The Malmedy Massacre
While the mass of task force Peiper follows its leader some stay behind with 113 prisoners at a crossroads not far from the Cafe Bodarwe. At 14.15 hrs German soldiers open fire for unknown reasons on the prisoners from an APC. 61 further prisoners who are being closely guarded by a little more to the south try to flee at 16.00 hrs. At least 15 of them are killed. Farmer Henri Lejoly, who is with the landlady of the cafe, Madame Bodarw, hears the shhoting and on investigating becomes an eyewitness to the massacre.
Eyewitness reports are contradictory. Some accounts relate an escape attempt by the 113 prisoners followed by German fire arbitrarily into the ir midst, then followed by the killing of those still alive.There is however no account of any order given by Peiperto carry out these actions.
Jochen Peiper is meanwhile on the way to Ligneuville. A GI reports the arrival of the vanguard at 13.30 hrs. The fight for the bridge which is only covered by a dozer blade equipped Sherman is short. The majority of GIs are able to withdraw from the place, the rest is taken prisoner. In Ligneuville a massacre also occurs. A Unterscharführer (corporal) of the Task Force Peiper shoots eight US soldiers without reason behind the Hotel du Moulin. The host of the inn, Peter Rupp, becomes an eyewitness and intervenes. Rupp is knocked down by the same Unterscharführer and loses two teeth. A bypassing officer orders the Unterscharführer to kill the remaining Americans and Belgians, but is prevented from doing so from a higher ranking SS officer. This action saves Peter Rupp`s life.
Once the place is secure, Peiper`s forward unitsturn towards the next objectve, Stavelot. But they do not get far. An American roadblock behind Vau Richard delays the assault for a while and when they try to take the old stone bridge of Stavelot in the evening, Peiper`s men get under fire. Later, it is decided to bivouac overnight on the hills in front of Stavelot. Peiper believes that Stavelot and its bridge across the Ambleve are defended too strongly, a fallacy as Stavelot has not been prepared for defence.
OAt dawn on 18 December Peiper and his men attack. The bridge is taken and resistance by the Americans is only met at the market place. Three German tanks are destroyed by a defensive position in the market place. Peiper orders a special unit to overcome the US resistance while he drives on with the major part of the unit in an outflanking movement to Trois Pont. The small U.S. group under the command of Major Sollis holds back the Germans for another hour and then decides to retreat. On their way towards Malmedy they are stopped after few kilometres by a Belgian officer on a mountain road who explains to them that only he and a couple of civilians would guard a U.S. petrol depot of 13 million litres.
Major Sollis with just a platoon of infantry and no anti-tank guns decides to stop the enemy tanks with gasoline barrels in an ambush. When the first Panther comes up the mountain, they ignite the fuel and repulse the Germans. For Peiper this roadblock does not cause too many headaches for their push to the Meuse and ignores them. He obviously has no idea that he is just going past a fuel dump which would secure the supply for his task force and the entire division all the way to the Meuse and beyond.
In the meantime, Peiper and the lead elements approach the underpass in Trois Pont. Only a few more metres to the two bridges and the gate to the Meuse is wide open. But it does not come to that. A U.S. anti-tank gun which stands by chance well camouflaged and sited behind the viaduct knocks out the leading Panther which now forms a roadblock for the other 19 Panthers and Tigers piled up behind. This gives the US sappers sufficient time to blow up the bridges across the Ambleve. Peiper is in rage and demands the immediate destruction of the brave U.S. anti-tank gun crew. All four GIs soon afterwards are victims of a direct hit on their gun by an 8.8 cm shell.
