The 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler was the spearhead
of the assault by Sepp Dietrich's Sixth Panzer Armee on the northern
flank of the German Ardennes offensive. Divided into Kampfgruppen, the
lead was Kampfgruppe Peiper whose armored force included SS Heavy Tank
Battalion 501 equipped with King Tigers. The attack was launched on a
snowy, freezing December 16, but from the outset, the division lost time
against schedule. It captured a fuel dump at Büllingen, but brave
defense forced Peiper onto the southern Rollbahn D whose tight, winding
roads proved difficult to negotiate and soon the Kampfgruppe was strung
out over 25 kilometers with its heavy armor--the King Tigers--slowly
losing ground as vehicle after vehicle succumbed to automotive failures.
Pushing through Stavelot and Trois Pont, the advanced units of the
Kampfgruppe reached Stoumont before lack of fuel--the Americans had
retaken Stavelot and closed off the route for German resupply--and US
Army action forced it to halt at La Gleize. Six days later, on Christmas
Eve, with no hope and no fuel, Peiper and his men abandoned their
vehicles and made their way back to their lines: only 770 got there.
They left behind 135 armored vehicles including the King Tiger that
today stands in front of the museum at La Gleize. They also left
scattered on their route the murdered bodies of US servicemen--at
Malmedy, Ligneuville, and Wereth--and civilians, massacres that would
lead to postwar trials and continued recriminations.
The Past & Present Series reconstructs historical battles by using
photography, juxtaposing modern views with those of the past together
with concise explanatory text. It shows how much infrastructure has
remained and how much such as outfits, uniforms, and ephemera has
changed, providing a coherent link between now and then.
