Bastogne

Bastogne, Du. Bastenaken, town (1991 pop. 12,187), Luxembourg prov., SE Belgium, in the Ardennes and near the border of the duchy of Luxembourg. It is a rail junction and market town noted for its hams. In World War II during the Battle of the Bulge (Dec., 1944-Jan., 1945), it was held mainly by a smaller U.S. division against overwhelming bombardment by the Germans, until eventually relieved by the U.S. 3d Army. Nearby are military cemeteries and the Mardesson monument to the U.S. soldiers who died in battle.

Bastogne (Dutch: Bastenaken, German: Bastenach, Luxembourgish: Baaschtnech) is a Belgian municipality located in the Walloon province of Luxembourg in the Ardennes. The municipality of Bastogne includes the old communes of Longvilly, Noville, Villers-la-Bonne-Eau, and Wardin.

History

Before Caesar Augustus established the Pax Romana, the region of Bastogne was inhabited by the Treveri, a tribe of Gauls. The name Bastogne was first mentioned only much later, in 634, when the local lord ceded these territories to the St Maximin's Abbey, near Trier. A century later, the Bastogne area went to the nearby Prüm Abbey. The town of Bastogne and its marketplace are again mentioned in an 887 document. By the 13th century, Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor and Count of Luxembourg, was minting coins in Bastogne. In 1332, John the Blind, his son, granted the city its charter and had it circled by defensive walls, part of which, the current Porte de Trèves, still subsists.

The city’s walls were quite effective at protecting it during the troubled times that followed. The city’s economy actually flourished thanks to the renown of its agricultural and cattle fairs. The walls repelled a Dutch attack successfully in 1602. In 1688, they were dismantled by order of King Louis XIV.

The 19th century and Belgium's independence were favourable to Bastogne as its forest products and cattle fairs became better known abroad. Several railway lines were built to link it to the neighbouring towns. This all came to an end with the German occupation during World War I.

World War II

In December 1944, after Bastogne had already been liberated, and as a last-ditch effort to avoid complete defeat, Hitler’s troops attacked again in the Ardennes, just as they did in 1914 and 1940. The goal was to advance to Antwerp, to cut off supply and separate British from American troops. On December 16, taking advantage of the cold and the fog, the German artillery started the so-called Battle of the Bulge by attacking the sparsely deployed American troops around Bastogne. A few days later, Brigadier General McAuliffe and the 101st Airborne Division along with elements of the 10th Armored Division arrived to counter-attack but, after heavy fighting, got encircled in the city. On December 22, German emissaries asked for the American surrender, to which the General answered quite briefly, “Nuts!” The next day, the weather cleared up, allowing air retaliation and the parachuting of much needed food, medicine, and weaponry. On December 26, the troops of General Patton broke the deadlock. The official end of the Battle of Bastogne only occurred three weeks later, when all fighting finally stopped. By that time, the city was completely destroyed and more than 25,000 people had been killed, not counting the more than 50,000 who were never found.

Sights

• The Porte de Trèves, part of the defensive walls that had been erected in the 14th century by John the Blind, can still be seen.
• The Romanesque tower of St Pierre church and its baptismal fonts also date from the Middle Ages.
• The Mardasson Memorial, erected near Bastogne to honour the memory of the American soldiers wounded or killed during the Battle of the Bulge.
• Monuments to Brigadier General McAuliffe, General Patton and others can be found around town.

Folklore

The key character of all legends around Bastogne is the so-called piche-cacaye. Pronounced pishay-cackay.

Transportation

Bastogne originally had an NMBS/SNCB railway line connecting it to Libramont and to Gouvy. Passenger trains to Gouvy stopped in 1984 and in the 1990s the line to Libramont was taken out of service . The two station buildings in Bastogne remain, but are now used for other purposes. Part of the rail line has been converted into a cycle path

Sports

• Bastogne is the midpoint of the famous Liège-Bastogne-Liège classic bicycle race, one of the biggest events in the professional cycling calendar, dating from the end of the 19th century.
• The Circuit des Ardennes, which today refers to another bicycle race, used to refer to a 600-km-long car-racing event in the Bastogne area. The race used to attract famous enthusiasts, such as William II, German Emperor. It was relocated to Francorchamps around the time of World War I, where it now lives on as the Belgian Grand Prix.

References

External links

• Official city web site (in French)