The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 3

The artillery and rocket barrage that preceded the major assault by the four battle groups was a little

more effective.

Peiper’s advance was quickly reduced to walking pace as mines and dependence on a single

road through thickly forested pinewoods took their toll on the forwardmost units. By the time they

moved off from the town of Büllingen on 17 th December – having taken a score of American prisoners

− the weather cleared and American P47 Thunderbolts rained down on slow-moving German

columns, unopposed by the German air force.

In the afternoon of 17 th December, at around 13:30, the German advance columns encountered

an American detachment largely consisting of battery maintenance trucks and ambulances. After the

first vehicles were bombarded by elements of the 7th SS Panzer Company, the remainder

surrendered and at around 14:00, 113 Americans were assembled in a field just south of Malmédy.

For reasons that remain unknown, German soldiers of the battle group Peiper opened fire and

massacred 84 American prisoners of war. 3

The battle group soon proceeded further to the west, but constant harassing fire from American

defenders forced the battle group to stop − delays they could not afford:

When our advance more or less came to a halt at the crossroads I passed Peiper’s order,

he was in the SPW [armoured personnel carrier] right behind me, on to Sternbeck. He was

to take Ligneuville immediately, to secure the bridge which was strategically important to

us and at the western edge of the village he was to wait for further instructions. I also told

him that an HQ of considerable rank was possibly in the town. The other units were

instructed to advance to Ligneuville without delay. We knew that Spitze with its two tanks

and few SPWs was very weak. As we had no other armoured vehicles immediately

available, my Panther and behind me Colonel Peiper in his SPW followed Spitze as fast

as we could. To start off with I did not notice any fighting and therefore wanted to cross the

3 The Malmédy massacre in 1944 was one among many during WWII, but received considerable attention during post-war trials. Seventy members belonging or associated with Peiper’s battle group were tried, and 43 death sentences were pronounced, none of which was actually carried out. All were converted into lengthy prison sentences.

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