As an author of books on World War II and the Battle of the Bulge who has been based in Sydney, Australia, for the past thirteen years, I pay regular visits to Europe’s battlefields for reality checks on the challenging conditions there. On the left is my favorite picture of a visit this January to the Bulge, where, wearing a red scarf and blue alpine beanie hat pulled over my ears, I shivered through a visit to the Bois Jacques in Bastogne in conditions exactly matching those in January 1945. On the right I am unthawing near Coogee beach, my Sydney backyard, where I have now safely returned. Predictions are of a new heatwave rolling over the city in the next few days. I will be reaching back to the frosty January memories when, next week, I will again immerse myself in the history of the Battle of the Bulge.
