Footsteps of WWII · Belgium & Luxembourg
December 44 Historical Museum, La Gleize
Museum · 19–24 Dec 1944
The story
Kampfgruppe Peiper, the armoured spearhead drawn from the 1st SS Panzer Division, drove west from 16 December 1944 towards the Meuse. Without supplies or contact with other German units, it was stopped in the Amblève valley. American attacks at Stoumont forced its remnants back to La Gleize, where they were almost trapped; on 21 December they captured Hal McCown, commander of 2nd Battalion, 119th Infantry. Short of fuel and with heavy losses, Joachim Peiper abandoned his vehicles on 24 December and led his remaining men out on foot, leaving wounded and prisoners behind. By his own account 717 men got back out of 3,000. The village museum, renovated in 2013, is devoted to these events.
What to look for
On the square stands Tiger II number 213, abandoned in December 1944, its broken gun barrel repaired in 1972. Inside the museum are 17 dioramas, vehicles and guns, Peiper's map case and many objects found around La Gleize. The church opposite was badly damaged in 1944 and rebuilt.
Plan your visit
Private museum on the village square opposite the church. Opening is seasonal and could not be checked online (the site blocks automated reading); check december44.com before you go. The Tiger II outside can be seen at any time, free.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Baugnez: Malmedy massacre memorial · 16 km
- St Vith · 25 km
- Houffalize and its Panther tank · 32 km
- Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery · 32 km
- Recogne German war cemetery · 41 km
- Bois Jacques foxholes, Foy · 43 km
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Footsteps of WWII: Europe 1939–1945
A free field guide for your phone: the route, the maps and the stories built in, even with no signal. The whole Second World War in Europe, from the first shots at Westerplatte on 1 September 1939 to the German surrender in May 1945: Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain, Normandy, Arnhem, Bastogne, Stalingrad, Berlin and the camps, in 15 areas from Britain to Russia.
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