During out visit to the Belgian Ardennes last July, I of course had to do some visits related to the Battle of the Bulge. One of them is the museum in La Roche-en-Ardenne. Here the Scottish Black Watch Regiment, 51st Highland Division hooked up with the American 84th Division “Railsplitters” on the 11th of Januari 1945. Between the beginning of the campain and this event, the town was greatly devastated by US artillery, and later, when the weather cleared, bombing in an attempt to harass the German army passing through. This being a important crossing of the Ourthe river, as the US army did not destroy the bailey bridge erected by them on their first liberation of the town.
In and around town there are several locations reminding of the time.
I know there is an M10 Achilles somewhere on the hill opposite the town, but did not visit that one. On the town side, the is a M4A1(76)W( according to the resources I found) Sherman. It supposedly was knocked out by a shot penetrating it’s armor, killing the whole crew. Between 1990 and 2004 a M46 Patton was located on the very same place.
The aforementioned meeting between the British and US armies is conmemmorated with a plaque, while there is a museum about the Battle of The Bulge in the centre of the town. It has a Panzerjager 38(t) “Hetzer” (or G13?) in front, so cannot be missed. The museum, which is on three floors, has a nice collection of vehicles, weapons and artifacts (how did they get the vehicles on the 2nd and 3rd floors?)
For more info: Musée de la Bataille des Ardennes — La Roche-en-Ardenne
On our way back, we came across Baraque de Fraiture, where a chaotic battle took place, holding up the Germans for a valuable couple of days. Now a US 105 mm howitzer and a couple of plaques remind you of the actions there.
More info: Battle of the Baraque de Fraiture Crossroads
Now on to the pictures. I excuse myself for the sometimes poor quality of the photos. The light was not too good and everything was behind glass. This made use of a flash nearly impossible.
The Plaque
The Sherman
The Museum:
The howitzer:
