Books : Massacre at Malmedy: The Story of Jochen Peiper's Battle Group Ardennes, December, 1944 (Pen & Sword Paperback)
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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 940
EAN num: 9780850525120
ISBN number: 0850525128
Label: Combined Books
Manufacturer: Combined Books
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 255
Printing Date: 1996-11
Publishing house: Combined Books
Sale Popularity Level: 2353098
Studio: Combined Books
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Brief Book Summary:
In December of 1944, during the final flush of the German breakout in the Bulge, several SS divisions led by Colonel Johann Peiper swarmed the American encampment at Malmedy, in the Ardennes. American prisoners, wounded and unwounded, were summarily executed, as were many Belgian civilians, under the charge that the village had harbored American troops.
Colonel Peiper and a number of his lieutenants were subsequently charged for their roles in the massacre, and sentenced to hang. But incredibly, as with the majority of convicted war criminals, they were spared.
'...for those who recall the fears and turmoil of December 1944, it is a terribly real remembrance of dreadful events.' (Best Sellers)
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Rated by buyers 
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I read this when it was very 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 very 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!
Rated by buyers 
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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.
Rated by buyers 
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The Russian's atrocities are no less severe. Peiper is prosecuted only because he is with the defeated side. As a professional soldier, he has done what he should do only.
Rated by buyers -
This book constitutes Carrington's memoirs of his key role in the evolution of air support within the British military in WW II. It thus provides invaluable insight into this key function. Not only that -- its actually a rattling good read as well! First of all, unlike so many stuffy post-war memoirs, Carrington can actually write. Doubtless this is because in the inter-war years he was an Oxford don of English literature, noted for his books "Soldier From the Wars Returning", "A Subaltern's War", (both available from Amazon) and a fine bio of Kipling. He also has a fascinating story to tell. Returning to the colours at the outbreak of WW II from university life, he finds himself working as a staff officer trying to coordinate air support for the British Expeditionary Force in France. He is thus caught in the debacle of the German blitzkrieg, and makes it back to the UK by the skin of his teeth and determined to make air support for the Allied cause work better. This he does, working at several key staff appointments (as a Lt Col), including as the Army liaison officer to Bomber Command, and eventually being the principal author/editor of the eventual British manuals for air support procedure used on D-Day and the rest of the war. The book provides a priceless glimpse into how this all happened. Not only does it outline the conceptual disputes over the application of air power (which were fierce), but it also provides an inside glimpse of the personalities involved. This book is both invaluable to students of military history, and fascinating for the armchair military historian.
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There never was a massacre, only the shooting of prisoners of war who tried to escape. And what about all the atrocities committed by the Brits, Canadians and Amis during Normandy? Read the book "The History of the 12.SS Panzerdivision Hitlerjugend" by its former Ia, Hubert Meyer for a fair and factual account of the campaign in the West
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