Belgia / Miejsce zainteresowania
Oznacz
Udostępnij
Trasa
On 18 December 1944, soldiers of Kampfgruppe Peiper, German 1st SS ‘leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ Panzer Division, advanced into the town of Stavelot as part of the German offensive in the Ardennes. Here, a German Panzer tank was knocked out after it drove into a wall of the building. Today, the three-storey building displays a photograph of the tank to remember the incident.
The Konigstigers (King Tiger) tank drove into Stavelot along Rue Haut Rivage.
Private Lee Galloway, of A company, US 526th Armoured Infantry Battalion, lay in wait with a bazooka anti-tank weapon, and shot when the tank came into view. His round hit the frontal armour of the King Tiger and although it did not penetrate it, the tank was forced to stop.
SS Obersturmfuhrer Jurgen Wessel was inside the tank, and immediately ordered his driver to reverse it. However, in doing so he reversed into the building, through the walls. This forced the walls to collapse onto the tank, trapping it and knocking it out. The crew had no other option but to abandon the tank.
Over time the account and actions by Galloway have been contested by the men of the US 825th Tank Destroyer Battalion, who claim a shot from a tank destroyer (armoured fighting vehicle) caused it to drive into the house.
Today, the three-storey building displays photographs of the tank and the events that led to it being stuck in the wall here on 18 December 1944.
Close to this location, on the nearby bridge, there are further memorials dedicated to the American units who fought at Stavelot during the winter of 1944 to 45. This includes a monument from an American M4 Halftrack (armoured vehicle).
Place du 18 Décembre 1944 1, Chemin du Chateau, Stavelot, 4970