McAuliffe Monument Bastogne

Bastogne, BE

The **McAuliffe Monument** in the centre of Bastogne — on the square named **Place McAuliffe** — honours Brigadier General **Anthony McAuliffe**, acting commander of the **101st Airborne Division** during the siege of Bastogne in December 1944. McAuliffe's one-word response to a German surrender demand — **"NUTS!"** — became one of the most famous utterances of the Second World War, embodying American defiance and humour in the face of overwhelming odds. The monument depicts McAuliffe in combat gear and stands at the heart of the town he helped defend. Every year on December 26 — the anniversary of the relief of the siege — Bastogne holds commemorative events at this square, with American veterans, Belgian dignitaries, and military units participating in ceremonies that have continued unbroken since 1945. The surrounding streets of Bastogne still follow the layout of the wartime town, and the square itself was within the perimeter held by the 101st Airborne — meaning McAuliffe commanded his division from just metres from where the monument now stands.