Waffen-SS. Kampfgruppe Peiper. - Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge

Agte, Patrick: fhrerJochen Peiper Commander Panzerregiment Leibstandartefhrer. 1999, J.J. Fedorowicz, Winnipeg.

Astor, Gerald: A blood-dimmed tide . 1992, Dell Publishing, New York.

Cavanagh, William C. C.: A tour of the Bulge battlefield . 2001, Pen and Sword, Barnsley.

Elstob, Peter: Hitler's Last Offensive The full story of the battle of the Ardennes . 1971, Martin Secker & Warburg Limited, London.

Pallud, Jean Paul: Battle of the Bulge then and now . 1999, Battle of Britain International Limited, London.

Parker, Danny S.: Battle of the Bulge Hitler's Ardennes Offensive, 1944-1945 . 1991, Greenhill Books, London.

Pergrin, Colonel David: Engineering the Victory The battle of the Bulge A history . 1996, Schiffer Publishing Limited, Atglen, PA.

Reynolds, Michael: The Devil's Adjutant Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader . 1997, Spellmount Limited, Kent.

Reynolds, Michael: Men of Steel I SS Panzer Corps The Ardennes and Eastern Front 1944-45 . 1999, Spellmount Limited, Kent.

Tiemann, Ralf: The Leibstandarte vol. IV/2. 1998, J.J. Fedorowicz, Winnipeg.

Toland, John: The Battle of the Bulge . 1998, Wordsworth Editions Limited, Hertfordshire.

THE AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

Cavalry Raids of the Civil War

Ghost, Thunderbolt, and Wizard

Picketts Charge

Witness to Gettysburg

WORLD WAR II

Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS, 194345

Army of the West

Australian Commandos

The B-24 in China

Backwater War

The Battle of Sicily

Beyond the Beachhead

The Brandenburger Commandos

The Brigade

Bringing the Thunder

Coast Watching in World War II

Colossal Cracks

D-Day to Berlin

Dive Bomber!

Eagles of the Third Reich

Exit Rommel

Fist from the Sky

Flying American Combat Aircraft of World War II

Forging the Thunderbolt

Fortress France

The German Defeat in the East, 194445

German Order of Battle, Vol. 1

German Order of Battle, Vol. 2

German Order of Battle, Vol. 3

Germanys Panzer Arm in World War II

GI Ingenuity

Grenadiers

Infantry Aces

Iron Arm

Iron Knights

Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge

Luftwaffe Aces

Massacre at Tobruk

Messerschmitts over Sicily

Michael Wittmann, Vol. 1

Michael Wittmann, Vol. 2

Mountain Warriors

The Nazi Rocketeers

On the Canal

Operation Mercury

Packs On!

Panzer Aces

Panzer Aces II

The Panzer Legions

Panzers in Winter

The Path to Blitzkrieg

Retreat to the Reich

Rommels Desert War

The Savage Sky

A Soldier in the Cockpit

Soviet Blitzkrieg

Stalins Keys to Victory

Surviving Bataan and Beyond

T-34 in Action

Tigers in the Mud

The 12th SS, Vol. 1

The 12th SS, Vol. 2

The War against Rommels Supply Lines

THE COLD WAR / VIETNAM

Flying American Combat Aircraft: The Cold War

Here There Are Tigers

Land with No Sun

Street without Joy

WARS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

Never-Ending Conflict

GENERAL MILITARY HISTORY

Carriers in Combat

Desert Battles

Copyright 2005 by David Cooke and Wayne Evans

Published in paperback in 2008 by
STACKPOLE BOOKS
5067 Ritter Road
Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
www.stackpolebooks.com

Published by arrangement with Pen & Sword Books Limited. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. All inquiries should be addressed to Pen & Sword Books Limited, 47 Church Street, Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England S70 2AS.

Cover design by Tracy Patterson

Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

Cooke, David.

[Kampfgruppe Peiper]

Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge / David Cooke and Wayne Evans.

p. cm. (Stackpole military history series)

Includes index.

Originally published as Kampfgruppe Peiper by Pen & Sword Military, 2005.

ISBN 978-0-8117-3481-3

1. Ardennes, Battle of the, 19441945. 2. Waffen-SS. Kampfgruppe Peiper. 3. World War, 19391945Regimental historiesGermany. I. Evans, Wayne. II. Title.

D756.5.A7C67 2008
940.54'219348dc22

2008009129

The Ardennes offensive in December 1944 was Adolf Hitler's last throw of the dice. A huge German force struck the thin American lines in the Ardennes, in Belgium, bursting through and driving on for the River Meuse, with the objective of reaching Antwerp and cutting off a major part of the Allied forces from their supply sources. Although many histories of the battle look at the whole offensive in terms of corps, divisions and regiments, the fighting took place at a much lower level. Many of the actions fought across the whole front were at the company or battalion level. In these actions small groups of men, and even individuals, were instrumental in winning or losing the battle. This holds true for the fighting that Kampfgruppe Peiper was involved in.

Obersturmbannfhrer Jochen Peiper commanded the spearpoint unit of the German offensive, with the objective of seizing one or more crossings of the Meuse. Peiper and his American opponents fought a series of fascinating actions over a period of eight days, and these are covered in detail using the accounts of the participants and after-action reports of the units involved. The fighting became very confused, with elements of both sides vying for possession of a number of towns and villages, and other units being drawn into the fighting. It is the objective of this book to detail each day's fighting, area by area, and with the use of numerous maps give a clear, concise description of the action.

CHAPTER ONE

Operation Wacht am Rhein (Watch on the Rhine), in December 1944, was Hitler's last great offensive in the west. His plan was to cut a swathe through the Ardennes, cross the Meuse and drive on to Antwerp, thus cutting off the British 21st Army Group and the American 9th Army from their supply sources. This, it was hoped, would lead to mass surrender or a second Dunkirk. Following such a major disaster the Allies would be forced to sue for peace. Then Hitler could turn his whole attention on the Soviets.

By December 1944 the Allies had driven the German forces back to the West Wall, Germany's equivalent of the French Maginot Line. The breakout from Normandy, in August 1944, was followed by a rapid pursuit of the disorganized German forces across France and into Belgium. By early September the Allied advance was in danger of grinding to a halt, not because of German resistance, but a shortage of supplies. Most of the Allied supplies were still coming over the Normandy beaches or through a number of small ports the Allies had captured intact. Cherbourg, a major port captured early in the campaign, had all its facilities destroyed by the German garrison before it surrendered, and was in the process of being repaired. Antwerp, in Belgium, another major port, had been captured by the British with its docks in full working order. Unfortunately, its approaches along the Scheldt Estuary were still held by the Germans, so shipping was unable to reach the port.