Battledetective Now and Then

Historical images compared with the current situations in the exact locations. Click on the pictures to enlarge.
Holland(1) Holland(2) Normandy Worldwide
	La Gleize, Late December 1944 American jeeps and trailers in front of the town square after it was liberated again on December 24th 1944. The trailer in the near front of the photo carries a soldier, unsure if it was an Allied or German combatant, killed in action during the Battle of the Bulge. Note that his arm is in an upright position due to frost or rigor mortis.
	La Gleize, Late December 1944 American soldiers and an M4 Sherman tank in front of the town square after it was liberated again on December 24th 1944.
	La Roche-en-Ardenne, 1945 Color photo taken on Rue de Beausaint shortly after the Battle of the Bulge. It shows a German Panzerkampfwagen IV tank with its tracks missing. In the background are the castle and the belltower of the Saint Nicolas church in the center of La Roche.
	Bastogne, December 19, 1944 Paratroopers of 506th move north on the Bastogne-Houffalize road. "Now-photo" taken by Reg Jans from Belgium.
	Bastogne, December 1944 Troops of 1st Batallion of the 506th move North from Bastogne to Noville on Route de LaRoche. In the "Now-"picture in the middle, Battledetective Tom poses under the street sign.
	Bastogne, December 1944 This chapel was originally the Regimental Aid Station of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment. Later it became the Divisional Hospital for the 101st. It is now a multi-functional building for a Bastogne high school.
	Bastogne, December 1944 The center square of the Bastogne Seminary, covered with a huge glass dome, was used for religious ceremonies during the siege.
	Bastogne, Christmas Day 1944 General MacAulliffe and his staff at Christmas dinner. This comparison is not made with the historic location in the Heinz Caserne but with the 101st Division's Christmas dinner in Iraq in 2005.
	Bastogne, Christmas Day 1944 Another comparison in detail with CSM Michael R. Wagoner of the 506th RCT in 2005 in Iraq and Colonel W.L. Roberts commanding CCB, 10th Armored Division in 1944.
	Bastogne, December 18th 1944 The 326th Airborne Medical Company set up the 101st Divisional Hospital in this field where it was overrun and captured by German troops.
	"UNDER INVESTIGATION" Bizory, December 1944 The location of this well-published picture is still 'under investigation' but is believed to have been taken in a chapel in Bizory near Bastogne.
	Savy, December, 24th 1944 German Panzer IV, nicknamed "Lustmolch" or "Lust Lizard", abandoned in Savy near the town pump house. "Now-photo" submitted by Battle Detective Raphael Giot from Belgium.
	Bastogne, December 26th, 1944 Rue de Clerveaux in Bastogne after the siege was lifted by tank units of General Patton's Third Army. "Now-photo" taken by Reg Jans from Belgium.
	Bastogne, December 1944 After General Patton's armored troops reached the besieged town of Bastogne, its main drag -Grand Rue- was jammed with ambulances and supply trucks.
	Champs, December 30th, 1944 Colonel Steve Chappuis (left) on the steps of the Rolley Castle after he and General McAuliffe (far right) had been decorated by General Patton.
	Champs, November 21st, 1991 Colonel Steve A. Chappuis visited the Castle again in 1991. In the picture at the right he can be seen talking to the lady of the castle: Madame Jacques Maus de Rolley. In the image at left, the lady talks to attendants of the 2007 Trigger Time European Convention.
	Bastogne, December 24th, 1944 the Kessler farm where a group of German soldiers delivered a surrender ultimatum, upon which the commanding officer of the 101st Airborne Division, Brigadier General Anthony McAuliffe famously replied "Nuts".
	Bastogne, December 27th, 1944 General Tony McAuliffe (right), the deputy commander of the 101st Airborne Division, receives congratulations from General Maxwell Taylor. Taylor, divisional commander, was in the US during the siege of Bastogne and arrived in town one day after the 4th Armored Division broke through the encirclement. The location is the Heinz Barracks in Bastogne
	La Roche-en Ardennes, January 1945 A staged photograph of American soldiers of the 84th "Railsplitter" Infantry Division at right, meeting up with Scottish soldiers of the Black Watch Royal Highland Regiment.
	Recht, December 18th, 1944 Men of the 3rd Kompanie SS-Panzer-Aufkl�rungs-Abteilung (Reconnaissance Unit), Kampfgruppe (Battle Group) Knittel at the Kaiserbaracke Crossroads in Belgium. Nearly nothing reminds of the location today and we therefore brought our own sign showing the way to Saint Vith.
	Poteau, December 16th, 1944 On 8DEC1944, the US Army�s 14th Cavalry Group was ambushed by SS Kampfgruppe Hansen on the Post to Recht road in the Belgian Ardennes. Propaganda photos and films were made by the Germans shortly after the fighting and many of the images shot that day are used as iconic illustrations of the Battle of the Bulge.
	Poteau, December 16th, 1944 Nazi officers inspect the results of the ambush by Kampfgruppe Hansen
	Poteau, December 16th, 1944 Nazi infantry moves passed an abandoned American armored car. The shed in the background is still there, hidden under a huge tree.
	Bastogne, Christmas Day 1944 The best comparison ever of the Christmas dinner photo of the Divisional Headquarters staff of the encircled 101st Airborne Division in Bastogne in 1944! This is the actual room with mannequins dressed as the persons in the photo in the Heinz Barracks which is now a military museum.
	Bastogne X-Mass Dinner Photo Tradition In November 2012 we took this shot inside the regimental headquarters of the 327th Infantry in Fort Campbell, Kentucky. The regiment, now known as First Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), is fully aware of its traditions and during several deployments in its rich history photos similar to the 1944 image have been made to decorate the commander's wall. Note the encased regimental colors for the deployment to Afghanistan.
	Baugnez, 1946 An American flag and a cross are places on the crossroads near the location of the Malmedy Massacre incident. For more details about this incident, see our Battle Study #11.
	Bastogne, 1947 "The spoils of war". A market salesman helps a local resident try on an American M43 jacket ob Rue de Vivier. Behind him is a market stand with "Stock Americain", US Army surplus uniforms. Then photo by David Seymour for Magnum Photos.

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