Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Battle of the Bulge (Stackpole Military History Series)

There are many fine books of the "Battle of the Bulge" that have good accounts of Peiper's exploits on his run to the Meuse River but this is the most explicit account I've read.There are 12 chapters to the book. The first describes parameters and objectives of the German offensive. The second chapter which includes an organization chart describes the organization and equipment of Group Peiper. This includes the commanders of all the units attached as well as a bio of Lt Col Peiper. There are charts that includes photos and statistics of the panzers and other equipment that will be used. Since US 30th ID had the biggest part in stopping Peiper, they are included in this chapter as well and includes their organization and weapons used.After the 2 chapter introduction, the book is broken down into chapters of a day's duration and includes coverage for the next nine days, starting with December 16th. It includes his frustration due to the slow start to the campaign's breakout. He was still able to cross the Our River by the end of the day. The advance continues with reaching the Ambleve River near Stavlot the next day. On the 18th he reaches Toris Ponts. The Peiper column reaches its apogee in the LeGleize / Stourmont area on the 19th. The saga continues the next day when he is blocked from advancing past Stourmont and the next two days Peiper fights to break loose before the Americans begin to close in around him. The main theme of the saga ends when his panzers are solidly trapped and Peiper has to walk out in the middle of the night on the 24th to escape.The last chapter, Mr Cooke, discusses the reasons for Peiper's failure to make the Meuse. Too many rivers to cross, no logistic support and no support from 12th SS PzD which was supposed to run parallel with Peiper to help share American resistance. The last major reason for the failure is the determined pursuit by the 30th ID and others which were imotivated by the massacre of Battery B of the 285th, southeast of Malmedy on the 17th.Besides the great narrative of this trek, the author has assembled many maps which distinctly shows the daily progress of Peiper and the closing of the trap by the Americans. In addition to the informative maps which show highways, local roads, towns and rivers, a series of photos of towns and important interesections as well as engagement sites are shown to cement your understanding of the advance. Even if you have read about the "Bulge" before, this book is still a must read. It will clarify any questions you might have concerning Peiper and his trek. And you can use the many maps if you're reading your favorite book on the entire offensive campaign.

At 5:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 16, 1944, the Germans began an Ardennes assault from the west with a massive, 90-minute artillery barrage using 1,600 artillery pieces across an 80 miles front on the Allied troops facing the Sixth SS Panzer Army. History would remember this as the Battle of the Bulge.Joachim Peiper led a tank column which spearheaded the attack through the Ardennes. He was the youngest Lt. Col. in the Waffen SS and a truly bad guy (almost a requirement to get into the SS). Although he has his defenders, I think there is little doubt that he ordered the shooting of American prisoners in the so-called Malmedy Massacre. He was tried after the war and sentenced to death. The Americans, of all people, got his sentence commuted to life and then time served. Arguably, justice was finally served. After death threats in 1976 his house was fired on, killing him, and unknown persons torched the home -- probably Communists. His family was not hurt.The best book I've read on the Battle of the Bulge is  A Time for Trumpets: The Untold Story of the Battle of the Bulge  which remains availble in paperbackBastogne became the sticking point that slowed the German rush to Antwerp. The failure to take Bastogne essentially ended the Battle of the Bulge. It had been the bloodiest of the battles the US forces experienced in World War II; one in which the 19,000 American dead were unsurpassed by those of any other engagement. A total of 17 Medals of Honor were awarded, seven of them posthumously.I have blogged about the battle in the December 11, 2010 posting "Christmas in Bastogne" at [...]

Not as good a book as I had hoped. Poor illustrations and very blurry grainy photos. Just not what I had come to expect from the Stackpole series

The standard on Kampfgruppe 1st SS Panzer (Peiper) at the Bulge. Its strengths are its organizational charts, maps, personal recollections, the details, and the day by day explanations.KG 1st Panzer was an armor-heavy battle group with 1 battalion of medium tanks (2 coys of Mark 5 Panthers and 2 coys of Mark 4 "Panther Juniors"), one battalion of heavy tanks (three coys of King Tigers), one panzer grenadier battalion hauled by SPW half-tracks, plus artillery, engineer, and anti-aircraft assetts. Sturmwind dahin!Get this in conjunction with The 1st SS Panzer Division in the Battle of the Bulge (sold as a pair).Read how the 9th Fallshirmjaeger jacked up the time table on day one, how Peiper's decisions to "Always Move Forward" almost paid off, how the so-called "Malmedy Massacre" actually seemed to be a running one (although US troops killed German POWs, too), how the US Engineers diverted the armor-heavy KG (the damned engineers!), and how the 30th US Infantry Divison, reinforced by elements of the 3rd US Armor and 82nd Airborne divisions ultimately crushed the KG at La Gleize--the Alamo of the Third Reich!Stackpole Books puts out some great stuff on WW2 at a great price. The absolute gold standard IMO.

The more books on the Ardennes offensive that you read the more you realise that there is only a limited number of sources on which they are based. This is inevitable considering the confused nature of the battle but it does create a feeling of deja-vu in the reader.That's not to say that this isn't a good book - if you are new to the story of Kampfgruppe Peiper it is a very good introduction but if you've read The Devils Adjutant by Michael Reynolds then you've pretty much read this one. That said, this is a much easier read than Reynolds and doesn't have any of his tiresome pooh-poohing of eyewitness accounts and you don't need a large scale map to follow the action.As with all the Stackpole books I've seen, the large area maps are atrocious but the detailed outline maps are very good but should have a page each instead of cramming them in with the text.I particularly liked the battlefield tour guide at the back which, to a man who wasted an hour repeatedly driving past a dog rescue centre near Schoppen trying to follow Cavanaghs Tour of the Bulge Battlefield, seemed far, far simpler (the air in my car is still blue from all the swearing)If you like this and think you might like to buy "Kampfgruppe Peiper - The Race to the Meuse" by the same authors I would suggest you save your money as it's the same book. Grrr!

If you don't know very much about Kampfgruppe Peiper or the battle of the bulge then this book is a great starting point.Even if you know more than the average person then this will still improve your understanding from the German perspective of that famous battle.Not essential reading and most of the information is available in other publications,but the pictures and illustrations alone make it a good buy for the relatively low cost.

As you would expect from stackpole. A very good book with then and now pics and route information.

really good book would reccomend to anyone interested in ww2 first hand accounts and stategies explained in an easy to understand format assisted with detailed maps

Great history book on the Ardennes Offensive!Showing how close it came to succeeding!Lots of good pictures and maps so well worth a read!