Joachim Peiper’s Atrocities Against Allied Troops: When Intimidation Failed. The forces of Nazi Germany are infamous for the atrocities they committed. The SS who played a dual role, both acting as frontline troops and running the prison camps, were responsible for many atrocities. Though their greatest atrocities were committed on the Eastern Front, war crimes were also committed against Allied troops in the west. The most infamous atrocities being those committed by troops under Joachim Peiper during the Battle of the Bulge. The Battle of the Bulge. Launched in December 1. Battle of the Bulge was the last gamble of a German army trying to hold back the Allied advance, Hitler’s final attempt at a Blitzkrieg attack that had once brought him such success. Belgium, before running out of fuel and coming under heavy fire from American artillery and tanks. It became clear to Peiper that he had. Emerging through the Ardennes, the Germans attacked a weak point in the Allied line, hoping to break through, split the American and British armies, and force those two nations to the negotiating table. It was a desperate move by a nation on the retreat and a leader who must have feared that defeat would mean death. But it was not enough. The lack of resources that plagued the German army stalled the advance, as they ran out fuel and fresh forces to throw into the fight. The main thrust of the battle came from two tank armies – one of the regular German army the other a part of the infamous SS. Joachim Peiper Trial By Fire BandJoachim Peiper died under. Peiper volunteered to take. Joachim Peiper joaxm papa 30 January 1915 14 July 1976 also known. Joachim Peiper und die. Kampfgruppe Peiper. Among the SS Panzer troops was Kampfgruppe Peiper, a unit of 1. They were commanded by Obersturmbannf. While serving on the eastern front, he had been responsible for several atrocities against Russian troops and civilians, including the burning down of the village of Krasnaya Polyana and the massacre of its inhabitants. Captured Germans reported that Peiper relished the opportunity to burn down Russian homes. A similar village burning by his troops in Italy led to other German forces, adopting this tactic and this lead to widespread death and devastation. The war was taking its toll on Peiper. Rushed to the western front following the Allied D- Day landings, he became burnt out psychologically and was evacuated. Officially suffering from jaundice, he had actually been the victim of a nervous breakdown. By the Battle of the Bulge, he was back in a position of command. This was a man who embodied the mentality of many German troops, especially in the SS – stressed, desperate and desensitized to the use of terrible measures. No Mercy. As in Russia, SS troops, and in, particular Peiper’s men, tried to intimidate the enemy through brutal actions. Captured American prisoners were murdered at Ligneuville, Stavelot, Cheneux, La Gleize, Stoumont and Wereth. Near Bullingen, Peiper forced POWs to refuel his tanks and then shot them. At Honsfield, his men murdered and then robbed the bodies of 1. Americans. The crimes of Kampfgruppe Peiper were not reserved for enemy combatants. They also killed Belgian civilians. Later investigations eventually attributed 4. POWs. Baugnez Crossroads. The largest massacre of POWs was at the Baugnez crossroads, two miles south- east of Malmedy. Here Peiper’s tanks captured an American convoy after immobilising the front and rear vehicles. Armed only with small arms and rifles, the American troops surrendered. While the German armour continued on its advance, around 1. Allied prisoners were gathered in the open in a field, including those taken from the convoy and others captured earlier. What exactly happened next has been disputed. Some witnesses said that some of the POWs tried to grab their guns or to run away. Others said that the Germans opened fire with no reason or warning. Regardless of their reasons, the SS troops opened fire on their prisoners with machine guns. Not content with mowing them down, they then walked among the fallen, executing any who remained alive. Some of the prisoners fled to a caf. The Germans set fire to the building, and anyone who tried to avoid a terrible death in the flames was shot as they emerged. Of the prisoners gathered at the Baugnez crossroads, 8. The string of crimes committed by troops under Peiper’s command became known as the Malmedy Massacre. No Wavering. Joachim Peiper at Malmedy trial. The aim of such brutal tactics had always been intimidation – to scare the enemy so that they would not resist. It was the same tactic by which the SS had helped Hitler to rule Germany – using terrible violence to eliminate opponents and scare the rest into surrender. In the Battle of the Bulge, it proved entirely counterproductive. The Americans were powerful and had a formidable army. They were an invasion force with greater numbers and resources than the SS could bring to bear. The massacres did not make them afraid – they made them angry and wanting revenge. As word of the massacres spread, the willingness of American soldiers to kill their German enemies increased. On 2. 