Kampfgruppe Peiper: The Race for the Meuse

by David Cooke and Wayne Evans

Book Overview

On 16 December 1944 Hitler's last great offensive commenced, pushing through the difficult terrain of the Ardennes in Belgium. Its objectives were the Meuse bridges and, beyond them, Antwerp. Hitler's aim was to cut off the northern British and American armies and force them to surrender or retreat.

At the forefront of the German assault was Kampfgruppe Peiper of the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler Division. It was the most powerful force in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1473827043
• ISBN13: 9781473827042
• Release Date: October 2014
• Publisher: Pen & Sword Military
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.8" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

History Buff

Well written with some excellent little seen photos. Although a short book, it covers perhaps the best known event of the Battle of the Bulge, including the Malmedy massacre.

A must for the students of the Ardennes battle

This is an excellent book about Kampfgruppe Peiper's notorious actions during the Ardennes counteroffensive in December 1944. The numerous and excellent maps, the wealth of first hand material and the nice photos combine to make this book probably the best ever written about that battle. The author does not miss the US side either and praises the heroism and the ingenuity of the American troops, particularly the engineers who effectively stopped KG Peiper dead on its tracks, 60 km from the Meuse river. Very highly recommended!

kampfgruppe peiper

I found this to be a very informative book about the race for the Meuse including accounts from veterans on both sides. There is even details of visiting the battlefields mentioned in the book!

A bible on Pieper.

Fantastic book on Peiper. Did a 'now and then'on Berlin, Nurnberg and Koln and popped over to Belgium and did Pieper's trail fleetingly in a day from Tondorf through Honsfeld up to Stoumont. I ordered Peiper's race to the Meuse and the book inspired me to go back and do the 'now and then' properly.The book is a bible for such a trip. Greg greg@54.co.za

Interesting

This book deals with the advance and eventual destruction of Kampfgruppe Peiper during the battle of the Bulge in 1944. Its scope deals only with this battlegroup as it ground its way through the Ardennes before being trapped and destroyed as it ran out of petrol and fierce allied resistance. It is not a big book being a little over 180 pages and is a very easy read. It covers the organisation and equipment of the battlegroup and follows it day by day during the battle. There are a large number of photos, some reasonable maps and an interesting battlefield tour where you can follow the route Peiper's battlegroup took. There are also photos of how the battlefield appears today and what it was like in 1944.There are a number of interesting stories told by vets such as the duel between 2 King Tigers of Peipers group at La Gleize and 15 Shermans belonging to TF McGeorge where contray to popular belief both Tigers were knocked out. The story is told from both the perspective of German and US soldiers so gives a fair coverage to the battle. The massacre at Malmedy and other war crimes such as the shooting of civilians are touched on but not to a great depth. What may have happened if Peiper had secured gas for his panzers at a large US fuel depot he missed by a couple of miles will never be known. If you are looking for an in depth covergae of the Battle of the Bulge this is not for you.