DIEKIRCH, Luxembourg, December 20, 2004 – Sixty years ago, during the waning days of World War II, the Allied front had a weak link in the Benelux region. On the morning of Dec. 16, 1944, the German Army attacked that front in a final effort to reverse the tide of the war.

The campaign, the battles that ensued and the men and women who fought them, earned a place in history during the Battle of the Bulge.

"The Battle of the Bulge was cruel, fierce, barbaric and brut, it was the German dictator's attempt to reverse the irreversible," said Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker.

HOUFFALIZE, Belgium, Dec. 17, 2004 – Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge got a hero's welcome today from local residents who endured some of the most brutal fighting of the battle between U.S. and German troops here 60 years ago.

Memorial ceremonies and a special Mass here commemorated the 60th anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge and civilians as well as troops who died here during the fighting.

Houffalize, on the banks of the Meuse River north of Bastogne, was a highly strategic crossroads during World War II.

German troops fought bitterly to maintain their hold on the town, which was virtually destroyed during the battle and endured the deaths of some 200 of its citizens within just a few hours.

However, the U.S. 2nd, 3rd and 11th Armored divisions finally were able to break the Nazi stronghold here, after which Houffalize became a linkup point for the 1st and 3rd Armies as they forced the Germans to retreat to the east. Story

LUXEMBOURG, Luxembourg, Dec. 16, 2004 – Citizens of Luxembourg and Belgium joined veterans of the Battle of the Bulge here today to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the opening day of the battle and to honor the 19,000 U.S. soldiers who died during what proved to be one of the largest and bloodiest encounters of World War II.

In the cold, fog-shrouded Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial, the veterans paid tribute to 5,000 of their comrades buried here following what Luxembourg

Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker acknowledged were their "most terrible days."

Juncker praised the "courageous young men" who endured what many said felt like overwhelming odds to free Luxembourg from five years of German occupation. "This is a day to pay tribute and to show our deepest gratitude," he told the veterans. Story

The proclamation, read to the veterans by U.S. Ambassador to Luxembourg Peter Terpeluk at the Luxembourg American Cemetery and Memorial here, pays
tribute to them for making a "formidable stand"

during a massive German counteroffensive launched 60 years ago today.

The American soldiers' actions, Bush wrote, proved to be "a turning point in the war" that "was critical to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the liberation of Europe from tyranny." Story

Camille Kohn, president of CEBA, French acronym for a Battle of the Bulge research organization, told the veterans the nation feels "immense gratitude" for the American

Kohn joined Clervaux Mayor Francis Stephany in laying flowers at the foot of the GI Monument during a solemn ceremony in the town center. Story

"sacrifice and courage under incredibly difficult conditions."

In December 1944, Clervaux was the headquarters of the 28th Division's 110th Regimental Combat Team, which made what Denning called "a valiant stand" that slowed the Germans' advance toward Bastogne. Story