with the license plate WH-82106. Look carefully at
this jeep to see what made it able to move (“
swim”
) when it was in deep water.
ANSWER: _____________________
29. The museum also has another kind of German jeep known as the KFZ 1
Kübelwagen, which was made by a very famous German automobile manufacturer that is
still making cars today. What is the name of this company? ANSWER:______________
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30. Lieutenant General George S. Patton is shown in the museum’
s display of senior US
generals. What was General Patton’
s nickname to the troops he commanded?
ANSWER: ___________________
31. In the museum’
s display of German uniforms, there is a German medic with a square
green metal flashlight buttoned to his coat. This must have been captured from the
Americans, because it has English writing on it. What are the English words on this
flashlight? ANSWER: __________________
32. In one of the displays a German prisoner is being questioned by two US military
policemen, but they have not taken away all of his weapons. What is the name of the
anti-tank rocket that is slung over the shoulder of the German prisoner?
ANSWER: _____________________
33. The museum also has on display the cockpit of a US bomber that was shot down
over the battlefield. What is the name of this famous World War II bomber?
ANSWER: B-____
Extra Credit: What was the nickname given to this bomber because it carried so many
machine guns and was also well armored? ANSWER: The __________ _____________
At the Mardasson Memorial
34. How many flags fly outside the Mardasson Memorial?
35. What shape are all of the US armored division patches?
ANSWER: _______
ANSWER: ____________
36. Wood Badge is the highest level of training for adult Scout leaders, and its symbol is
an axe sticking in a log. Which US infantry division at the Battle of the Bulge used the
same symbol on its division patch?
ANSWER: _________________
37. What is the symbol of the 101st Airborne Division? ANSWER: ______________
Extra Credit: What is this division’
s nickname? ANSWER: _____________________
38. Panel 9 shows how the Belgians of Bastogne helped the US soldiers camouflage
themselves and their equipment to blend in with the snow. What did the Belgians do:
ANSWER: _______________________________
39. According to the panel 10 at the Mardasson Memorial, how many US soldiers were
killed, wounded or listed as missing during the Battle of the Bulge? ANSWER: _______
40. In the Crypt underneath the Mardasson memorial there are three altars. What three
religions do these represent? ANSWER: ___________, _______________, and
________________
TOTAL SCORE _________
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ANSWER SHEET
(FOR LEADERS ONLY)
1. The Leader (Der Fuehrer)
2. General Dwight D. Eisenhower, 5 stars
3. ULTRA
4. Antwerp
5. 16 December 1944
6. Asked questions that only Americans could know - sports, movie stars, etc.
7. Brigadier General Anthony C. McAuliffe
8. Division Artillery Commander
9. Nuts!
10. 16 January 1945
11. Sherman (M-4)
12. 3081532
13. Left side (the hit on the rear of the tank did not penetrate into the hull)
14. 15 July 1950
15. Routes N-4, N-30, N-85, N-834, N-874
16. 4, 3
17. 48
EXTRA CREDIT: Hawaii, Alaska
18. 11th Belgian Fusiliers
19. Porte de Treves
20. 15
21. 6
22. 10th Armored Division
23. Left side of turret
24. 10 May 1940
25. Voie de la Liberté (Trail of Liberty)
26. Siegfried
EXTRA CREDIT: We’
re going to win anyway!
27. General von Manteuffel
28. Propeller in back
29. VW (Volkswagen)
30. Blood and Guts
31. SAFE LITE
32. Panzerfaust
33. B-17 EXTRA CREDIT: Flying Fortress
34. 4
35. Triangle
36. 84th Infantry Division
37. Eagle EXTRA CREDIT: Screaming Eagles
38. Tore up bedsheets to make white camouflage
39. 76,890
40. Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish
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Scoring the Questionnaire
Scouts should give themselves 1 point for each correct question. If a question has 2, 3, or
5 answers, then each of these is worth either 0.5 points (for 2-answer questions), 0.33
points (for 3-answer questions), or 0.2 points (for the 5-answer question). Scouts also
receive 1 point for each correctly answered “
extra credit”question.
If Scouts are taking part in a patrol competition, add up the total patrol score and divide
by the number of patrol members taking the test to get the patrol’
s average score.
Suggestions for Improvements in the Battle of the Bulge Historical Trail Packet
We hope you enjoy the trail. If you find that some items in this information packet have
become outdated or you have other suggestions for improvements, please contact Scouter
Greg Pedlow at: Historical Office, SHAPE, CMR 450 Box 641, APO AE 09705 or
civilian mail: Historical Office, OCOFS, SHAPE, B-7010 SHAPE, Belgium. The
telephone number is DSN 423-4749 or civilian 0032-65-444749 (065-444749 within
Belgium).
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