Customer Q&A: Battle of the Bulge with Julian Whippy

Customer feedback is really important to us and first-hand reviews are invaluable in ensuring each trip is a success and runs smoothly year after year. Every guest is sent a feedback form after their return and we also ask guests for further insights on our trips.

Our history tours have a very loyal following and we launched a new one earlier this year, focusing on the Battle of the Bulge. Guests love combining visits to key sites and locations with the commentary and insights from our experts and this was no different. Having recently returned from this tour, Geoff Culpitt shared his experience.

Have you ever been on a tour with an expert before?

I've been on several archaeology tours with Brightwater - Archaeology of Shetland and Orkney, Archaeology and architecture of Portugal and Archaeology of Albania.

What difference did it make having Julian on the tour with you?

Vital. He knew the battle history and he knew the ground. He had full command of the tour, working in sync with the coach driver as the consummate professional but also as the sympathetic colleague. He relived the many battle locations with us and conveyed the senses of fear and duty that would have driven the soldiers on both sides. Without him, the tour would have had content but little substance.

How did you find the experience of travelling with others as part of a group?

We have travelled within a group on several tours before and find it quite congenial. Groups seem to settle into a chatty self-sustaining section who all seem to know each other when, actually, they have just met.

What were the top 3 highlights from your experience?

This is difficult because, for me, the Bulge tour was one of continuous high-octane exposure to a grim battle fought in harsh conditions over difficult terrain characterised by hand-to-hand fighting through forests and deep river valleys.

Nevertheless, three highlights:

At the start point at Hollerath, on the first full day, listening to Julian outlining the German attack at the start of the battle and seeing the tank obstacles of the 'West Wall' and the US defenders' fox-holes a short distance away in the forest.

The Battle of the Bulge Memorial Trail at Schumannseck, which is the scene of some of the bitterest fighting as the Americans counter-attacked the Germans in the relief of Bastogne.

The audio/visual recreation of the Bois Jacque battlefield at the War Museum at Bastogne. With historic news reels from the time, the 30-minute rerun brought home the intensity of the fighting.

What would you say to someone thinking of booking a similar trip?

Read up the story of the Battle of the Bulge. Get a feel for the start point of the Germans and the locations of the US Army defenders.

Acquire a map and get an impression of the directions and distances between significant places and the road routes of the time - no autoroutes. Look at the geography of the area, particularly the river valleys. Think about the winter weather in 1944.

Without reservation, go with an accredited battlefield guide. Without those explanations and accounts of the movements of forces, your experience will be just one of travelling round the countryside, reading memorials and wondering why you've just seen a WW2 tank.

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