916 Grenadier Regiment - 65th anniversary event in the Ardennes

In co-operation with the Museum of Military History Diekirch and the Luxembourg Army, the unit once again visited the battlefields and participated in commemorative events on the very ground that GR 916 fought on in December 1944/January 1945.
Thirteen members of GR 916 plus three friends from FJR.6 made the epic trip across Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg to retrace the original unit' footsteps as well as visiting more well known sites associated with the Battle of the Bulge.

Sunday 13th December

After catching the midnight ferry from Dover we arrived in Calais to start the journey to the Ardennes. Our tour today would encompass much of the march route used by Kampfgruppe Peiper of the 1st SS Panzer Division. We started at the Poteau Crossroads where the most well known photos and footage of the Offensive were shot shortly after elements of 1st SS Panzer Division ambushed a convoy from the US 18th Cavalry on 18th December. Using the excellent Battle of the Bulge; Then & Now book as a guide, it is easy to pinpoint exactly where each photo and frame was shot.
The area has hardly changed in 65 years and the wooden hut clearly visible in some of the footage is still there though now almost buried under a large tree.
We then moved on to the village of Honsfeld which was captured on the 17th December. The famous photo of Luftwaffe troops trying on American boots next to a water trough as well as several very well known others were shot here and it is very easy to take exact comparison shots as the village layout has not changed.
Following the KG Peiper march route we next approached the crossroads at Baugnez from exactly the same direction as was taken on 17th December 1944. Baugnez will forever be associated with the infamous Malmedy Massacre that occurred in a field next to the Café Bodware. Suffice to say the incident has been the subject of fierce debate since 1944 and the truth may never now be known. A memorial on the corner of the crossroads opposite the house that now stands on the site of the Café (which was destroyed during the incident) records the names of the victims but there is actually nothing in the massacre field itself to mark it out.
The superb Baugnez 44 Museum that has been built very near to the massacre field and is well worth a visit. The kit on display includes much that was recovered locally.
A very interesting documentary about the massacre can be viewed. Whilst we there a special exhibition of original American and German Airborne items from the Deadman's Corner Museum in Normandy could be viewed as well as a sale of original and repro kit but we found no bargains.
After lunch at the Baugnez Fritture, we continued with the march route through to Stavelot. We approached the Ambleve River Bridge and parked up. The last red brick house before the bridge is still totally covered in bullet holes from KG Peiper' attack.
The large barn-like house to the right was the final resting place of Konigstiger 222 that was filmed and photographed during the advance all the way from Germany to Stavelot with a group of Fallschirmjaeger riding on the deck.
Passing through Trois Ponts where the three bridges were blown up in Peiper's face by US Engineers, we next stopped in the tiny hamlet of La Gleize which became the final redoubt for KG Peiper. La Gleize is home to Konigstiger 213 and the excellent December 44 Museum. The museum has mostly locally recovered items on display including Peiper's map board, uniforms, weapons, equipment, vehicles and parts from the armoured vehicles abandoned in the area. The Konigstiger is the most famous relic of the battle and is in good shape externally having been maintained by the citizens of La Gleize. We walked part of the KG Peiper escape route and viewed the meadow that was one huge scrap yard of German armour in December 1944.
Lastly we walked to the narrow road where the well known photos of troops from the 82nd Airborne were testing the effects of Bazooka rockets on another Konigstiger.
After leaving La Gleize we made a quick stop at the militaria shop in Salmchateau.
We arrived at the barracks in Diekirch at 19.00 to be warmly greeted by our Lux Armee liaison NCO Remy who took us straight to the mess for a hot supper. We were then shown to our barrack block and we quickly unloaded the van and settled ourselves in. Remy took us up to the NCO's bar where a very pleasant evening of drinking Diekirch Christmas beer was passed.

Monday 14th December

Monday 14th December
Todays tour started in Germany with a visit to the place where GR 916 crossed the Our River on the morning of 16th December 1944 in Ammeldingen. The river runs very fast and high in the winter and many a Volksgrenadier ended up very wet when crossing over either by rubber dinghy or by the makeshift footbridge (constructed from farm carts pushed into the river with house doors laid over them) hastily built that morning.
We then visited several West Wall bunkers near Gentingen including one that was used as a message centre by GR 916 and we also followed the zig-zag trenches that run the length of the defence line. As the terrain is very rocky and steep, there are no Dragon' Teeth in this sector at all. We passed the "house" in Ammeldingen where American and German patrols often met to exchange cigarettes before the Offensive and once the scene of a gun battle that left eight GI' dead inside the house.
We then visited the military cemetery in Wallendorf that contains soldiers from numerous units (including 352 VGD) that fought in the area between September 1944 and February 1945. The bunker at the top of the road from the cemetery is reputed to have been visited by Hitler during an inspection tour in 1940.
There is a large storage tunnel down the hill and this is now a bat sanctuary so not therefore open to the public. Also in Wallendorf there is a preserved B-Werk observation bunker that can be freely explored (good torch required) and has plenty of its original stencils on the interior walls to see.
We crossed back over into Luxembourg and started our tour of the American positions along the Hoesdorf Plateau. First stop are some tree carvings made by GI' from the 5th Armoured Division in September 1944, still remarkably well preserved and visible after 65 years. Next an original roofed dug out can be seen and another carved tree beyond it. We did not continue to the woods where the US 109th IR were dug in and faced GR 916 on the morning of 16th December as we would be spending the next night there so we drove on to Longsdorf. The woods at the end of the village still have hundreds of foxholes dug by men from GR 916 and it was in these woods that a Sherman was knocked out by a Panzerschreck rocket. The road to Diekirch was also the scene of the first tank vs. tank battle in Luxembourg since 1940; US Shermans covering troops falling back to Diekirch came face to face with Jadgpanzer Hetzers of the 352 Panzerjaeger Abteilung on 17th December.
We walked back to the corner of the Longsdorf/Diekirch road where three of the buildings that still stand there today (Café Faust, Sinner Farmhouse and Vaessen-Theis Farm) were used by GR 916 during the Offensive. Roland Gaul from the Diekirch museum had arranged for the current owner of the Café Faust to give us a private tour of the cellars that were used for shelter and in one upstairs dining room we were surprised to be shown the ceiling still completely blackened by fire where the room had been used as a field kitchen.
Crossing the road we then visited the Vaessen-Theis Farm and again Roland had arranged for us to have a private tour of the cellar that was used as a field dressing station. The current owner is Dutch and his son spoke fluent English so that made things much easier. We were also shown the now plugged bullet holes in one of the farmhouse doors.
Lastly we drove back to Diekirch and enjoyed a much needed cup of coffee before heading back up to the barracks for supper and night of very cheap drinking in the mess.

