June 25, 2023 - Luxembourg
Patton Museum - Ettelbruck
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From the Luxembourg American Cemetery we headed north to the little town of Ettelbruck to visit the Patton Museum.
Ettelbruck had the misfortune to be occupied by the Germans twice in World War II: first on May 10, 1940 when the German panzer divisions came through on their way to Sedan and the Channel Coast. Ettelbruck was occupied over four years until finally being liberated by Americans on 11 September 1944. Ettelbruck was again occupied by the Germans on 16 December 1944 as part of the Battle of the Bulge. This time Ettelbruck was only occupied for nine days as the town was quickly retaken by Patton's Third Army.
Ettelbruck was situated in the center of General Patton's attack against the southern flank of the German offensive.
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An American 105mm howitzer, the standard U.S. light field howitzer during WWII.
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Pictures from the first liberation of Ettelbruck on 11 September 1944.
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| A diorama showing liberation of Ettelbruck on 25 December 1944. |
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| Another diorama showing the start of the Battle of the Bulge with German panzers in the snow. |
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| A full-scale diorama showing American soldiers dug-in manning a position. |
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There was an interesting exhibition showing photos from the War in the East between Germany and the Soviet Union. The photographer was instructed by his commander to capture via photograph the daily life of the soldiers behind the frontline.
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| This museum contained many artifacts from World War II, probably collected in the nearby Ardennes forest where the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944. The Germans also swept through the Ardennes in May 1940 but surprised the Belgians and French and their was almost no resistence. |
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German army artifacts: panzerfausts, canteen cups, guns, German grenades (potato smashers), knives, etc.
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| American army artifacts including the famous pineapple grenades. |
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| Army helmets. |
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A plaster mold replica of the bronze Patton statue that stands at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, NY.
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| Photo of Patton's family members. Lynnette and I met Helen Patton (grandaughter -- in the middle) at the Museum of the Surrender in Reims, France back in 2016. |
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Flashback! Lynnette and I met Helen Patton (the General's grandaughter -- in the middle) at the Museum of the Surrender in Reims, France back in 2016. She was very friendly and nice and came up to us and introduced herself. I dropped to my knees and said "I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy!" Actually, I don't remember what I said but I did ask if we could get a picture with her which she graciously consented to.
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Aerial photo of Ettelbruck.
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| Remnants of a Pratt & Whitney R2800 engine from a crashed Martin B-26 medium bomber. |
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| Artifacts from crashed Me-109 fighters. |
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| Artifacts and memorabilia from a Fw-190 A8 fighter that crashed on 26 December 1944. The remains of the pilot -- Lt. Heinz Fresia -- were not discovered until 1996. |
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Daimler-Benz 605 V-12 engine from a crashed Me-109K.
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| 14-cylinder BMW 801 radial engine from a crashed Fw-190 A8. |
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Rolls Royce Merlin engine from a crashed Handley Page Haliface four-engine heavy bomber.
An interesting small museum with lots of artifacts.
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