DEVIL'S ADJUTANT: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader [Paperback]

Michael Reynolds (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 2004

Now in paperback, this authoritative account and assessment of the military career, Dachau war crime trial and murder of Jochen Peiper, Heinrich Himmler's Adjutant and the "Siegfried" of the Waffen SS, describes his involvement in the Ardennes offensive and Malme'dy Massacre

- Illustrated with rare photographs, high quality maps and figures.

- Peiper's rise through the ranks of the Fuhrer's Bodyguard Regiment, Die Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler.

- Peiper's service with Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS.

- His fighting record on the Eastern Front and in France.

- The first thoroughly objective account of his role as the Commander of the Kampfgruppe Peiper in the 1944 Ardennes offensive, which brought him to particular wartime prominence.

- The facts about "The Malme'dy Massacre" on 17 December 1944, when 84 Americans died at the hands of Peiper's men.

- The Dachau Trial which led Peiper to the condemned cell in Landsberg prison.

- His postwar life as a paroled War Criminal.

- Peiper's death during a fire-bomb attack on his home in France in 1976.

Major General Mike Reynolds is a respected historian and writer. His other books are Eagles and Bulldogs (Casemate 2003), Steel Inferno and Men of Steel.?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hitler's last great thrust to the west, the Ardennes offensive, was spearheaded by an elite panzer force under Colonel Jochen Peiper, one of Germany's most daring and charismatic field commanders. Reynolds traces Peiper's doomed campaign throughout the Battle of the Bulge to the moment when his tanks ran dry in Belgium on Christmas Eve, 1944. Included is a fresh review of the Malmedy massacre, perpetrated by Peiper's men against American POWs, presenting the incident from the German viewpoint. This "good-looking darling of the Third Reich" served for three years as First Military Adjutant to SS chief Heinrich Himmler before his appointment to field command (thus the book's title). Here, for the first time, is an account of Peiper's duties in that post and its influence on his style of command. The book concludes with an account of his 1946 war-crimes trial (his death sentence was later commuted) and the circumstances of his death in 1976 at the hands of unknown assassins. Major General Reynolds retired from the British Army in 1986. Illustrations.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"One of Germany's most daring and charismatic field commanders." -- Publishers Weekly

"One of WWII's most interesting combat leaders . . . a fascinating story of inspired courage, battlefield flexibility and combat leadership." -- Armor

The Devil's Adjutant: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader is the story of the ex-aide to Himmler who epitomized the Nazi approach to war, and describes in minute detail the combats fought by the German spearhead in the Battle of the Bulge. As the Americans advanced on the Third Reich in the fall of 1944, they encountered many enemy united of mixed quality. But when the Germans counterattacked, bursting through the U. S. front in December 1944, their offensive was led by Jochen Peiper and the 1st SS Panzer Division - an elite unit hardened in the crucibles of Russia. The Americans faced their greatest challenge in the largest battle of their history. After being sentenced at Dachau for war crimes, Peiper was assassinated by persons unknown, long after the war had ended. The Devil's Adjutant is a fascinating account of modern combat between technologically equivalent adversaries. Michael Reynolds not only depicts the unvarnished reality of battle, but in the process demolishes many myths about Jochen Peiper - one of Nazi Germany's most charismatic, if blemished, commanders. -- Midwest Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Spellmount Publishers (January 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1862271569
• ISBN-13: 978-1862271562
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,068,503 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a excellent book with a slightly misleading title., August 26, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: The Devil's Adjutant: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader (Hardcover)

Gen. Reynolds has done a magnificent job in describing the actions of Kampfgruppe Peiper, of the I SS Panzer Division in the Battle of the Bulge, december 1944. He has included material from the American After Action reports, and several German sources. There are several detailed maps, and (in Europe) the book is accompanied with an indispensabe, highly detailed military map. This is the book to read if you want to follow Kampfgruppe Peiper in their footsteps. I have actually done this , being an European, and living near to the Ardennes, so I know what I am talking about. Kampfgruppe Peiper was involved in the welknown "Malmedy Massacre", and this subject is reasonably covered in the book. One drawback , in my opinion, is the misleading title of the book. Although the book gives a lot of ,until now, unpublished and intruiging facts about Peiper's life, the book is not a comprehensive biography of Peiper. The descriptions of Peiper's life before and after the Battle of the Bulge are sketchy. Especially Peiper's time as Himmlers adjutant (hence the title), is scarcely touched upon. Summarizing, the book is an detailed military account of the (in)famous Kampfgruppe Peiper in the Battle of the Bulge, by a military general who knows his subject well. The book gives little insight in the person of Peiper himself, and the times he lived the most important part of his life. An interested reader should be on the look out for Danny Parker's book on the Kampfgruppe Peiper. Any e-mail by fellow Peiper researchers would be appreciated.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Great research, dull writing, June 25, 2005

By 

C. Salmon Andrew "Andrew Salmon" (Korea) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: DEVIL'S ADJUTANT: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader (Paperback)

One the one hand, Reynolds has done impressive research - if you want to know exactly where 1 Company of the 117th Infantry was at 1432 on 21 December, then congratulations - you have found your book. The author has spent a lot of time working out who was doing what, where, and when.
On the other, he fails to bring any of the characters to life and has - unlike other military historians like Hastings or Beevor - no real facility in describing what happens on the battlefield. There is little extrapolation on the weapons and tactics used, and no feeling for the tension, fear and excitement of action.
Finally, although one might expect, from the title, that the author would concentrate on the German experience, most of his sources - interviews and written - are American. As someone who has guided German veterans around the battlefield, it is odd that he did not include more remininscences from the Germans.
To sum up: Reynolds has done a good job researching the minutae of the various units' positions and timings, but does a poor job of writing about battle, and the reader will often lose sight of the woods due to the mass of trees.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tittle is Misleading, November 28, 2004

By 

Agustin Guerrero (Guayaquil, Guayas Ecuador) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DEVIL'S ADJUTANT: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader (Paperback)

I bought the book believing it tobe a complete account of Jochen Piper's military career. Even though the details about the Ardennes campaign and the drive to the Meuse are impressive the book says few about Piper's career in Russia. I wanted to know how the Blowtorch Battaillon in Piper's command won its fearful reputation in Russia, about his aggresive tactics with half tracks and his innovative style of commnad that has been praised in numerous accounts. About this I didn't learn something new in this account but it is a very good book about the KG Piper's actions during the Battle of the Bulge. The tittle of the book is a little bit misleading as it does not center in Piper's career or biography and is more a historic account of the Battle of the Bulge. I gave it 3 stars for that, if some chapters were dedicated to Piper's previous career in Russia which accounts for most of his exploits and fame I would have improved my rating.