Tongeren-Borgloon was a command post for the 75th Infantry Division as troops were sent by train and troop transport trucks to the Netherlands. It is possible 1st Lieutenant Arthur Thorspecken might have gone to this command post before joining C-Company in the Netherlands. If Arthur Thorspecken walked the streets of Tongeren, he would have likely stopped to see this statue celebrating an ancient victory against the Romans.
T0ngeren was occupied by the Germans in WWII. The Germans used the newly built Ambiorix barracks for training. The Allies liberated Tongeren on September 8, 1944. German V-Bombs were falling in the area in December of 1944.V Bombs created by the Germans were early cruise missiles. It was known by the Germans as the Hollenhund (hellhound). Allies referred to is as the buzz bomb or doodle bug.
When I got to the city square, I decided to sketch the bronze statue of Ambiorix the king of the Euronext. The statue dates from 1866 but the history dates back Roman times, 54 BC. Ambiorix defeated the Romans who invaded his country. Julius Ceaser referred to the Belgians as the bravest of all the Gauls. Ambriorix is shown in Germanic attire with a dragon helmet and his weapon of choice, a hatchet.
An older gentleman stopped to watch me sketch for a while. He explained to me that the costuming was all wrong. Many locals don’t like the Germanic attire on the statue, but they are stuck with it. The fence surrounding the statue 9s made of spears which is in keeping with Celtic tradition.While doing the sketch, a Sunday procession made its way through the public square. This is a Catholic tradition and half of the towns youth must have taken park. Women had angels wings and golden sleeves. Scholars and clerics marched together. A statue of the Virgin Mary was carried by 4 men through the streets.They marched right in front of me and past the merry go round to my left.