It is thanks to the actions and bravery of the many American units who defended the perimeter of Bastogne in December 1944 and January 1945, that the town was never captured by German troops during the Battle of the Bulge.This thematic route enables you to discover two different sides to the story of Bastogne’s history during the Second World War. On one hand, a place symbolic in 1940 with the successful breakthrough of German troops. Then, on the other hand, the place in 1944 where the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) was blocked on the outskirts of Bastogne, in the village of Neffe.The small village symbolically marks the place where the American forces, halted Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Fritz Bayerlein’s attempt to quickly capture Bastogne from the east. American troops of Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Cherry’s combat team (U.S. 10th Armored Division), plus engineers from the 158th Engineers Combat Battalion and later, supported by the paratroopers of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, managed to defend the area. Neffe therefore remembers the violent hand-to-hand combat which occurred in several of its houses.The route follows part of the main road, and it allows walkers to retrace a part of the sequence of events that helps explain the failure of the German Panzer Lehr Division at the gates of Bastogne.&nbsp;The route is accessible to both walkers and mountain bikers.

Belgium 

The statue is a tribute to all the men of the 101st Airborne Division, and other divisions attached who fought in the encirclement of Bastogne during the battle of the Bulge

Screaming Eagle Monument

Mardasson Memorial

Memorial dedicated to the nurses of Bastogne

Nurses of Bastogne Memorial

Bastogne War Museum

At the Bend of Neffe

On 18 December 1944, the village of Neffe was held by American troops from Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Cherry’s combat team from the 10th Armored Division, plus also engineers from the 158th Engineer Combat Battalion. German troops commanded by Generalleutnant (Lieutenant-General) Fritz Bayerlein were quickly advancing towards Neffe and Bastogne but became bogged down in the mud around Mageret.The next day, at the roadblock in Neffe a fierce battle erupted. The German tank column was immobilised in the middle of the village and came under small-arms fire. But Neffe was eventually captured.Cherry’s command post at the Château near Neffe was also the scene of another fierce engagement. Dozens of German soldiers were killed or wounded fighting around the Château. The building eventually caught fire, forcing the Americans to withdraw to Mont and Bastogne.The arrival of Lieutenant-Colonel Julian Ewell’s 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the U.S. 101st Airborne Division, helped block Bayerlein’s division advancing any further along the road from Neffe into Bastogne.By the end of the attack on 19 December, the Panzer Lehr Division sat around three kilometres from the centre of Bastogne. It had failed in its attempt to swiftly capture the town. Fighting continued on 20 and 21 December.As the siege of Bastogne continued, harsh weather conditions complicated operations and worsened the plight of local civilians. From Neffe, German forces repeatedly shelled Bastogne. It was not until around the turn of the year, that the U.S. 6th Armored Division was finally able to liberate Neffe.

Neffe - A Village on the Frontline

​​In March 1946, a proposal to extend the 'Road to Liberty’ as far as Luxembourg and Bastogne, was put forward to the French by a Belgian-American association.​The model of the milestone was made by the sculptor François Cogné. Approximately 1.2 metres high and initially weighing about 435 kilograms, several of these original pink cement milestones have since been replaced by lighter synthetic resin pieces. All the milestones carry a red flame spurting from a torch, which emerges from the waves of the Atlantic Ocean. The ocean that the Americans crossed to help the Allied forces liberate Europe. Contained within the blue crown at the top of the milestones are 48 white stars, which symbolise all the states in America in 1944.​Below the blue crown of stars, there are also four red rectangles. These represent the different sections of the Liberty Road. Starting in Normandy from Sainte-Mère-Eglise to Cherbourg, then moving through France from Cherbourg to Avranches, Avranches to Metz, and then finally from Metz over the border to Luxembourg and Bastogne. On the white part, there are various indications such as mileage, terminal number, and directional information.​The last milestone on the Liberty Road, registered as number 1,147, it was installed on 5 July 1947 at the foot of the Mardasson hill. It is only a few steps away from the Mardasson Memorial, which was inaugurated three years later, in 1950.​

The Last Milestone of the Liberty Road

​​Since the war, many voices have been raised wishing to further honour the 101st Airborne Division and other U.S. troops surrounded in Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge. There was already a monument in memory of the then ’acting’ commander of the 101st Airborne Division, Brigadier-General Anthony McAuliffe and his famous "nuts" reply to the German forces’ surrender proposal in December 1944.&nbsp;​Private Dennis McKeen, a U.S. soldier of the 101st Airborne Division, was killed during the fighting for Bastogne by German troops, abandoned along a road and then reported missing. Having become the godfather of McKeen, when he adopted to look after his grave, Robert Remacle wanted to pay tribute to him by erecting a memorial for him and his division. The then Mayor of Bastogne favoured the Mardasson Memorial site to place a commemorative monument.&nbsp;​It was suggested to the sculptor to use a local stone for the monument. The stone was donated by the Carrière sur les Roches quarry, which also made its infrastructure available. The project to create the emblematic symbol of the famous division was born. Supported by his family and aided by local partners of the project, including with the help of work tools offered by merchants from Bastogne, Robert worked as a volunteer for almost a year on the project. The stone that initially weighed almost two tonnes was transformed into a sculpture that weighs around 1,000 kilograms.&nbsp;​It is therefore the entire population of Bastogne who offers this monument in gratitude to the bravery of the 101st Airborne Division and other units under the command of McAuliffe during the siege of Bastogne. &nbsp;​The Screaming Eagle statue is full of symbolism. Its wings are voluntarily raised to evoke the dove of Peace, the returned American helmet symbolises the blood spilled and therefore all of the soldiers wounded, killed or reported missing. The head of the eagle is turned towards the helmet, to place the soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division under its protection.&nbsp;