Tuesday 15th December

We started the day with a visit to the Lux Armee EOD depot where Remy is based
(he is currently EOD but is also trained in Arctic Warfare, US Special Forces, Airborne and shoots for the Luxembourg National Team - quite a guy!) and were given a tour of their private museum. There are hundreds of explosive devices from mines to rocket launchers. Most of the ordnance is destroyed but any interesting stuff goes to museums such as Diekirch. One shed was full of aerial bombs from WW2 that have been recovered by Remy's team, deactivated and restored to display condition.
Then it was back to the barracks for a hearty lunch before preparing ourselves and our kit for the living history element of the trip.
We fell in outside our barrack block and loaded into a Lux Armee truck driven by Remy. We stopped off at the Diekirch museum where several US Bulge veterans were visiting and were very pleased to talk with us as well as being photographed with us.
We were then introduced to Horst Henning who had been an MG42 gunner in GR 914 during the Offensive (and a post-war General in the Bundeswehr) who was amazed to see us lined up outside the museum. I asked Herr Henning if he'd care to inspect the unit which he readily agreed to!
We then continued our journey up to Hoesdorf where we detrucked and marched to our CP. The two Schuetzengruppen were deployed in defensive positions whilst we of the HQ Gruppe attempted to get a fire going but failed miserably until Remy showed us how it is done Lux Armee style. Later we got the message that Horst Henning was coming up to see us so we marched back down to the American frontline and fell in once again for Herr Henning who through Remy made a very touching speech and then presented me with a 100 Euro note to buy the boys a drink! I asked Herr Henning if he'd care to lay a wreath at the Memorial Stone (that we sponsored in 2004) on behalf of the WW2 LHA which he seemed very happy to do. Herr Henning made another speech in which he thanked us all for remembering this usually forgotten sector of the Ardennes Offensive and for 65 years of peace between our countries.
We marched back to our CP and Remy served hot soup and bread for our supper which was very much appreciated. We then settled down for the night around the fire where amazingly I dropped off for the next four hours! At 5am we marched for the last time back to the Memorial Stone and together with the LHA US 82nd group, laid a wreath on behalf of the WW2 LHA at 5.30am - the exact time that the opening German artillery barrage started on the 16th December 1944.
After breakfast, we rode back to our CP and prepared for the march back to Diekirch following the original GR 916 advance route.
The weather was very cold and the ground frozen solid but there was no snow this time. We soon reached Longsdorf and when we passed the Vaessen-Theis farm there was the owner whom we'd met on Monday; upon recognising me came over, shaking my hand said " der Englander!"
We then took the Diekirch road stopping on the track that leads to the woods with the GR 916 foxholes for a rest before setting off again. We were ambushed shortly afterwards by Glen' group! The next leg took us to Bleesbreck and onto the main road into Diekirch from the Our River area. The American contingent were way ahead so we marched on with the population taking no notice (they had been forewarned of our presence and of the events taking place) at all of 16 fully armed German soldiers!
We finally reached the museum 45 minutes ahead of schedule where we had a well deserved rest and hot food from the Dutch Re-enactment group' field kitchen.
We spent a couple of hours inside and outside the museum before Remy drove us back up the barracks for showers, food and another night in the NCO's bar.

Thursday 17th December

Today we headed for the Northern Shoulder and for the better known locations associated with the Battle of the Bulge. Starting in Bastogne; we parked up in the town square and visited the two militaria shops (very overpriced) and enjoyed coffee and pastry. We then went to the Bastogne Historical Centre which has vastly improved from previous visits but beware of the overpriced tacky souvenir shop that sells just about anything you can think of with  the 101st Airborne shoulder patch printed on it! Then it was up to Baraque de Fraiture (Parker' Crossroads) for the traditional goulash and frittes lunch (best in the Ardennes) followed by a visit to Grandmenil to see the relic Das Reich Panther there - still in remarkably good shape despite the vandalism. Our next stop was La Roche and the excellent Battle of the Bulge Museum. Finally we stopped on the way back to Luxembourg at Houffalize to see the relic 116th Panzer Division Panther there.
As Remy had departed for Holland for a shooting match, we made our way up to the EM's bar only to find that they had run out of beer! We managed to purchase the few remaining bottles but our final night at the barracks was a quieter than planned affair.

Friday 18th December

After a final tasty breakfast at the barracks we started the long journey home via the huge militaria and surplus shop near Waterloo. We were surprised to come home to freezing conditions and heavy snow - we would normally expect that in the Ardennes!