King Tiger's World War 2 Battlefield Tour (Europe)

[King Tiger]

36. Noville
The capture of Noville, Belgium on January 15, 1945 was the last major action of WWII for
the men of the famed “Band of Brothers” Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Air Borne Division.
Noville was the principle objective of the division from December 19, 1944 until its capture on January 15, 1945.

Dec 1944 - A knock out German Stug at Noville

May 2010 - Traffic Light at Noville

 

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Dec 1944 - GI commanders discussing defensive deployment at Noville

May 2010 - Me illegal parking @ Noville

 

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Dec 1944 - GI Medical Team at Noville

May 2010 - Me @ Noville (Notice the same diamond shape logo at the right building)

While at Noville, we have a break and find a nice restaurant nearby to have our lunch.

 

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37. Bastogne
The Siege of Bastogne was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge.
Because all seven main roads in the Ardennes mountain range converged on the small town of Bastogne, control of its crossroads was vital to the German attack.
The siege lasted from December 20–27 when the besieged US 101st Airborne Division and part of 10th Armored Division were relieved by elements of General George Patton's Third Army.

The 101st Airborne Division's casualties from 19 December 1944 to 6 January 1945 were 341 killed, 1,691 wounded, and 516 missing.
The 10th Armored Division's CCB incurred approximately 500 casualties.

Map situtation at Bastogne : 19–23 December 1944

The 'Cobra King' crew - 1st Lt. Charles Boggess, Cpl. Milton Dickerman and Pvts. James G. Murphy, Hubert S. Smith and Harold Hafner,
pose for a celebratory photo in the vicinity of Bastogne, Belgium shortly after the tankers led the armor and infantry column that liberated the city in December 1944.

101st Airborne Division troops watch as C-47s drop supplies over Bastogne, 26 December 1944

C-47s drop supplies over Bastogne (From the film : Band of Brothers)

 

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Jan 1945 - The 3 Allies general after the relieve of seige at Bastogne
General Omar Nelson Bradley on the left, in the centre General Dwight D Eisenhower and on the right is General George S Patton.

May 2010 - Notice the same windows at the background

 

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May 2010 - Me at the very same site where the generals stands at Bastogne 66 years ago

May 2010 - Evening time at Bastogne

 

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Dec 1944 - The main street in Bastogne

May 2010 - Bastogne today

 

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Dec 1944 - Church at Bastogne

May 2010 - The same church today
During the weekends, it is a crowded open market with lot of people (like our Pasar Malam in Singapore)

 

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Dec 1944 - Bastogne during the siege

May 2010 - Chinese (Shanghai restaurant) at Bastogne

Taking the oppournity we tried a few chinese dishes including wanton noodles and siew mai at the "Shanghai restaurant"

The so called wanton noodles........ I still prefer our Singapore one

 

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Dec 1944 - Town Square at Bastogne after the bombing by Luftwaffe

May 2010 - Car park today

May 2010 - There are many nice restaurant at Bastogne today

 

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Dec 1944 - Bastogne during the seige

May 2010 - The roadtowards the town Square of Bastogne

 

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Dec 1944 - Town Square at Bastogne

May 2010 - The same Town Square at Bastogne today

 

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Here, photo taken of US Sherman Tank at the Belgium town of Bastogne.
This tank was knocked out by the Germans during the battles at Bastogne.

Local Authorities decided to preserve the tank as remembrance so as for future generation to know the heavy price to pay for Liberation and Freedom.

Belgium and USA Flag at the town centre of Bastogne today.

 

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Sherman tank performed well against Japanese tanks, Italian tanks, and the German standard tank of the earlier time, the Panzer IV medium series.
However, Sherman tank was inferior in both armor and armament to the German Panther and Tiger tanks, and some of the tank destroyers fielded by the Germans in 1944.
When the US encountered German tank units containing large numbers of Panther and Tiger tanks in 1944, high US losses sometimes resulted.

Notice the hole on the side of Sherman tank.

Close up shot, the hole is slightly bigger than the size of my fist, probably from a German 75mm shots.

 

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For US 3rd Armored Division alone, the overall combat losses of the division were extremely high.
The unit was assigned with a organization of 232 Sherman tanks.
During the whole European campaign in the duration of about ten months, the 3rd Armored Dvision lost 1,348 medium tanks in combat, a loss rate of over 580%

Although Sherman tanks were less powerful than the heavy German tanks, US armored forces ultimately triumphed because of numerical superiority,
a more consistent supply of fuel and ammunition, and superiority air power.

 

[King Tiger]

 

[King Tiger]

Weight : 30.3 tonnes
Length : 5.84 m
Width : 2.62 m
Height : 2.74 m
Crew 5 : Commander, gunner, loader, driver, co-driver

Armor : 62 mm
Primary armament : High Velocity 75 mm M3 L/40 gun (90 rounds)
Secondary armament : .50 cal Browning M2HB machine gun (300 rounds)
2 × .30-06 Browning M1919A4 machine guns (4,750 rounds)
Engine : Continental R975 C1 gasoline
Speed 38.5 km/h

Tiger Family with Sherman Tank.

 

[King Tiger]

The battle and the seige of Bastogne told in history books and in the movies "Band of Brothers"
Bastogne today is a small, quiet and beautiful european town.

Since we are here, we decided to have a coffee break and have a simple meal at nearby restaurant at Bastogne.

A Belgium coffee and a simple chocolate pancake.

 

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The town of Bastogne today

This is one of my favourite restaurant "Le NUTS" in Bastogne.
The food, especially the Cabonara Spaghetti by the young chap is excellent.

 

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My wife and I stayed 2 nights in Bastogne so that we have more time to exlpore around.

Lucky enough for us, our windows face the town square of Bastogne

On the 1st floor, it is a simple caferia serve by an old Belgium man.

We have simple but very good Belgium breakfast during our stay here.