Introduction

Writing the story about the Battle of Grandmenil costed a lot more time than I thought.
Often, the search for good information was like a needle in a haystack.
This year (2009) the Battle of the Ardennes started 65 years ago. Many veterans are deceased, but their stories are well preserved. Gedurende mijn zoektocht bleken er echter wel hiaten in verhalen te zitten, waardoor de informatie ogenschijnlijk niet klopte. During my quest, however, there were gaps in stories, and at first the information seemed not true.

After collecting all the information, it took a lot of time and puzzling to fix the time lines properly. Testimonials are not always reliable, but all the information together, I wrote, I think, a pretty accurate story.
It is worthwhile to write the story of Grandmenil and place it on the Internet. I am well aware that the story is never finished. There will be new storys and the website will be changed constantly. So be it….

In my sparse free time I still stroll through the huge forests, looking for tracks. I even dug in my backyard.
Regularly, I found things back, like shrapnel and ampoules. I found foxholes.
And from the backyard I can see the panther V and monuments for the fallen.

The Battle of the Bulge is still very tangible, not just literally, but you feel it to the older residents. On one hand, they are willing to tell, on the other hand they find it very difficult. They have lost family, they saw how their houses were destroyed, they were close to the hell of it.
And that was it: a living hell.

Bob Konings
Grandmenil, April 2009

Manhay, January 1945

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