KAMPFGRUPPE PEIPER AT THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE

Obersturmbannfuhrer Jochen Peiper, formerly commander of Panzer Regiment 1 of the 1st Panzer Division SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler which seen much action on the eastern front, was tasked with commanding a Battle Group to drive through the Ardennes, cross the River Meuse and await further orders.

Peiper was considered to be a tank ace in the same league as Michael Wittmann, and had been awarded many medals including the Knights Cross and the Iron Cross. He was a natural leader and much admired by his troops for his courage and calmness under fire and his concern for his men.

The battle group consisted of infantry, SS PanzerGrenadiers with their support elements, and units of Panzer IV, Panther and the dreaded King Tiger tanks, 800 vehicles in total. The group was to divide into three "spitze" or groups, centre, north and south and enter the Ardennes at Losheim.

Below is the map of the route

Taking the Americans by surprise the group proceeded to Lanzerath and then Schoppen with little opposition. When the northern Spitze reached Baugnez, near Malmedy, they surprised a truck convoy of a battery of the US 291st Artillery Observation Battalion. This group was naturally no match against the German panzers and immediately surrendered and the 140 prisoners were ordered to move to a field on the side of the road. They were later executed by the SS soldiers in this field in the infamous event later known as the "Malmedy Massacre". Only a few soldiers managed to escape.

Peiper then proceeded to Stavelot - by this time the American had recovered from their surprise and and figured out the intentions of the Germans. American artillery and tank units made for the River Meuse to stop the Germans from crossing the river -they also mined and blew up the bridge crossings. American and British fighter bombers attacked Peiper's forces from the air with great effect. The other major problem encountered by Peiper was that he was running out of fuel and had failed to take enemy fuel depots east of Honsfeld. Also the terrain of the Ardennes was not conducive to tank warfare - the roads were narrow, winding and steep and the area heavily wooded

Eventually Peiper's group was trapped in La Gleize. With his tanks immobile and being bombed by American artillery he realised that he was in a hopeless situation and his only option would be to escape eastwards by foot.

On the night of the 23rd of December Peiper,after destroying his equipment and leaving a small rearguard in La Gleize, led some 800 of his men down a valley and made their escape. After 2 days of bitterly cold weather and suffering many privations the group reached their own lines. Peiper himself had encouraged and exhorted his men to keep moving and the fact that all 800 made it to safety is a credit to his leadership.

Peiper was captured at the end of the war and together with several other members of his Kampfgruppe were charged with war crimes for the Malmedy Massacre. Although it was never proven that he personally had given any order for the execution of the American soldiers, as leader of the group he was found to be one of those responsible person and was given the death sentence. However, it was later found that there were inconsistancies in the interrogation and in his defence at the trial - his death sentence was mitigated to life imprisonment. In 1956 he was released from incarceration and after living in Germany for a while he moved to a village in France near the German border and worked as a translator for technical magazines.

On Bastille Day in 1976 his house was attacked by ex members of the Marquis using Molotov Cocktails and that was the end of Jochen Peiper.

Charlotte and I will follow the route of Kampfgruppe Peiper where there are many reminders of this offensive such as tanks, artillery pieces etc.