Customer Reviews

DEVIL'S ADJUTANT: Jochen Peiper, Panzer Leader

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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 Although the book gives a lot of ,until now, unpublished and intruiging facts about Peiper's life, the book is not a comprehensive biography of Peiper.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.

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.

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.

In my opinion one should be able to read a title and at least get an idea about the main topic of the book. Not so here.

If you want an moment-by-momentbreakdown of the Battle of the Bulge then this book is for you. If you want to learn anything about Jochen Peiper, his mind, motivations, style etc, you will be wasting your time. Peiper's name is invoked because he was a leader in the military thrust described by the author. There is no critical evaulation of why he's compelling, how he led, what were his values. We learn almost nothing about Peiper as an individual from this book. All I can take from this book about Peiper is: he was part of Himmler's staff, and since we all know how bad Himmler was it doesn't say good things about Peiper.

Guilt-by-association won't work here; I need a lot more evidence to buy the argument.

For those that want a basic view of Peiper and his role in the Ardennes Offensive, this is very good. The author is unbiased and has both American and German accounts of the battle from beginning to end. Those that want a thorough and indept account of Peiper, Patrick Agte's book is what you want. The Bulge is the final and greatest offensive in the war against the western allies and unlike the war in the east where Peiper participated in, it was the Battle of the Bulge, particularly the Malmady incident that effected Peiper on a more personal level condemning him as a war criminal and to be hanged. Peiper being branded as a war criminal probably what led to his murder by French Communists. But Peiper did nothing unusual that other sides didn't do. The shooting of prisoners was common, particularly on the eastern front, but on the western front Americans also shot German prisoners as well. Aside from the fact that he was a committed Nazi, in all fairness Peiper like all great and aggressive military leaders did what he had to do in order to win a desperate battle.

The Devil's Adjutant by Maj. General (Retired) Michael Reynolds is a good book describing the Battle of the Bulge from both viewpoints (German and American). The title leads one to believe that it is a biography of Jochen Peiper, certainly one of the most charismatic (and controversial) figues in the Waffen-SS. The biographical info is certainly interesting (especially since he served as Himmer's aide earlier in the war), but General Reynold's' main concern is with the the German strategy during the Battle of the Bulge with Peiper playing a key role in the narrative. The coverage of the battle is very accurate and draws from both German and American sources.

Jochen Peiper was certainly a courageous officer, but he is associated with the massacre of American POWs at Malmedy, a crime for which he was sentenced to death, but was later overturned due to irregualities in the prosecution's case. General Reynolds is even-handed in examining the evidence for and against Peiper. Peiper's later life and mysterious death are covered well. Among Waffen-SS veterans there is a certain amount of sentiment that Peiper was a victim as well and the appelation "Der letzte Gefallene" or the last casualty has been given to him. Certainly Peiper was taking a great amount of risk by living in France, but the French government no doubt knew of his past and allowed him to maintain a residence there. General Reynolds is fair in his assesment that Peiper was an excellent officer who took some excesses in combat, although his attempts to link Peiper to Himmler are a bit far-fetched. The "Final Solution" and its implementation were in 1942, during a period where Peiper was engaged in combat on the Eastern Front and it is unlikely that a junior officer could have had access to sensitive information.

Four stars for this book, because of the inaccurate title. Also, there is a mistake concerning the last commander of the 1st SS Panzer Division "LAH." Otto Kumm was the officer in question, not Krumm. Oterwise an excellent account although I feel that Steel Inferno by the same author is probably the better book, as there is less politics in that book.

Gen. Reynolds (ret) did a great job in balancing tactics and first person accounts. This is a perfect book for you if you want to understand the battle from the German point of view. BTW General Reynolds kindly sent me a copy of a map he used to conduct battle field walkthroughs. THANKS FOR THE MAP!

I really don't have much to add to the earlier reviews and I agree with all the comments about Peiper's time on the Russian Front which I thought this book would cover in great detail. I was really looking forward to accounts of the fighting on the Russian front and although this book offers an excellent account of Peiper's role in the Ardennes Offensive I wanted more of his earlier involvement in the war. Besides that this is a great book and if you enjoy accounts of the 'Battle of the Bulge' you are bound to love this book. I am yet to read the author's second book "Steel Inferno" but I have only seen/heard great reviews so far.

General Reynold's is probably the best book I have read thus far in regards to painting a picture of what the battlefield commander goes through in the critcal hours before stepping off on the attack, or 'prep for combat'. As a company grade infantry officer myself, I could only imagine the pressure on someone so young as Peiper, only 29 and commanding a reinforced panzer regiment! General Reynold's narritive is first rate, and his dependance on primary sources insures his accuracy. I also highly recommend his other book, "Steel Inferno" for much of the same qaulities as mentioned above. Finally, if anyone could tell me how to find Kurt Meyer's book, "Grenadiers", I would greatly appreciate it. Semper Fidelis.

A person buys a book like this because they are really interested in learning everything hey can about a particular topic, that is why I bought this book. The story is about a German tank leader and his actions during the Battle of the Bulge. This book provides the reader with almost every detail of what this particular tank commander and his group went through during this particular battle of the war. The book does also give the read some background on him to make you understand why he was held in such high regard and it provides the after the war bio also. The book is well written, very detailed and does a good job of tying the pictures it displays to the story. If you really have a deep fascination with either the Battle of the Bulge or German tank warfare then this would be a good book for you.