27 May – 4 June 2026 (9-days / 8-nights)

 

 

Get knee deep into history on this 28th Infantry Division Battlefield Tour. This National Guard division faced several severe testes during its combat time in the European Theater of Operations (ETO.) Landing in July 1944, the division was quickly thrown into the Normandy break-out, pushing inland south of St. Lo. Thereafter, it chased the Wehrmacht across France. In late fall 1944 it would face its two greatest challenges: First, the meat grinder known as the Battle of the Huertgen Forest, the USA’s longest and bloodiest European flighting during WW2; Second, once withdrawn, the “quiet” sector of the Ardennes, just before Hitler’s famous offensive on 16 December. The division would be withdrawn on 22 December; but would still see action in early 1945, helping to reduce the Colmar Pocket.

This 9-day tour will start with a look at the American portion of the D-Day landings and airborne operations in Normandy. It will then explore the break-out around St. Lo. before moving to the Huertgen Forest and Ardennes and finishing with the Colmar Pocket. The focus will be on the role of the division through each of these major theaters, using personal accounts, then and now photos, maps and division records.

We will commemorate the division’s dead by visiting the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and the Brittany American Cemetery. Collectively, over half of the division’s casualties buried in Europe lie in these cemeteries.

This 28th Infantry Division Battlefield Tour is a fundraiser for the WWII American Experience Museum in Gettysburg, PA. $150 of each registration will be paid to the museum, increasing to $250 if the tour has > 12 participants.

 

 

 

28th Infantry Division Battlefield Tour Schedule: (Subject to Modification)

The tour will start and end at Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). A specific meeting point will be provided later. Participants are responsible for arranging their own transportation to and from the meeting point.

Two notes: First, on 29 August 1944 soldiers of the 28^th participated in a march down the Champs-Elysées in a Liberation of Paris Parade. The tour will NOT visit this location, because of the hassles of driving in Paris. Participants who want to visit the site can arrive earlier or stay later. Second, we will be visiting the Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and the Brittany American Cemetery. Together, over 50% of 28^th Inf. Div. soldiers buried in Europe are resting in these two cemeteries.

Day 1, Wednesday, 27 May. Introduction. 12:00pm pick-up at CDG. Drive to Normandy. (Approx. 3:30.) Cultural activity—Calvados tasting and farm tour. First night briefing and dinner. Hotel TBD in Normandy.

Day 2, Thursday, 28 May. Focus on the American Normandy landings. Airborne drop zones, Utah Beach, Omaha Beach. Today will include a visit to Normandy American Cemetery. Hotel TBD in Normandy.

Day 3, Friday, 29 May. Finish Normandy landings, Operation Cobra and the Breakout. Focus on Operation Cobra and the subsequent breakout from the Normandy bridgehead, with an emphasis on the role of the 28^th Inf. Div. Today will include a visit to Brittany American Cemetery in St. James, France, and to the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof in Huisnes-sur-Mer, France. Hotel TBD in Normandy.

Day 4, Saturday, 30 May. Morning visit to Mont Saint-Michel, then drive toward the Hürtgen Forest. Visit Mont Saint-Michel in the morning. Depart at noon and drive to Reims, France. Hotel TBD in Reims.

Day 5, Sunday, 31 May. Reims, France, Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery and Hürtgen Forest Intro. We will visit the Surrender Museum in Reims in the morning. Then we’ll drive to Henri-Chapelle American cemetery en route to the Hürtgen Forest. We anticipate having time to visit the Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof Vossenack and to do an afternoon walk in the Hürtgen Forest. Hotel TBD near Bütgenbach, Belgium.

Day 6, Monday, 1 June Hürtgen Forest morning and Ardennes Offensive afternoon. We will explore the Hürtgen Forest and villages in the morning before driving to the Ardennes in the afternoon. We will focus on the opening moves of Hitler’s Ardennes Offensive in the Northern half of the Ardennes, including the actions of the 99^th and 2^nd Inf. Divisions and the advance of Kampfgruppe Peiper, including Malmedy and La Gleize. Hotel near Bütgenbach, Belgium.

Day 7, Tuesday, 2 June. Ardennes Offensive—Luxembourg, Bastogne and Vicinity. Initial focus on the German advance from Dasburg, Germany and the 28^th Inf. Div. fighting in and around Clervaux, Luxembourg. We will also visit Wiltz, Luxembourg, where the American Saint Nick helped to raise local morale in early December 1944, before the battle of the Bulge. Finally, we’ll continue to Bastogne and explore American efforts to hold and German efforts to capture Bastogne during the offensive. Hotel TBD in Bastogne, Belgium.

Day 8, Wednesday, 3 June. Ardennes Offensive and Drive to Colmar. Morning focus on Bastogne defense before driving to Colmar, France in the afternoon. Farewell dinner in Colmar. Hotel TBD in Colmar, France.

Day 9, Thursday, 4 June. Colmar Pocket. Morning focus on the division’s role in capturing Colmar and reducing the Colmar pocket in early 1945. Afternoon drive to CDG Airport. The tour officially ends upon arrival at CDG in the early evening. Participants are responsible for selecting their own hotel and making their next travel plans. Some decide to visit downtown Paris. Others book a room at a near-airport hotel and fly home the next morning. Others rent cars and drive to their next destination.

 

 

28th Infantry Division Battlefield Tour Overview:

Tour Price (based on double occupancy): $3,690

Single Room Supplement: $570

 

Tour Price Includes*

• TWO military historian guides, one American and one German, who understand both sides of the story and who speak multiple languages and understand European culture
  • Local guides at specific sites as needed
• 3-Star accommodations, typically in European family-owned hotel / restaurants
• Transportation typically in comfortable 9-person people movers with A/C or in cars
• Almost all meals, except those specified as “on your own” in the itinerary
• Water, soda and snacks available in the van
• Cultural outings (calvados tasting, church tour, etc.) and shopping time on trips longer than a few days
• Admission fees to all sites

 

Tour Price Excludes*

• Transportation to and from the starting point and lodging and transportation before or after the tour’s start and end times; for example, the cost of a hotel night for participants who choose to arrive early.
• Dinner drinks
• Dinners or lunches specifically excluded in the tour brochure
• Souvenirs and gifts

 

Additional Information:

Download the FINAL 2026 WW2 Am Experience Tour Brochure Incl Mont St Michel TNR12

Download the tour’s FINAL 2026 WW2 Am Exp Tour Terms and Conditions TNR12

Email your questions to Randy Gaulke at kneedeepintohistory@gmail.com