Battle of the Bulge Kaiserbaracke

This is the location where the spearhead of "Kampfgruppe Peiper" halted on December 17, 1944 to determine which direction to take. Kampfgruppe Peiper was part of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment “Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler” (LSSAH), and included the 1st SS Panzer Battalion, the 3rd SS Panzer Grenadier Battalion, and the 1st Battalion of the 1st SS Panzer Artillery.

This location is now a traffic circle near an industrial park.

This advance of Kampfgruppe Peiper arrived at the Baugnez crossroads later that day in combat and got in combat with the 285th US Artillery Observation Battalion. This battalion was on its way to Stavelot. The battalion had been informed that German counterattacks had been launched in the meantime, but was taken completely by surprise by overwhelming numbers and firepower of the approaching Kampfgruppe.
The 285th AOB was forced to surrender after a short fight after which the disarmed soldiers were herded together in a field near the crossroads. They were then murdered in cold blood by the SS. This became known as the "Malmedy Masacre. 82 disarmed soldiers were killed, some at close range with a "mercy shot. A number of soldiers managed to escape and were able to testify about this war crime which brought this event to light.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: Ed Lewandowski
• Photos: Ed Lewandowski (1, 2, 4), U.S. National Archives / Public domain (3)
• Het bloedbad van Malmedy, Danny Parker
• The Malmedy Masacre, John Bauserman