'Bulge' Tiger Locations - Then & Now....

I'm afraid you're not got to find any long-lost Shermans or half-tracks, fsbof, but if you look closely and hard, it's quite possible to find shell fragments, cartridge cases, pieces of personal kit, etc. Local farmers still find some interesting stuff and sell it locally ; I bought a US 3in shellcase for 3 Euros....

Here is a shot of a typical two-man foxhole deep in the Ardennes; on the perimeter of the 'fortified goose-egg' at Commanster which was defended by Bruce Clarke's forces.

 

Nice picture. It's actually surprising that time has not covered up this hole.

 

The pine needles in the Ardennes don't seem to cover up such traces as quickly as the deciduous trees ( oak, beech, etc ) in other areas of Europe.....

 

At the Moissy Ford area in normandy you can still find the odd lump of shrapnel, bullet casing or bit of personal equipment.

That is, assuming Martin didn't collect it all up on his last visit.

 

wow, Martin! that is a great shot of the foxhole! i would love to roam around there for a while!

 

I nearly missed answering this one....Vorwald in the ATB publication 'Battle Of The Bulge - Through The Lens' states that these men are from Fallschirmjager-Regiment 9.....

 

I'll take that as a confirmation Martin.

interesting too that in 1945 the 503 W-SS Schw. Pz Abt in Pommern and the east side of Berlin many times had Fallshirm truppen in their midst trying to protect the flanks from Soviet infantry

 

Volkssturmann Martin, is seen dashing across the road carrying his Satchel Charge on his left side. ;-))

Sorry Martin, I could not resist.

Thank you though, for this nice "tour."

 

Actually 're-enacting' that photo made me realise just how staged the original was for the benefit of the PK-berichter - as I 'advanced' towards Germany

 

Martin,

Would you be intersted in re creating some pictures that I have? I belive most of them are in France. But am not sure. If you are interested I will post them.

 

Well, it's only a few years late ( ) but I finally scanned a couple more pics from that trip ( was it really six years ago, now ? ).

Anyhow, back to Poteau and 'those' famous pics......note the wooden shed in the background ( the diagonal object across the photo is the gun-barrel of the knocked-out Greyhound )...



On a very dull Autumn day in 2004, taken from where the armoured car was, that tree had grown a little in 60 years....



Moving in closer, yes - the shed was still there, although looking very rickety. I wonder if it's still there....?

 

And a couple more, dredged from the archives.....

Again, a very well-known image of Obersturmfuhrer Jurgen Wessel's Tiger II, '105'......



Advancing up Stavelot's narrow rue Haut Rivage, it was struck on the gun mantlet ( possibly by a bazooka projectile ). Ordered to 'Zuruck ! Zuruck' by Wessel, the driver reversed into the frontage of Gillet's pharmacy.

The same scene in 2004....



Further down the same street are some of the Ardennes' best-known bullet-holes, possibly fired by the MG34 of a Panzer as they advanced up the street.....

 

Love it!! When I cross that bridge with my family? Then we know were back home!

 

I'd forgotten all about this thread so thought for fun I'd give it a *bump*, what with the 70th Anniversary due this week and while we all await publication of the 'Tigers In The Ardennes' book...........

 

Thanks Martin

 

Well at least you appear to be running, Martin, something quite a few of bus have not done in years !!! Glad you bumped this thread. neverr gets old.

Gaines

 

i really like seeing then and now pictures especially since the 70th anniversary of the bulge is coming up in two days. Really neat Martin!

 

I love "then and now" shots! This location wasn't directly related to the Tigers, but they passed it - "Massacre Field" at Baugnez. The b&w one was taken in January 1945 (from Warren Watson at the 30th Division "Old Hickory" website www.oldhickory30th.com).

I took the other two; the misty looking one was on December 17th, 1994 early in the afternoon; 50 years after the events at Baugnez. The other photo was on a sunnier day!

Best,
Greg

 

Martin showed this house in the Rue Haut Rivage in Stavelot .. this shot was taken in 1994, before any of the bullet damage was repaired. I wish I could have been there when they did the repairs, because you know they just threw those old damaged bricks away (what a relic to have)!

Best,
Greg

 

Here in Marche, we still can find war debris... As a boy (between 1960 and 1966) , we always went foraging in the woods around Rochefort; and each time we found something interresting.
On one occasion, when visiting an abbey, we found lots of derelict (or abandonned) german weaponry (I remember a spare tube for a German MG2, , linked 7,92 mm cartriges for these MG2, a box with 2 mortar shells, hand grenades... ) . In my father's farm, we used big (US) tanks chains and winches for domestic use... and phone wires had long been used to get light in the stables....
If you are lucky, with a mine detectors (use forbiden by law in the Walloon region!), you can find rotten guns, helmets, infantry shovel...
My parents staid in the cellars (some in the local caves) for about a fortnight, when the city was token by the german (tye PanzerLehr), shelled by the yanks, then token back and lost again... In fact, that's the place where my parents actually met! Rochefort is on the way between Bastogne and Dinant.
If you want pictures token?

Hubbar49