The five letters C.R.I.B.A. stand for “Centre de Recherches et d’Informations sur la Bataille des Ardennes” which means “Center of Research and Information on the Battle of the Bulge”. This association, founded in March 1980, is a non-profit, a non-political and non-philosophical organization.
It seems necessary to say a few words about the origins of C.R.I.B.A. The Commemoration of the 35 th Anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge brought together two men who developed a keen interest for the history of a period they had well known. They talked about the supposed attack by the German panzers of an American gasoline dump near Stavelot. This attack was put on the screen by Ken Annakin in a beautiful and very sensational film “The Battle of the Bulge” with such marvelous actors as Telly Savalas and Henri Fonda. But, eventually, the story of the gasoline dump is a mere legend. For these two history lovers, it seemed absolutely necessary to restore the TRUTH and get rid of such misleading legends. So by common consent, they decided to organize meetings and debates for people who were interested in the history of the Battle known in the U.S.A. as the “BATTLE OF THE BULGE”.

Le CLHAM a été fondé en décembre 1979 par une douzaine de férus d’histoire et soucieux de préserver, de valoriser et de faire connaître le riche patrimoine “fortificatif” qui est le leur”. Ce site poursuit ce but en espérant susciter une curiosité amenant à se poser des questions et à inciter le plus de lecteurs à entreprendre des recherches dont ils partageront à leur tour les résultats. En effet, à quoi sert de connaître l’histoire si c’est pour garder cette connaissance par devers soi. C’est égoïste et puéril. Cela n’apporte qu’une satisfaction minime et peu enrichissante.

The Battle of the Bulge which lasted from December 16, 1944 to January 25, 1945 was the largest land battle of World War II in which the United States participated. More than a million men fought in this battle including some 600,000 Germans, 500,000 Americans, and 55,000 British. The German military force consisted of two Armies with ten corps (equal to 29 divisions). While the American military force consisted of a total of three armies with six corps (equal to 31 divisions). At the conclusion of the battle the casualties were as follows: 81,000 U.S. with 19,000 killed, 1400 British with 200 killed, and 100,000 Germans killed, wounded or captured.