Houffalize ’44 : des « dégâts collatéraux » ?

While the Nazi troops returned to this place on 20 December with the vanguard of the 116^th Panzer Division, the first days of the new occupation were relatively calm, apart from the usual requisitions: the German troops managed to seize a stock of food and U.S. fuel, and several arrests were made in the resistance movement. Some of the population fled to the surrounding area; others returned to the city in early January. The American fighter-bombers were quick to raid the heights, attacking the Flak batteries securing the Houffalize bridge. Some projectiles fell on the city, causing the first victims. But in early January 1945, the situation became really serious, as the German troops still occupied the city. The inhabitants tried to survive by taking refuge in the cellars. On the 3^rd, the rue de Liège was severely damaged. During the night between 5 and 6 January ‘the great disaster’ took place: an armada of U.S. bombers poured hundreds of tons of bombs on the town, aiming at the crossings on the Ourthe river in order to interrupt the enemy's supply of petrol and ammunition. Within half an hour, the city was practically destroyed: 350 houses were ruined, 118 civilians were killed. It was hardly possible to recognise the street pattern. On the route de La Roche, a bomb pulverised the Poncin tannery, killing 59 of the 60 people who had taken refuge there. For the survivors, the nightmare was not over. The damage caused by the phosphorus contained in the bombs caused wounds and burns, and the water became polluted. Some German soldiers deserted while others did not hesitate to attack civilians. The German transport was indeed interrupted, but only for a few hours, until a temporary bridge was re-established by the Organisation Todt.

On 16 January 1945, the Americans returned to what had been Houffalize, with nothing and no one to welcome them, or nearly so: during the bombing, 189 civilians out of the 1,300 inhabitants were killed, and the survivors fled to take refuge in the surrounding villages.