LIBERATION OF THE BASTOGNE FLAG.

Homemade 30-star American celebration flag, most likely flown from a window in Bastogne during its liberation in September 1944.

[Bastogne: September 10, 1944].

Handmade American flag, stars and stripes, with a blue canton at top left decorated with 30 stars cut from white fabric, 13 machine-sewn stripes in red and white fabric, and hand-sewn fabric letters in red and black inscribed:

«WELCOME TO BASTOGNE BOYS.

Three fabric ties along the top edge suggest it was intended to be attached to a wooden pole for hanging from a window.

Dimensions: 45 x 42 inches (1150 x 1330 mm).

The flag is slightly dirty and dusty, but not torn, as if it had been stored in a dusty barn.

Provenance: collection of a Belgian relic collector from Bastogne.

A rare historical relic from the liberation of Bastogne on September 10, 1944. This flag was most likely hung from a window, attached to a wooden pole, to welcome the Allied soldiers as they entered the town.

Following the defeat of German forces in the Falaise pocket in August 1944, the Allied armies quickly counter-attacked and advanced at high speed into Belgium, while German forces were still in disarray. The area south of Brussels, including the Ardennes, was retaken by the US First Army under the command of General Courtney Hodges, sweeping away the German occupation forces.

More precisely, it was the 110th Infantry Regiment of the 28th Infantry Division that entered Bastogne that day. Later, in December 1944, at the start of the Battle of the Bulge, these same units held up three German divisions, giving the American forces in Bastogne time to organize and fortify their defensive lines.

Being a homemade flag, its proportions are atypical: the blue canton is far too small to accommodate the regulation 48 stars, but the Belgian manufacturer has nevertheless attempted to faithfully reproduce the American flag.