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Explosion of a mine depot

Belgio

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On 11 January 1945, in Libramont, an explosion killed 23 American soldiers, wounded 24 and injured 26 civilians. Houses were destroyed and body parts found in the neighbourhood.

On 11 January 1945, Company A of the 312th U.S. Engineers suffered a heavy loss at Libramont. While receiving instructions at Marcel Moreau's house, an accidental explosion destroyed the house and surrounding buildings. The Legros bank and the Picard hardware store were also damaged. The explosion, attributed to the inability of mine explosives to withstand the cold, killed 16 soldiers and injured 13 others. Five victims lie in Hamm American Cemetery. 26 civilians, rescued by an officer from the 549th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion, were also injured.

On 24 December 1944, a skirmish broke out in the Rue des Alliés. In the barracks coveted by the Germans, soldiers wearing American and German uniforms questioned young girls about the American presence in Libramont. When they were discovered, a firefight broke out near the Union Coopérative. American reinforcements repelled the disguised German soldiers, leaving one dead and two prisoners. Three Germans escaped in a jeep, leaving a vehicle and a dead body behind.

The incident on 11 January 1945 was the result of speculation about the resistance of explosives to intense cold. Warnings from army chemists had not reached the troops, with HQ assuming that the war would be over before winter. It was later discovered that, during the winter of 44-45, many lorries loaded with mines exploded in Europe as a result of spontaneous combustion or crystallisation of the explosive by the cold.

Despite the tragedy, the memory of these events lives on in Libramont, reminding us of the sacrifice of the soldiers and the unexpected consequences of the war in this small community.

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