Randy Gaulke and Markus Klauer in 2017. As lead historian Markus designed trilingual signage for a “Chemins-Franco-Allemands” walking trail on le Mort Homme. He asked Randy to be one of the English-language proofreaders of the sign boards.
To Americans, Markus Klauer and Randy Gaulke are quite well know for their WW1 battlefield tour expertise; but can they transition this to a WW2 battlefield tour, such as the 75th Anniversary Battle of the Bulge Tour they are offering in October? Yes!
Markus Klauer is much better known to Europeans than to Americans. He has been studying military history and leading battlefield tours for over three decades. Regarding WW2 specifically, he has been studying and leading tours of the battles from Normandy to the Rhine for the last fifteen years. During his career with the German Bundeswehr, Markus has led tours for German, French and American military officers. Here is a link to his recently-updated website. However, readers are warned that the English language portion is not yet complete: www.weltkriegsbuch.de/
Randy Gaulke has visited the Bulge several times with his son. Their first tour of the Ardennes was in 2010; when, because of his lack of knowledge of that battlefield, he and his son hired Martin King to show sites related Kampfgruppe Peiper. The two have returned on their own for private study during battlefield visits in 2014, 2016 and 2017.
Chemistry and shared visions are also important when selecting a tour guide. Readers should know that Randy and Markus have toured and worked together on research for 25 years. For example, in September 2018 they led a six-day Small-Group Battlefield Tour of the St. Mihiel and Meuse-Argonne Sectors that included a morning “monuments tour” by car as well as afternoon walks in the field, showing lesser-known remains of the war. Both guides focus heavily on research. Thus, they are spending significant time studying the Bulge this year; and Markus, living only some hundred kilometers away from the battlefields in France and Belgium, will be conducting recons of their planned tour. Both guides also prefer getting their clients into the field over just visiting memorials, museums and markers. Finally, both guides speak English, German and French, and both guides understand “the other side” of the conflict.
Spaces are still available for this WW2 tour of Hitler’s final gamble in the Ardennes. Readers can view and print the tour flyer here: Ardennes Tour Flyer Final. Readers can reserve a space today by contacting Randy Gaulke at [email protected].
