Military vehicles pay tribute to Villy la Ferté dead

| 20 Sep 2011

The site of a famous WW2 battle was the venue for a tribute meeting of the Ardennes 1944  Group of military vehicle enthusiasts.

While much of the French Maginot line was overrun pretty much uncontested, the fortress at Villy la Ferté near Montmédy, held out until a brutal German bombardment from 15-19 May 1940 that wiped out all 104 soldiers and three officers.

From 16-18 September, the 1944 Group met at nearby Douzy and travelled to Villy with a wide range of vehicles from US Jeeps and Dodges to Germabn Kubelwagens.

More than 40 vehicles took part in the event, coming from France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg to tour the Ardennes region.

One of the most interesting vehicles was Paul Decker's 1944 ex-Wehrmacht-Luftwaffe Wolkswagen Kübelwagen, which was a radio transmission car during WWII in North Africa. The car is fitted with low inflated tyres for better grip on desert sand.