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During the German offensive in the Ardennes, the US 1st 'Big Red One’ Infantry Division, was deployed to the frontline to stop any breakthrough from German forces. A Memorial to this Division is located to the west of the town of Bullingen in Belgium, near the German border.
The US 1st 'Big Red One’ Infantry Division, commanded by Major General Clift Andrus, were in the northern area of the German advance during the Ardennes Offensive in the winter of 1944 to 45. They faced the advancing German 6th Panzer Army.
Arriving in the Bullingen area on 17 December 1944, they continually fought and held back the German advance until the 28 January 1945. The Division saw the end of the German winter offensive in the Ardennes, and with it any hope of the German forces achieving their objectives.
Today, a large, granite obelisk stands at this site to honour the soldiers of the Division. Inscribed are the names of the fallen, along with the 'Big Red One’insignia.
The text on the memorial remembers the battles of the 1st Infantry Division, at Butgenbach, Waywetz, Bullingen, Weimes, Faymonville, Moderscheid, Hebscheid, Murringen, Honningen and Siegfried Line. An information panel next to the memorial provides visitors with the history of the Division's fighting in the area during the Ardennes Offensive (also known as the Battle of the Bulge).
The memorial reads:
‘The officers and men of the 1st United States Infantry Division who were killed in this period while fighting for the liberty of the world’
Schwarzenbach, 4760