Footsteps of WWII · Belgium & Luxembourg
Houffalize and its Panther tank
Memorial · 19 Dec 1944 – 16 Jan 1945
The story
Houffalize, on the Ourthe north of Bastogne, was taken by the 116th Panzer Division on 19 December 1944 and became a crossroads for German supply columns. On the night of 5–6 January 1945 about ninety RAF Lancasters flattened the town to block it. The Germans withdrew on 15 January, and on 16 January the US First Army, attacking from the north, and the Third Army from the south met at Houffalize, closing the Bulge. The Panther now on display, originally numbered 111, had fought in Normandy, the Netherlands and the Hürtgen Forest. It overturned into the Ourthe from a bridge, killing its five crew, was pulled out in 1948 and restored in 2023.
What to look for
The restored Panther Ausf. G stands on Square Saint-Pair by the Bastogne road, with about a dozen information panels and a small exhibition in a reconstructed period barracks. Walk to the Ourthe bridge on the road to La Roche, where the tank fell.
Plan your visit
The tank and panels can be seen at any time, free. The small exhibition has limited opening; contact the Houffalize tourist office (+32 61 28 81 16) or check coeurdelardenne.be before you go.
Things change, so check opening times before you travel.
Nearby sites
- Recogne German war cemetery · 10 km
- Bois Jacques foxholes, Foy · 11 km
- Bastogne War Museum · 14 km
- Mardasson Memorial, Bastogne · 14 km
- Bastogne Barracks (McAuliffe's HQ) · 14 km
- St Vith · 29 km
All 160 sites in Footsteps of WWII →
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