Today's Musée Méindeg takes us outside of the Grand Duchy to the Bastogne War Museum. Located just across the Luxembourg-Belgium border, the museum is within easy driving distance of Luxembourg and makes for a popular day trip destination.
Just a few months after being liberated by Allied Forces, the town of Bastogne became the site of the one of the most dramatic events of World War II, when it was attacked by the Germans in December 1944 as part of Hitler's last-ditch attempt to recapture Antwerp and change the tide of the war. The siege lasted for a week, during which time the town -- and the small number of American soldiers defending it -- suffered many casualties. At one point during the Battle of Bastogne, German troops at succeeded in fully encircling the town and even gave the Americans the opportunity to surrender ... an offer to which General McAuliffe famously responded: "Nuts!" Ultimately, Patton's Third Army came to the relief of the exhausted forces: within a few weeks, the battle was won and the town of Bastogne re-liberated. Given the historical importance of the Battle of the Bulge, it's no wonder that Bastogne continues to be defined by its role in World War II.
