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Buda, Texas
Memorial Miniature Golf and Museum: Hole 13 – Battle of the Bulge
Par 4
Hole 13 is sponsored by:
As the fall of 1944 began turning into a severely frigid winter, the American front lines stretched all the way to the borders of Belgium and Germany. The GI’s stationed in the Ardennes forest looked forward to a relaxing winter while they re-equipped after the hard fighting in France. However, on the German side of the lines, preparations were made for an all out offensive to split the thinly defended Allied lines in two and seize the key port of Antwerp in order to cut off Allied supplies.
On December 16th, the plan which was organized in total secrecy, smashed through the forests through heavy snow. Allied intelligence was clueless as to the German build up of armor and troops. Supplemented by German infantry, SS Panzer Divisions, including the battle-hardened “HitlerJugend” Division spearheaded the assault.
The Germans, using captured American tanks, jeeps and uniforms, commandos swept behind the lines to create chaos for the Americans. Within the first week progress was slower than expected, yet still a major bulge was punched through the American front line.
The lynchpin of American defenses was the crossroads town of Bastogne which was surrounded by German troops. US Airborne troops, low on ammo and ill equipped for the extreme temperatures managed to hold out until December 26th. That day, Patton’s Third Army arrived and broke the siege, although the besieged paratroopers maintained that they never needed to be rescued.
Meanwhile as the skies began to clear, American aircraft were finally capable of bombing and strafing German troops and supply columns. On New Year’s Day, desperate to make gains in other sectors of the front, the Germans launched Operation Nordwind, or North Wind. North Wind forced the exhausted American Seventh Army to fall back, but the equally depleted Germans called off the Assault on January 25th.
While the German forces were eventually pushed back to their starting lines, the fighting in Ardennes was the costliest battle the Americans fought in WWII and thousands of GI’s fell into German captivity. For the rest of the war, the Western Front remained relatively quiet, but the formidable Rhine River still had to be crossed to enter the heart of Germany…(continued on hole #15).
Vocabulary Word: Hitler Youth – The HitlerJugend was an organization that indoctrinated young boys into Nazi culture and prepared them to enter the military. The organization became mandatory in 1936 for all boys aged 14-18. In 1943, the SS began creating a unit of fanatical 16-18 year olds from the Hitler Youth. The unit fought fiercely in Normandy, Belgium, Hungary and Germany.
Memorial Miniature Golf and Museum
This hole has an around the bend type of design but with a shortcut through the woods. In order to be the most effective, it does need some deflectors which can certainly be added later. The hole is back left of center between two sand traps.
Mister Mini Golf Pro Tips
In its current state it is still better to take the shortcut. Try to align with the path on the first shot, clear it on two, and sink for a birdie on three.
ADA Accessibility Notes: ADA compliant pathways are installed to allow for 9 holes of accessible play.
For more details on course accessibility, always check in with a course you are visiting as they may be able to do additional accommodations. In addition, a great resource is the ADA Checklist for Miniature Golf Courses.
Check out the prior hole here:
Memorial Miniature Golf and Museum: Hole 12 – Liberation of Paris
Memorial Miniature Golf and Museum’s Page is located here:
Memorial Miniature Golf and Museum
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