​​Corporal Emile Cady and a few other men from his unit of the Belgian 2nd Chasseurs Ardennais Regiment, were stationed in this small concrete shelter, located around one kilometre from the centre of Bastogne. Their mission was to protect the withdrawal of Belgian troops on the 10 May 1940, the day of the first invasion of Belgium by German forces.​The former commander of the 2nd Chasseurs Ardennais Regiment, Lieutenant-General Florent Merckx, sheds some light on the attack on the defensive position at the gates of Bastogne:​“It was after having fulfilled this perilous mission of protecting the withdrawal to the end that Corporal Cady, evacuating his shelter which had become the target of converging enemy fire, fell mortally wounded. His comrade [Private] Louis Bouillon, who withdrew, already carrying the machine gun on his shoulder, took the wounded man on his back under enemy fire and transported him to the signal block of the railway. Surrounded by Germans, Louis Bouillon was finally forced to leave his corporal and managed to return to his lines, still carrying the machine gun.”&nbsp;​It is estimated that over 500 soldiers of the Chasseurs Ardennais died in battle during the 18 days campaign against the German troops.​

Emile Cady Monument

Installed in 2019 and unveiled officially in December 2020, the Nurses of Bastogne Memorial is dedicated to ‘the Angels of Bastogne’, Renee&nbsp;Lemaire and Augusta Chiwy, both women volunteered as battlefield nurses alongside the U.S. Army after the start of the Ardennes Offensive. On Christmas Eve 1944, Renee Lemaire was instantly killed when the aid station was bombed by the German Army. Augusta Chiwy survived and continued nursing the wounded in the foxholes. She passed away in 2015.&nbsp;The monument more broadly honours all the nurses who have risked their lives during the Second World War. It represents tiny crosses that create one big red cross when looked at from the road. The burned wood symbolizes the bombed aid station.

The Mardasson Memorial was designed by the Belgian architect Georges Dedoyard and inaugurated in 1950 in the presence of Brigadier-General Anthony McAuliffe to bear witness to Belgium’s gratitude to the American soldiers who risked or lost their lives on Belgian soil. The monument is star-shaped, representing the American Army symbol and a reference to the stars of the flag of the United States. The Memorial is also endowed with a crypt, decorated with a mosaic by the French artist Fernand Leger. Engraved in the monument are the names of the then 48 American states, and in the pillars the history of the Ardennes Counteroffensive and the names of the key American units. A walkway situated at the summit offers the visitor a panoramic view of the defensive positions held during the siege of the town, as well as of the Bastogne War Museum situated next to the memorial. In 2020, the management of the memorial was transferred to the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) by the Belgian state.

Key events of the war and the combatants' ordeal are reproduced in the exhibition with the aim of highlighting and explaining the broad sweep of its history.The museum provides a special focus on how the civilians lived during the occupation, during the battle itself and afterwards. Opened on 22 March 2014, this memorial centre is located on the former Bastogne Historical Centre site, nearby the Mardasson Memorial. Visitors follow the stories of four fictional characters during their visit: a 13-year old boy, a school teacher, a Corporal of the 101st US Airborne Division and Hans Wegmüller, a German Lieutenant of the 26th Volksgrenadier division. Their stories are based on real events and characters.Three ‘scenovisions’, real multisensory 3D scenes, give the visitors the opportunity to relive the past. First they will find themselves in the Allied General Headquarters in southern England in June 1944. The second flashback places the visitors on the edge of the Ardennes forest. Shortly afterwards they can experience critical moments inside a local café surrounded by local people, while outside the shells continue to explode: a total immersion in the very heart of the conflict.In 2022, the museum’s experience was enriched with an extension focusing on the aftermath of the war, and the long-term consequences for the region and the entire continent. <iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NNhboV1KdoY?showinfo=0" frameborder="0"></iframe>

The Bastogne War Museum represents a new way to remember the Second World War in Belgium. It offers a fresh perception in a modern and interactive framework of the causes, events and consequences of the Second World War, with a special focus on the Ardennes counteroffensive: the Battle of the Bulge.

The Bastogne War Museum covers the Second World War, from its beginning up to autumn 1944, with a special focus on the Battle of the Bulge. Key events of the war and the combatants' ordeal are reproduced here with the aim of clarifying the broad sweep of its history. The museum provides a clear picture of how the civilians lived during the occupation, during the battle itself and afterwards.

Opened on 22 march 2014, this new memorial center, housed in a brand-new building, is located on the former Bastogne Historical Centre site. Three ‘scenovisions’, real multisensory 3D scenes, give you the opportunity to relive the past. First you will find yourself in the Allied General Headquarters in southern England in June 1944. The second flashback places you on the edge of the Ardennes forest. Shortly afterwards you experience everything you would expect at a true-to-life table in a café. You are surrounded by the local people, while outside the shells continue to explode: a total immersion in the very heart of the conflict.

The Museum is located just a stone's throw away from the Mardasson Memorial, that was inaugurated in 1950 to bear witness to Belgium’s gratitude to the American soldiers who risked or lost their lives on Belgian soil. The monument takes the form of a star. Engraved in gold lettering, the story of the battle can be read on the walls of the open gallery. A walkway situated at the summit offers the visitor a panoramic view of the defensive positions held during the siege of the town. The Memorial is endowed with a crypt, decorated with a mosaic by the French artist Fernand Léger.

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