Today; 68 years ago (1 Viewer)

[Guy]

Today 16th December, 68 years ago saw the begining of what was to become the heaviest allied battle on the continent known today as the Battle of the Bulge. The commemorations started today in Bastogne and Rocogne and will last into January 2013. All villages in the Bulge region participate. As soon as I can lay my hands on some pictures I will post them .
For a starter here you see a picture of the famous Sherman " Cobra King". During the BoB this tank and its crew lead an armor and infantry column that relieved the 101st airborne at Bastogne .I also include 2 pics of a dio I made years ago about this famous tank
guy:smile2:

 

[Sentaapua]

Guy,

Thanks for sharing with us the commemoration of this iconic campaign with pics of what`s going on in the lovely snowed regions of Belgium! It is a privilege living in such a beautiful and historically rich place! Please keep the pics coming!

 

[mr colt 45]

Guy: Thanks for the history lesson, the great pic of that Sherman and Your great dio. Keep the pics of everything coming.{sm4}{sm4}{sm4}

 

[Firebat]

Excellent !

 

[cruelios]

Nice One Guy.

 

[wwiibuff]

Great dio Guy. The history of the Battle of the Bulge has always fascinated me and one of my favorite areas to collect.

 

[PanzerAce1944]

Very nice tribute Guy. I woke up today and thought 16 December...... The Bulge kicked off in 1944'

 

[TomNT]

Thanks for starting this thread Guy and great pic's! The Bulge intrigues me as a battle and it definately is one of my favourite series that i collect.

Tom

 

[binder001]

History trivia: "Cobra King" was an M4A3E2 variant of the Sherman with double armor of the front. The tank was part of Company C, 37th Tank Battalion of the 4th Armored Division. As an update to the photo shown. the tank had a rich history. "Cobra King" led the assault colum that relieved Bastogne, then was rebuilt with a 76mm gun in place of the original 75mm. The tank participated in the famous (infamous?) Task Force Baum where it was knocked out of action during the drive to Hammelburg. Apparently the tank was later recover by the Seventh US Army when they seized the Hammelburg area. Presumably partially repaired, the tank may have been languishing in an Ordnance depot when somebody wanted a display tank for the US Army barracks at Vilseck, Germany. The M4A3E2 was placed as a "gate guard" memorial unti a Sherman tank buff serving in the Army started investigating the old girl. He contacted experts in the CONUS who verified the serial numbers as the actual "Cobra King". The tank was brought back to the USA and sent to the Patton Museum where volunteers restored the tank. The gun mount was changed back to the original 75mm and the exterior was restored to the December, 1944 condition. The interior was found to still have battle damamge from the 1945 actions near Hammelburg, so the interior was left in 1945 condition. The tank was almost completely restored when some "genius" decided that the Armor branch history function of the Patton Museum would be transferred to Ft.Benning with the movement of the Armor School. 90% of the Patton Museum's exhibits were transferred to Ft. Benning. At last report "Cobra King" is in a storage facility at Ft. Benning waiting for the completion of the new Armor Museum. It is now a pawn in the hands of bureaucrats who have only a minimal sense of the history they hold in their depots.

Gary B.

 

[Rob]

Excellent pics Guy and splendid dio too^&cool Thanks for posting {bravo}}

(thanks to Gary too for Sherman info)

Rob

 

[Guy]

I promised a few more pics well here are a few more about the re-enactment groups and the vehicle parade. Very interesting because every tank still in working order from the Vissenaken museum participated. One could admire several Shermans of course but also some rare vehicles like the M22 Locust, the MKII Matador,the Sexton, etc ( may be a hint for the TS companies) and the recently restored Cromwell tank enjoy the pics
guy

 

[Guy]

And a few more pics. Also note the typical Ardennes houses built with stones from the local quarries. Another detail : during these official re-enactment commemorations games ,all signs from later years have to disappear from the streets, all modern traffic signs for example are replaced by the old ones from the 1940's
guy

 

[waynepoo]

Talk about having fun....:wink2: I wonder if any of those blokes are actually Yanks or Germans?.....And it looks cold{sm3}
Wayne.

 

[ROUGH RIDER]

And a few more pics. Also note the typical Ardennes houses built with stones from the local quarries. Another detail : during these official re-enactment commemorations games ,all signs from later years have to disappear from the streets, all modern traffic signs for example are replaced by the old ones from the 1940's
guy
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Very cool pictures, would be nice to be there in person. thanks for sharing