Battle of the Bulge

The Battle of the Bulge appears as a point of personal history in The Jackal’s account of his planned journey into the Ardennes. Rather than depicting the battle itself, the novel uses its location and wartime associations to give a specific shape to the story he tells a hotel clerk—and to the itinerary that follows.

The Wartime Reference

The Jackal says that his elder brother died in the Battle of the Bulge, between Bastogne and Malmedy, and describes his intended drive into the Ardennes as a visit to the brother’s grave. The account places the battle within the Second World War and ties its geography to a family loss. The novel does not otherwise establish the brother’s identity or independently confirm the story; it presents the claim as part of The Jackal’s conversation with the hotel clerk.

The Jackal’s Itinerary

The reference comes after a leisurely weekend in Belgium. On Sunday, The Jackal drives through the Flemish countryside, visits Ghent and Bruges, and returns towards Brussels. Before turning in, he asks for an early call, breakfast in bed, and a packed lunch for the following day. He explains that he intends to drive into the Ardennes to visit the grave. The named destination and practical arrangements make the proposed journey sound concrete, while the clerk’s promise to wake him without fail closes the exchange.

Narrative Function

The battle is not a scene of combat in the novel; it is invoked through a reported family death and a place-bound pilgrimage. Its significance lies in how the reference accompanies The Jackal’s movement from Brussels towards the Ardennes: the hotel clerk receives a coherent explanation for the next day’s departure, but the narrative offers no independent confirmation of the bereavement. The historical name thus carries two functions at once—as a marker of wartime loss in the account and as part of the carefully specified itinerary The Jackal presents.