101st Airborne – Bastogne – The Booby Trapped Coffins

Battlefield guide Reg Jans tells the story of a lady who was killed by a shell. After the battle, the coffins were found booby trapped by the Germans.

The Story takes place during the Siege of Bastogne, in Belguim, which was an engagement in December 1944 between American and German forces at the Belgian town of Bastogne, as part of the larger Battle of the Bulge.

The siege lasted from December 20–27, after which the besieged American forces were relieved by elements of General George Patton’s Third Army.

Reg Jans’ deep passion for WWII began as a boy after talking to his grandfather (who had been wounded in 1940 while fighting in France with the Belgian Army) and watching moving picture footage of the D-Day landings, parachute drops over the Netherlands and snow-covered foxholes in the Ardennes.

His grandfather’s death signaled a turning point for Reg, along with the realization that freedom does not come for free and historical knowledge should be preserved and passed on.

Check out Reg Jans’ website here www.regjans.com . You can tour with Reg to see key places in our WWII history.

Reg Jans

Reg Jans is one of the authors writing for WAR HISTORY ONLINE