DieKirch National Museum of Military History (MNHM)
2019.07.30
Visited the medieval town of Vianden in Luxembourg with the family. Checked out the castle. Now, while pondering what to do next, the missus found out that there’s a tank museum nearby. Adjacent to the hotel in the town of Diekirch, there’s a splendid National Museum of Military History, so I decided to go check it out. Leaving the wife and kids behind, I hit the road in the car. Being a military history museum, there are only three US military tanks on display outdoors. Inside, it’s a vast collection of all kinds of military equipment, gear, supplies, and mainly US military soft-skinned vehicles. The sheer quantity is mind-blowing, and I couldn’t help but marvel at how they managed to gather all this stuff. There are plenty of realistic diorama displays, and the mannequins accompanying the vehicles are quite theatrical, which adds to the fun. It’s a must-visit for diorama enthusiasts and modelers. Luxembourg was overrun by the German army, conscripted into service, and sent to the Eastern Front, where many perished or ended up in prisoner-of-war camps. The city of Luxembourg was riddled with holes as it became a target for the V3 long-range cannon.
It’s like something out of a picture, a “Nazi agent.” Those blood-stained gloves? The club? They’re chilling. It’s strange to be scared of a club when there are guns and cannons lined up, but it’s frightening.A US Army snow march diorama. It looks cold and tough.There’s a casual German guy strapping two Panzerfausts to the front of his bike. Looking at the photos behind, you can see these were actually used, forming a line and rolling out.I hardly know anything about US military soft-skinned vehicles. What a waste. The gym-like space is packed with vehicles and equipment piled high.So why go to the trouble of adding little theatrics to the Zündapp sidecar display?This is the V3, an ultra-long-range cannon originally developed to attack London. It was supposed to accelerate projectiles to Mach 4 using multiple combustion chambers on a mountainside, wiping out enemies 150km away. But it didn’t work well, and its use in combat was limited to attacking the city of Luxembourg, as seen in the photo.Is this a recreation of the photo in front of us, a life-size diorama?Even on the battlefield, the bourgeois US Army kitchen serving Thanksgiving turkey.The field hospital is impressive given the amount of equipment.This isn’t a 1/9 scale diorama by Protar. This is the real deal. Kettenkrad isn’t even that rare! I’ve gone all out with the weathering.Luxembourg also participated in the UN forces and sent troops to the Korean War. Since it was during the time of Japanese occupation in Korea, weapons like these are also on display. I’m curious about the characters written on the Japanese sword. The orange ones are probably military coupons from the US Yokohama base.The German tank collection is limited to just the Hetzer, but there are hatches and guide wheels scattered everywhere. I can’t identify them due to my lack of knowledge, but is that an H-type Panzer IV tank?In the video, there were interviews with locals and people who served here. The Luxembourg woman in the photo hid in the barn with her family, but when the German soldiers found them, she pleaded, “We’re civilians. Please don’t shoot,” yet the man was killed. It shows how they didn’t care even if they spoke the same language. The American soldiers who came later were kind, but this, too, is a history written by the victors.
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