“A week before the German counteroffensive was to be unleashed, U.S. Army posters in Ettelbruck and Diekirch announced a huge ball open to soldiers and civilians. The date for the big event was Saturday, December 16.”
The Unknown Dead: Civilians in the Battle of the Bulge by Peter Schrijvers (2005, University Press of Kentucky)
When you see the word liberation, particularly with respect to the Western Front in World War II, it evokes images of streets filled with celebrating citizens, people leaning out of windows cheering, women embracing bewildered soldiers, children catching chocolates and bubble gum from tanks, flags waving confidently, and triumphant generals standing up in their jeeps waving to the crowds. While this most assuredly did happen in places, for the towns in Belgium and Luxembourg on the border with Germany, this image would only reflect the first liberation. That was September 1944. The days following December 16, 1944, however, abruptly changed the mood as local citizens were forced to flee from their once celebratory homes. Their liberators were now caught between an invading army which outnumbered them and civilians who were suddenly in the way. The civilians who didn’t manage to escape remained wherever they could hide.
For the town of Ettelbruck, the second liberation would be more sobering as the few remaining residents emerged from their hiding places on Christmas Day. If you look around Ettelbruck today, especially through the wrong lens, you would think that those citizens were greeted by General George S. Patton Jr. brandishing his ivory-handled pistols while parades ensued. The reality was that the people found their city bombed to the ground and their homes looted or destroyed. Their newfound second liberty was not ushered in by the salutes and handshakes from the great general, but by elements of his infantry on their way to Bastogne.
Today, Patton is the focal point of the town’s tourist industry. A large statue of Patton accompanied by a Sherman tank stands guard against future Hun invasions. The name Ettelbruck, incidently, derives from Attila’s Bridge. Just a few blocks from the statue is the Patton Museum, a nice museum of artifacts which gives an interesting account of the plight of the Luxembourg people during the Nazi occupation. Even the town’s nickname became Patton Town. It had been several years since my last visit to Patton Town, so in April 2026, I decided it was a good time to return and use it as a hub for a hike to explore the beautiful countryside.
Before there was Patton beer, there was Battin beer
Having Beers With Patton
From Plzen and Pilsner Urquell to Battin and Ettelbruck. Liberation and libation, Patton style.
Continue reading Having Beers With Patton
Hike Details
| Starting / Ending Point | Patton Museum Ettelbruck Sunday is free parking. Other days, there is also 4-hour limit. |
| Distance | 20 km |
| My Moving Time | 4h 2m |
It’s Not Just a Beer, It’s a Journey
“Among the excursions recommended… is the one to the ruins of Bourscheid, situated one and a half kilometers from the village of that name on the summit of a high mountain, whose foot is kissed by the Sûre…”
In Luxemburg’s Gutland by M.A. Perk (1907, translated from Dutch)
It was an overcast, chilly, but calm day. Had I been a couple days earlier or later, the skies would have been blue and the Spring sun would have shone its rejuvenating glow over this hike. Ettelbruck sits low along the Alzette River, so after a short distance of urban hiking, the route climbs up to a plateau where the small village of Burden sits perched over a quilted patchwork of lush green and golden fields.
After Burden, the hike comes over to the Sûre River valley and the village of Michelau.
At the highest point of the hike, there is a great view of the village of Bourscheid and its namesake castle.
The castle originates from almost 1000 years ago. It looks well preserved, but 100 years ago, it was completely in ruins.
I skipped the visit to the castle. On this hike, it would have added an extra 2km and a steep climb to the itinerary. For me, using it as a backdrop for the hike was good enough.
The hike returns to Ettelbruck in a winding fashion above the Sûre River.
In a certain part of the forest, the ground was covered with the white flowers of the Wood anemone.
Eventually, the hike emerges from the forest right at the foot of the Patton Monument. From there, it is just a few minutes back to the museum.
Final Remarks
On December 16, 1944, Ettelbruck and the surrounding vicinity was being guarded by the 109th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division (made up of many fellow Pennsylvanians) who were led by Lt. Col. James Earl Rudder, one of the Rangers who scaled Pointe du Hoc on D-Day. For nine days, Rudder led a series of ambushes along the road between Ettelbruck and Diekirch which kept the 352th Volksgrenadier Division from making any progress towards Bastogne. It is Patton with the statue, but Rudder earned a Silver Star for his efforts. But the second liberation came at a steep price, 875 men or 29% of his command were lost defending Luxembourg from the German offensive1.
On the way to Luxembourg, where I was staying in Wiltz, I stopped in Bastogne to do some beer shopping at the fantastic Battle Shop. There, I collected a bottle of the Patton beer to finally replace the similarly named Battin beer which I had used for the beer picture a decade ago. Patton rightfully deserves his beer immortality, but I would be remissed not to remember the 109th and Lt. Col. Rudder while drinking it, which I did from my sunny terrace a couple days later. Meanwhile, after the liberation of Ettelbruck, Patton’s 3rd Army still had work to do and the defenders of Bastogne to rescue, and that meant passing through my next hiking destination. The town of Wiltz and a busy corner of Luxembourg known as Schumannseck.
- Snow & Steel by Peter Caddick-Adams (2014, Penguin Random House UK) ↩︎
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