Colin1
Senior Master Sergeant
By Martin Banks
in Brussels
The Daily Telegraph 26 December 2009
A fight is on to save the historic Bastogne military barracks in the Belgian Ardennes from closure.
The campaign follows the Belgian Government's decision to close 23 barracks across the country by 2011, including the so-called Heinz Barracks at Bastogne where US General Anthony McAuliffe had his HQ during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
The announcement by the Defence Minister Pieter de Crem has caused a storm of protest among US and British veterans and many other Belgian residents. A war veteran's group has written to Howard Gutman, the newly-appointed American ambassador to Belgium, appealing to him to intervene and help halt the closure.
The barracks is the home of the Belgian 1st Field Artillery Regiment, currently deployed in Afghanistan, and also houses a small museum dedicated to the sacrifice made by US and British troops.
The Battle of the Bulge has special significance for Allied veterans as it is seen as a turning point in the war. From December 16th 1944 until January 25 1945, a snow-covered Bastogne was encircled by German troops and appeared to be about to capitulate. Within the small town set deep in the Ardennes forest close to the border with Luxembourg were thousands of US soldiers including the 101st Airborne Division, led by McAuliffe, whose HQ was in a cellar of the barracks.
It was from here on December 22nd 1944 that the German commander General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz sent McAuliffe a note demanding that the Americans surrender, to which McAuliffe famously replied 'Nuts'.
The German offensive ended in failure and, with more than 19,000 deaths, the battle became the single biggest and bloodiest that US forces experienced in the war.
Field Marshall Montgomery later said that the battle was "one of the most tricky I have ever handled" and addressing the House of Commons, Winston Churchill described it as "undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war".
The barrack's museum has been preserved in recent years by two retired Belgian soldiers, who give guided tours to war veterans in particular.
A Belgian Defence Department official said the decision to shut the barracks had "not been taken lightly". He said that its possible conversion to a prison would help cope with an acute shortage of prison spaces in the country.
in Brussels
The Daily Telegraph 26 December 2009
A fight is on to save the historic Bastogne military barracks in the Belgian Ardennes from closure.
The campaign follows the Belgian Government's decision to close 23 barracks across the country by 2011, including the so-called Heinz Barracks at Bastogne where US General Anthony McAuliffe had his HQ during the Battle of the Bulge in 1944.
The announcement by the Defence Minister Pieter de Crem has caused a storm of protest among US and British veterans and many other Belgian residents. A war veteran's group has written to Howard Gutman, the newly-appointed American ambassador to Belgium, appealing to him to intervene and help halt the closure.
The barracks is the home of the Belgian 1st Field Artillery Regiment, currently deployed in Afghanistan, and also houses a small museum dedicated to the sacrifice made by US and British troops.
The Battle of the Bulge has special significance for Allied veterans as it is seen as a turning point in the war. From December 16th 1944 until January 25 1945, a snow-covered Bastogne was encircled by German troops and appeared to be about to capitulate. Within the small town set deep in the Ardennes forest close to the border with Luxembourg were thousands of US soldiers including the 101st Airborne Division, led by McAuliffe, whose HQ was in a cellar of the barracks.
It was from here on December 22nd 1944 that the German commander General Heinrich Freiherr von Luttwitz sent McAuliffe a note demanding that the Americans surrender, to which McAuliffe famously replied 'Nuts'.
The German offensive ended in failure and, with more than 19,000 deaths, the battle became the single biggest and bloodiest that US forces experienced in the war.
Field Marshall Montgomery later said that the battle was "one of the most tricky I have ever handled" and addressing the House of Commons, Winston Churchill described it as "undoubtedly the greatest American battle of the war".
The barrack's museum has been preserved in recent years by two retired Belgian soldiers, who give guided tours to war veterans in particular.
A Belgian Defence Department official said the decision to shut the barracks had "not been taken lightly". He said that its possible conversion to a prison would help cope with an acute shortage of prison spaces in the country.
