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The Malmedy Massacre is the name given to a series of war crimes committed by SS troops as they advanced through The Ardennes at the beginning of the Battle of the Bulge in Dec, 1944.
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Mainly attributed to the Kampfgruppe Peiper, commanded by Joachim Peiper, the atrocities were committed against not only troops but also civilians.
The most known of these is the shooting dead of U.S POWs near the town of Malmedy, on Dec 17, giving the crimes it's name
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The most known of these is the shooting dead of U.S POWs near the town of Malmedy, on Dec 17, giving the crimes it's name
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As the SS troops advanced forwards on the morning of Dec 17, they reached the Baugnez crossroads, about 2 miles southeast of the town of Malmedy. There they encountered a convoy of about 30 vehicles of the U.S 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion.
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Peiper's men took out the first & last vehicle of the convoy, thus halting the Americans, who surrendered under the superior fire power. As the main Peiper group moved on, a few stayed behind with the POWs, some who had been captured previously that morning.
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There were about 120 men gathered in a field when the Germans opened fire with machine guns. Some fled, some froze, some dropped to the ground & played dead. The Germans then walked among those & shot any that looked alive.
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A few Americans had tried to hide in a nearby café building, but this was set alight, and men shot as they tried to escape.
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Around 43 Americans who had managed to escape eventually made their way back to Allied lines, many being sheltered by Belgian civilians which was incredibly brave of the locals, as many civilians had already been executed in the previous days by the SS troops.
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By the evening of the 17th, news & rumors of the massacres had began to reach along the front lines. This along with the news that some German troops were posing as U.S soldiers possibly led to some retaliation killings against captured German troops.
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The bodies near Malmedy were not recovered until Jan 14, 1945, as the area remained behind German lines. 72 bodies were found in the field. Later, between Feb - April, 12 more victims of the massacre were found in the area.
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After the war, in 1946, trials were held against members of Kampfgruppe Peiper. The tribunal tried more than 70 persons & decided 43 death sentences. However, none of these were carried out.
A memorial stands today dedicated to those who lost their lives in the massacres
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A memorial stands today dedicated to those who lost their lives in the massacres
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