Drive on recklessly, give no quarter and take no prisoners; everything that comes into our sights should be mown down' - Jochen Peiper. Then the machine-guns started to chatter. The massacre had begun. The prisoners started to fall in groups, as other machine guns joined in the slaughter. They were completely defenseless. Some tried to make a break for it, but were mown down before they'd gone half a dozen yards. Wounded, dead and dying were everywhere in the bloody grass - still the machine guns went on. Ahrens summoned up the last of his strength and staggered off through the wet underbrush, dribbling blood behind him, heading for a town whose name would soon signify to the western world one thing only - massacre. The town called Malmedy. This is the story of the infamous massacre of World War II.
--This text refers to an alternate
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
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Hitler's Ardennes offensive of December 1944 was spearheaded by a panzer regiment of the 1st SS Division. Attacking at dawn in their King Tiger tanks, the 1st SS made a gallant attempt to break through the Allied lines. As on other occasions, the SS combat achievement was marred by atrocities. The regiment's commander, Jochen Peiper, had ordered them to drive on recklessly and to give no quarter. When an inconvenient number of American prisoners had been acquired, SS men opened fire on them, killing 86 captive Americans. Peiper and some of his men were brought to trial after the war. Over-zealous American prosecutors committed many irregularities and members of the unit only suffered minor penalties, despite the horrendous nature of their murderous atrocities. Veteran military historian Charles Whiting offers a vivid account of the largest single atrocity committed against American P. O. W. s on the western front in World War II, as well as a detailed narrative of the forward units of the SS Leibstandarte "Adolf Hitler" during the Battle of the Bulge. Massacre At Malmedy is a fitting and descriptive memorial that is a permanent part of the military history of the European theatre. -- Midwest Book Review
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--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A step towards the truth,
By R.J.C (somewhere in America!) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Massacre at Malmedy: The Story of Jochen Peiper's Battle Group Ardennes, December, 1944 (Pen & Sword paperback) (Paperback)
I read this when it was first published in UK before Peiper's death. It was only later I learned of that. I found the book fascinating in that "monsters" became real human beings. No better or worse than their adversaries except for one salient thing. Something which to my mind far transcends the massacre at the crossroads instigated by one of the LAH "booty Germans";and that is the persistant and almost systematic killing of Belgian civilians; women & children included, throughout the entire operation: some 140+ in all for which no one in Kampfgruppe Peiper was ever brought to book. Until this book came out I had no idea of such things. The americans NEVER mentioned it. Simultaneously, the prisoners that were actually taken were decently treated. To the extent that one of them voluntarily testified on his behalf at Peipers' "trial" - parentheses deliberate, illustrating that the delusionary and farcical aspects of "American Justice" were in place long before the O.J Simpson trial. The other interesting aspect of the trial was the devotion of Everett, Peipers' American council in defending someone who he clearly felt was innocent. Quite true as to direct involvent in the massacre. Untrue as to Peipers' level of responsibility. Noone mentions that George Fleps who fired the first round was not brought to book by the Germans themselves at any stage. The reality was that this "incident" was nothing to Peiper and his fellow commanders as this sort of thing was "routine" on the Eastern Front where as someone once put it; "the armies were angry". It was that ethos that carried over to the West - particularly amongst the denizens of the Waffen SS. At the same time one comes away with a measure of admiration for Peiper as a soldier, and I recommend Whiting's follow-on book "Peiper" which fleshes out the man plus his life and times more fully. My only criticism is the style tends towards journalese rather than a pure work of history. In that sense the book is a colourful one and a good read. But some exaggerations and colourful tales inhabit the book: hence 4 rather than 5 stars. Nevertheles, a book that needed writing!
3.0 out of 5 stars
Early Classic but better available now,
This review is from: MASSACRE AT MALMEDY (Paperback)
This book in the 70's was the first popular work on the now famous kampfgruppe Peiper - more or less I could be wrong on that.
It certainly fired my imagination back then Mr Whiting's typical style - no maps, exciting narrative woven with many individual accounts, photos which may or may not relate to the events described. Mr Whiting evidently interviewed Peiper. Shame he didnt cover more ground and in more detail - that could have been a really interesting book in itself - it would have sold huge volumes. As one gains more knowledge on the subject matter, the book becomes less satisfactory - the lack of maps challenges the imagination; as one tries to get a better picture from other sources it becomes clear that he has cut and pasted from numerous sources. There are quite a few newer books which have really tried to do a thorough job on KGP and succeeded - Reynolds, Wijers, After the Battle. And there are the older marvellous sources like The Damned Engineers. There are also some great books in french published by local historians - Stavelot by Hubert Laby is magnificent imho
11 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The truth,
By A Customer
This review is from: Massacre at Malmedy: The Story of Jochen Peiper's Battle Group Ardennes, December, 1944 (Pen & Sword paperback) (Paperback)
The poster called 'reader' who claims that those americans killed were 'escaping pows' is full of it.During the Nuremberg trials Lt. Virgil Lary positively identified Pvt George Fleps as having shot GIs before any escape attempts were made. The fact that "reader" uses the German expression "amis" tells me he is probably a former Wermacht soldior, who is trying to falsify the past. Even 60 years later, there are those who cannot accept responsiblity for their terrible crimes.
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