BELGIUM: FIELDS OF CROSSES OUTSIDE BASTOGNE ARE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Record ID: 872577

  • Title: BELGIUM: FIELDS OF CROSSES OUTSIDE BASTOGNE ARE A CONSTANT REMINDER OF THE THOUSANDS OF LIVES LOST IN THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE
  • Date: 1st May 1995
  • Summary: BASTOGNE, BELGIUM (SUMMER, 1994) 1. AERIAL VIEWS OF FIELDS OF ALLIED AND GERMAN GRAVES (2 SHOTS) 0.52 2. REAR VIEW PILOT IN HELICOPTER COCKPIT 1.00 3. AERIAL VIEW BASTOGNE 1.08 4. AERIAL VIEW FIELDS OF GRAVES 1.52 5. CU SIGN "AMERICAN MILITARY CEMETERY AND MEMORIAL" 1.57 6. CU INSCRIPTION ON ARCHWAY "FLANDERS FIELD AMERICAN CEMETERY" 2.01 7. CUS/GVS AMERICAN AND GERMAN GRAVES, CROSSES AND FLAGS (6 SHOTS) 2.49 8. GV WORLD WAR II AMERICAN TANK OUTSIDE ENTRANCE TO CEMETERY 2.55 9. GV ENTRANCE TO BASTOGNE HISTORICAL CENTER, PEOPLE ENTERING 3.01 10. GV ENTRANCE TO CEMETERY, PEOPLE ENTERING 3.08 11. GVS BASTOGNE STREET SCENES, AMERICAN AND GERMAN FLAGS FLYING (3 SHOTS) 3.37 12. GVS INTERIOR HISTORIAL CENTER, VARIOUS VIEWS OF EXHIBITS, PEOPLE LOOKING AT EXHIBITS (10 SHOTS) 4.57 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
  • Embargoed: 16th May 1995 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: BASTOGNE, BELGIUM
  • City:
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics:
  • Reuters ID: LVA9G7AQO5RMOLXMT9LR03WW3ZPY
  • Aspect Ratio:
  • Story Text: In the hills of southern Belgium lie the graves of some of the thousands of troops, Allied and German, killed in one of the bloodiest battles of World War II.

    Fifty years have passed since the Battle of the Bulge - Germany's daring but desperate gamble to stem the Allied advance on the Western Front in the closing days of World War II.

    On December 16, 1944 Adolf Hitler himself signalled the launch of the last-ditch counter-offensive in the Ardennes Forest - and it was January 25, 1945 before the Allies reestablished their original front.

    The Germans used bad weather and forested hills to launch their surprise attack on the lightly defended 140 km (90 mile) front.

    The six-week battle was dubbed the Battle of the Bulge because of the large dent German forces made in the front line as they pushed towards the northern Belgian port of Antwerp, hoping to cut Allied forces in two.

    The Germans failed when U.S. resistance stiffened and they ran short of fuel to keep the advance going. Clearer weather allowed swarms of Allied planes to pound their armour and the German advance was finally halted just outside the town of Bastogne.

    The battle was the bloodiest for U.S. forces in World War II, with almost 90,000 men killed, wounded or missing. There were 100,000 German casualties, one-third of the attacking force.

    The fields of crosses outside Bastogne are a constant reminder of the thousands of lives lost in a battle which virtually ended German resistance on the Western front and opened the gates for the final Allied advance.


  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register