Wiltz tank memorial
The tank memorial in the commune of Wiltz ( Luxembourgish Wooltz ) in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg was erected in 1946 to commemorate the Second World War .
history
The American tank of the type M4 Sherman (ID: 3038800) of the 707th US tank battalion, which was set up on a platform, was involved in the fighting for Wiltz ( Ardennes Offensive ) in 1944 and was spared from destruction because the US tank was in a large dung heap in the The neighboring town of Erpeldingen remained in place at the end of December 1944 and the occupation had to leave him behind in retreat from the German Wehrmacht . The tank had got stuck due to the driver's carelessness.
In mid-1946, after German prisoners of war had torn down the enclosure wall on the dung heap , the tank from Erpeldingen was pulled out very slowly with a winch on a truck . Since the engine was no longer functional, four trucks were harnessed in front of the tanks, and another truck in the rear braked downhill towards Wiltz.
The tank was erected on the Place des Martyrs in Wiltz in memory of the Battle of Wiltz.
In 2014 the tank was renovated in the “Vehicle Restoration Center” of the Royal Belgian Army Museum in Bastogne and put back in 2016. The tank is now on the "Belle-Vue" at the entrance to the upper town in Route d ' Ettelbruck .
The renovation was carried out in cooperation with the Wiltz city administration, the “Musée sur la Bataille des Ardennes Wiltz” and the “National Liberation Memorial Schumanns Eck” association. The renovation and transport costs amounted to around 12,000 euros and were taken over by the two associations “National Liberation Memorial Schumanns Eck” and “Musée sur la Bataille des Ardennes Wiltz” and the municipality of Wiltz.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See also: Siege of Bastogne , December 18, 1944: Conquest of Wiltz by the advance division of the Panzer Lehr Division .
- ↑ Paragraph quoted from: Sherman is back , Wiltzer Panzer has found a new location on the "Belle-Vue" after renovation, Luxemburger Wort from July 30, 2016.