1 December, one infantry regiment gave out an order that SS troops and paratroopers were not to be allowed to surrender, but should be shot on sight. It was a principle that many soldiers followed on an ad hoc basis, venting their anger over Malmedy. There were allegations of organised massacres of German POWs, which the American government denied. Such was the anger that orders had to be given for SS officers to be taken alive so that they could be questioned. Many of those involved in the Malmedy massacres were eventually tried though they were released following allegations of irregularities in the trials. Peiper was murdered in 1. Sources: Nigel Cawthorne (2. Turning the Tide: Decisive Battles of the Second World War. Wikipedia – accessed 1. His father was a WW I veteran, and he had two brothers, Hans- Hasso and Horst. By the end of his military career, Peiper was the youngest regimental colonel in the Waffen- SS, officially known as: SS Standartenf. Peiper was recruited into the SS- Verf. Sepp Dietrich reviewed his application and admitted him into the 1st SS . Initially he served as an Adjutant on Heinrich Himmler's staff before moving onto command various Panzer units within 1st SS . While on Himmler's staff, Peiper met and married his wife, Sigurd, with whom he had three children: Hinrich, Elke, and Silke. Himmler was particularly fond of Jochen Peiper and took a keen interest in Peiper's ascension towards command. At age 2. 9 Peiper was a full colonel of the Waffen- SS, well respected and a holder of one of wartime Germany's highest decorations, the Knight's Cross with Swords personally awarded to him by Adolf Hitler. Peiper was a skilled combat leader and took part in a number of major Panzer battles of the war. His men were fiercely loyal to him, regarded by many as a . Most notably, he commanded the Kampfgruppe Peiper of the LSSAH (assigned to the 6th SS Panzer Armee under Sepp Dietrich ) during Operation Wacht am Rhein ( Battle of the Bulge ). Kampfgruppe Peiper advanced to the town of La Gleize , Belgium , before being turned back by American forces. Peiper was forced to abandon over a hundred vehicles in the town, including six Tiger II tanks, and made his way back to German lines with 8. Peiper has been accused of, but never prosecuted for, the Boves Massacre. Peiper had them released to him, and he then set them free. One of the Jews was a rabbi, who later wrote a testimony to Peiper's kindness during his war crimes trial. After the end of World War II , Peiper and other members of the Waffen- SS were tried for war crimes in the Malm. Peiper volunteered to take all the blame if the court would set his men free: the court refused. Mc. Cown, Battalion Commander of the 3. Infantry Division 1. Regiment of the US Army testified during the trials that he had conversed half the night with Peiper. Mc. Cown had heard of the allegations of Peiper's men shooting American POWs and asked Peiper if his men were safe. Peiper gave his word that Mc. Cown's men would not be shot; Mc. Cown also testified that he had no knowledge that any POWs were shot. Even so, Peiper was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging , as were many of his men. Peiper later requested that his men be shot by firing squad and was denied. However, due to issues with the case against them, many confessions had been ludicrously coerced by the use of mock hangings and harsh beatings of the prisoners; the sentences of many of the Malmedy defendants were later commuted to life and then to time served, and Peiper was released on parole from prison at the end of December 1. After release Peiper eventually went to live in Traves , Haute- Sa. Following explicit death threats, Peiper was murdered in a fire attack on his house on July 1. The attackers were never prosecuted, but were suspected to be French Communists .
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
April 2017
Categories |