Following the collapse of the German fronts in Normandy and in the East in the summer of 1944, Hitler planned a crippling counterstroke in the West. He would repeat the successful theme of the 1940 Blitzkreig through the Ardennes and strike for Antwerp, slicing between the British and Americans. A second Dunkirk might follow if matters went well: at the very least the Western Allies would be divided, forced upon the defensive and sue for a separate peace. They might even at last support the German crusade against Bolshevism – a gamble well worth the throw!

Accompanied by Colonel Peter Knox we study first von Manteuffel's encirclement of Bastogne, its reinforcement by the US 101st Airborne Division and its eventual relief by the 4th (US) Division of Patton's Third Army. We then follow the "Devil's Drive" by Kampfgruppe Peiper as the spearhead of Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army, including the massacre at Malmedy and the kampfgruppe's final destruction. We also visit St Vith where the Germans were held for a vital four days and study the Allied counter attacks – the British west of the River Ourthe and the Americans east of the river.

In the Ardennes battle the Americans suffered 75,000 casualties and the Germans over 120,000 together with most of their armour and heavy equipment. These losses could not be replaced – Hitler's last great gamble in the West had failed, but for the Western Allies it meant that they would not be first to the gates of Berlin.

ITINERARY
Day 1 (Tuesday): Depart Victoria Coach Station. London 0900. Eurotunnel Folkestone - Calais. Drive to Bastogne. Dinner and overnight in Bastogne (four nights). Battle briefing.
Day 2: After an early breakfast we drive to look at the South Shoulder of the battle visiting the excellent museum at Diekirch, returning to Bastogne along the route taken by 2nd Panzer Division. Visit the Historical Centre and the Mardasson Memorial.
Day 3: Today we study the North Shoulder; en route to the Elsenborn Ridge we pass through St Vith a town held by the Americans until 23 December and then erased from the map by Allied bombing. Then we follow "Rollbahn D" and Kampfgruppe Peiper to the crossroads at Baugnez, the site of the infamous Malmedy Massacre. Here we visit a new museum and have lunch. We continue along Peiper's route to the Neufmoulin Bridge where he was finally stopped. He had nearly made it through to the Meuse.
Day 4: Drive to Marche and study the Allied counterattacks. Stop at the CWGC at Hotton and then visit La Roche and the Museum of the Battle of the Ardennes, the only museum to study the British involvement in detail. After lunch return to Bastogne via Noville and the foxholes occupied by Easy Company of the 2nd Battalion 506th Infantry Regiment, 101st (US) Airborne Division immortalised in the book by Stephen Ambrose – "Band of Brothers".
Day 5: After checking out drive to Bande, site of a massacre of civilians by a special SS unit during the German retreat in September. Then to Celles and Foy Notre Dame, near Dinant, where the Germans were stopped before reaching the Meuse. Early lunch in Dinant then drive to Calais. Eurotunnel Calais – Folkestone. Arrive Folkestone approx 1800. Arrive London Victoria Coach Station 2000.