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Brief historical survey of the war years in Luxembourg
Since its creation in 1839, and especially after the revised treaty of London
in 1867, the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg
had been declared a neutral and independent country by the great European powers,
where the Luxembourg nation could freely develop into a constitutional monarchy.
The status of neutrality was violated by Imperial Germany in WW I, when German
forces occupied Luxembourg and used it as an administrative and logistical support
base until the end of the war. Although no hostilities or armed conflicts took
place during that time in Luxembourg, the Germans more or less imposed martial
law status on the population, and individual rights and liberties were thus
curtailed. At the end of WW I, French, and subsequently U.S. forces were stationed
in several areas in Luxembourg before being returned to the States.
When Hitler came to power, the majority of Luxembourgers, recalling the German
occupation of WW I, became very much aware of the threatening danger of nazism.
Luxembourg, which, with the exception of a volunteer army (for schooling and
ceremonial functions only), had no military forces, had repeatedly declared
itself again neutral and was not a member in any alliance in the pre-1940 years.
On May 10, 1940, when the Nazi German armies started the campaign in the West,
they poured through Luxembourg in their rush against France. The night prior
to the German invasion, the Grand-Ducal family and the cabinet left Luxembourg
and went into exile (U.S., Canada and later on in London, U.K.). As Luxembourg
strictly stuck to its neutrality, no armed resistance was initially opposed
to the aggressor, who overran the small country in less than a day. During the
Western campaign, and until the capitulation of France, German military troops
and logistics were channeled through Luxembourg, with martial law again being
imposed upon the population. When the campaign in the West ended, the victorious
German military troops yielded to the Nazi party, which established itself all
over Luxembourg, and the Grand-Duchy was integrated into the Third Reich. The
name of Luxembourg stopped to exist; the country was called from then on "Gau
Moselland," (Mosel country district), which at its head, a high ranking
Nazi official, the "Gauleiter," whose primary task was to ’germanize’
the Luxembourg population. German law was imposed, the use of the Luxembourg
native language forbidden, French-sounding names were converted, and the Nazis
started a vast campaign to indoctrinate and lure the Luxembourgers to come "Heim
ins Reich" (home to the mother country) to make them believe that they
were ethnic Germans. In a referendum organized by the Nazis, 98% of the population
vigorously expressed themselves against becoming German citizens, which drew
a series of reprisals. People were beaten, harassed and imprisoned by the Gestapo,
and as early as 1942, young Luxembourgers, who had organized public strikes
against the Nazi occupant were court-martialed and shot the subsequent day in
the concentration camp of Hinzert, Germany.
Already earlier, several young men had escaped, and after risky trails ended
up in Great Britain to join allied forces being built up. (As such, there were
Luxembourgers in the British commandos, Free French, SAS, Belgian artillery,
unit "Brigade Piron," later on even some in the U.S. forces, and numerous
armed resistance organizations). Nazi oppression became stiffer and penalties
became more and more brutal. In late 1942 the Gauleiter started conscripting
the Luxembourg youth into the RAD (German Labor Service) and the Wehrmacht (Army).
Young men were forced to go at the risk of their families being deported or
prosecuted if they did not comply.
During the same time, the Nazis also started prosecuting the local Jewish community.
All this measures only resulted in the Luxembourgers even holding more together;
gradually resistance, which in the initial stage was rather insignificant, because
of fear of reprisals, organized itself into networks that had contact with similar
organizations in other occupied countries. As such, Luxembourgers assisted shot-down
allied airmen to regain unoccupied zones in France, hid about-to-be conscripted
youth, or did clandestine action against the Germans. People who got caught
by the Gestapo (German political secret police) or the SP (Security Service)
were sent to concentration or death camps; many of whom were never to come back.
With the news of the allied landings on the beaches, in Normandy in June 1944
armed resistance against the Nazis drastically increased, as for example in
Vianden. After four years of brutal Nazi occupation, the German troops on their
retreat from France, abandoned the Grand-Duchy by beginning of September 1944
and withdrew behind the fortifications of the "Siegfried line," a
static defensive structure that stretched from the North sea coast to the Swiss
border, with part of its marking the border between Luxembourg and Germany.
On September 10, and subsequently Sept. 11, and 12, 1944, the entire Grand-Duchy
was liberated after several smaller firefights with retreating German troops
by units of the 5th U.S. Armored Division under General Lunsford E. Oliver.
The entire population prepared an indescribable warm welcome to their American
liberators and to Prince Felix and Crown Prince Jean, who had joined allied
forces to fight the Germans.
Very quickly normal life returned to the Grand-Duchy, while the country was
administrated by U.S. Civil Affairs in absence of a government. Whereas the
war was still going on in Belgium, thousands of U.S. troops were channeled through
Luxembourg on a rotationally base. Luxembourg, which in October and November
was referred to as the "Paradise for weary troops" thus subsequently
accommodated troops of the 5th Armored, 8th Infantry, 9th Armored, 4th Infantry
divisions. During the same time the Germans were building up forces behind the
"Siegfried line" to counterattack in the West, which was to become
the "Battle of the Bulge." The German surprise attack started on December
16, 1944 after a concentrated artillery barrage and to the complete surprise
of the U.S. forces.
While massive German troops, supported by armor and artillery, grouped in 3
armies, poured through the Luxembourg and Belgian Ardennes with the objective
of securing the strategically-important road junctions at Bastogne to push through
Belgium to reach the coast, the understrengthened U.S. troops had to yield terrain
in order not to get annihilated. The German attack was also screened by weather
conditions, which precluded the use of air strikes.
Whereas the Germans were advancing in northern Luxembourg, most of the civilians
were evacuated by the retreating Americans. When the American High Command realized
about the seriousness of the situation, the only nearby massive American force
was Gen. Patton’s Third Army, which at the time was preparing to invade the
Saar region. Within 48 hours, Patton succeeded in swinging his army around and
during a crash move, reached Luxembourg, pushed north and hit the German attacking
force in the left flank, thus considerably weakening the spearhead. After Christmas
44, the weather suddenly cleared up, enabling the massive use of air strikes
against advancing German columns and supply trails. Besieged Bastogne was relieved,
while German troops in Luxembourg went into defense.
At sub-zero temperatures during January 1945, and especially after Patton’s
troops had launched massive counterattacks, the German units were gradually
pushed back, leaving their heavy equipment behind. By the end of January, 95%
of Luxembourg had been liberated with the Germans keeping only two bridgeheads
heavily defended for the remainder of their troops to retreat.
On February 7, 1945 the "Bulge" was nearly over, and the U.S. troops
in Luxembourg crossed the Sauer river for the invasion of Germany. Four months
later Nazi Germany capitulated.
The nightmare for Luxembourg was over. It was not until March and April 1945
that the U.S. authorities allowed the Luxembourg refugees to return to their
villages in the Ardennes. The villages had suffered severe damage, and it took
months and sometimes years of reconstruction.
German casualties during the Bulge (killed, missed in action, wounded): approximately: 86.000.
U.S. casualties during the Bulge (killed, missed in action, wounded): approximately: 76.000.
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