BASTOGNE AT 85
BATTLE OF THE BULGE, 1944-45 & CHRISTMAS MARKETS
Dec. 10-17, 2029
Overview
BASTOGNE AT 85: BATTLE OF THE BULGE, 1944-45 & CHRISTMAS MARKETS
December 10-17, 2029
This fully guided and immersive tour will explore the people and places of the autumn and winter battles along the German frontier, specifically the Hurtgen Forest and the Bulge. Operation WACHT AM RHEIN, the December 1944 German offensive in Belgium’s Ardennes region, was the largest battle Americans participated in during WWII. In the end, Europe’s liberation from Nazi rule was made real through the defeat of German offensive power. We will walk the forests, ridges and towns, and follow the operations from the German border to their objective of Antwerp.
Following the D-Day landings in Normandy in June, and the breakout from the hedgerows in July and August, the Allied forces raced inexorably across France and Belgium in the late summer and early autumn. We begin in Antwerp, examining this key objective of both the Allies and the Axis. The greatest port in northern Europe, its control meant the difference between victory and defeat. In the months after its capture, however, as the Allies rebuilt its capacity, the advance stalled at the German frontier.
We next base out of Aachen (Aix-la-Chapelle in French), just over the German border. In this city of Charlemagne (he is buried in the Cathedral), we will explore the battles that raged in November and December to get the Roer River dams and on to the Rhine. Some of the bloodiest fighting of the war occurred in these dark, forbidding forests and ravines. Luxembourg and Bastogne beckon next, as we explore the Bulge.
The events of December 1944, continue to inspire long after the guns have fallen silent. The battle in the rugged Ardennes drastically altered the conduct of the war and demonstrated the unflinching resolve of freedom-loving peoples. This Bulge tour will bring guests to the forests and fields; and villages, towns and cities where the Greatest Generation made their most indelible mark. From American infantrymen assaulting the ravines and Rangers climbing the hills of the Hurtgen to isolated units standing firm at intersections at Lanzerath and St Vith; from American paratroopers holding the lines at La Gleize and Bastogne to Patton’s armored columns slicing up from the South to relieve them. And so many other iconic sites, including the magnificent American Cemetery in Luxembourg City, where Patton still lies at the head of his men.
The WWII tour unfolds over eight days and seven nights with stories of all the Allied participants as well as those of the German defenders. In addition, EHE guests will visit towns to shop in the region’s magnificent Christmas Markets in the weeks prior to the holiday! The rich, verdant farmland, the quaint villages and the dramatic forests and mountains create an incredibly memorable backdrop for this Bulge tour.
your expedition support
Jonathan Fursman
Claire Fursman
more european expedition dates
$1,000 per person
