Hitler's Last Days (8 page)

Peiper was selected to serve as a top assistant for SS leader Heinrich Himmler, a calculating and brutal man whom Peiper came to idolize. Himmler had been loyal to the
Nationalsozialismus
—National Socialism or Nazi—beliefs of Adolf Hitler long before the F
ü
hrer achieved power over the German people in 1933. As such, he enjoys Hitler's confidence and has been given the harsh task of carrying out the extermination and suppression of those races, ethnicities, and enemies whom Hitler deems to be a threat to the Reich. Thus Jews, Roma (gypsies), homosexuals, and Nazi political opponents are sent to concentration camps in Germany and occupied Europe.

Under Himmler's tutelage, Peiper developed the philosophies of intolerance that now guide his military tactics. He stood at Himmler's side to witness the shooting of Polish intellectuals in the early days of the war, and was an eyewitness to the gassing of Jewish civilians, including women and children. When Himmler rewarded Peiper with an assignment to lead a half-track battalion on the Russian front, the fanatical young officer quickly developed a reputation for battlefield brilliance. His men and tanks moved quickly, thrusting and feinting in a manner reminiscent of George S. Patton's lightning-fast maneuvers.

It was Adolf Hitler himself who presented his dashing tank commander with the prestigious Oak Leaves to add to his Knight's Cross, making Peiper the youngest officer in the German army to ever be so honored. As with the commando Otto Skorzeny, Joachim Peiper became the object of the F
ü
hrer's fascination. Hitler was soon in the habit of rewarding Peiper with not just medals but also the most elite battlefield assignments.

During their time on the Russian front, Peiper's men took few prisoners, believing that the
Untermenschen
—subhumans, as the Germans defined the Russians—did not deserve to live. His men also developed a nickname based on their passion for using fire in battle: the Blowtorch Brigade. On two occasions his tanks completely surrounded Russian villages. His assault troops then set fire to every building, burning to death every single man, woman, and child inside their homes.

Peiper and his men now bring their ruthless talents to Operation Watch on the Rhine, where the need for speed on the battlefield is vital. The Germans must destroy the Allied army before replacements arrive to give the Americans and British a numerical advantage in soldiers and weapons. Thus Peiper and the First are appointed to spearhead the invasion. Since the suicide of Field Marshal Rommel, no other German tank commander can compare to Peiper.

In his final act before Operation Watch on the Rhine launches, Peiper issues orders stating, “There will be no stopping for anything. No booty will be taken, and no enemy vehicles are to be examined. It is not the job of the spearhead to worry about prisoners of war.” That would be left to the slower columns of infantry trailing in their wake.

December 17 is a new day for Joachim Peiper and the men of the First Panzer Division. Knowing that overcast skies will keep American fighter-bombers grounded, thus allowing his caravan to move forward unmolested, Peiper races toward the Meuse River.

Just before dawn, Peiper and his men pass through the tiny village of Honsfeld, where they spot American jeeps parked outside a row of local houses. As Peiper presses on to the town of B
ü
llingen, where he knows there is a fuel dump, he leaves the SS infantry behind. They quickly search the houses and emerge with a group of American soldiers, who were literally caught napping. The seventeen men are marched outside, wearing nothing but thin, army-issue boxer shorts. The Americans stand barefoot in the darkness, cursing their fate even as they marvel at the enormity of the German caravan passing before them. Tanks, half-tracks, and trucks curve into the distance as far as the eye can see. Clearly, this is no mere spoiling attack.

Suddenly, SS troopers open fire on the unarmed captured Americans. Sixteen are shot dead where they stand. The remaining soldier pleads for his life, but the SS takes no pity, murdering him by throwing him in front of a tank.

Peiper's troops' most atrocious massacre was at Malmédy, Belgium. Here, U.S. soldiers prepare to remove victims' bodies from the snow.
[Granger]

The news of this and other massacres races up and down the Allied chain of command. The Americans seethe. Although the rules of war make it a crime to kill a man who has surrendered, Peiper's actions make it clear that those rules do not apply to Operation Watch on the Rhine. Many American commanders tell their men that there will be no SS troopers taken prisoner.

If the Germans are not going to comply with the rules of war, then neither will the Americans.

CHAPTER 9

TWELFTH ARMY GROUP HEADQUARTERS

VERDUN, FRANCE
DECEMBER 19, 1944
10:30 A.M.

G
EORGE
S. P
ATTON IS COLD.

Patton hunkers down in the passenger seat of his open-air jeep, puffing quietly on a cigar. His parka is cinched up tightly around his chin, and he says very little as his driver navigates the streets of this ancient French town. The general ignores the frigid air that has been blasting throughout the ninety-minute drive from his headquarters in Nancy. It is not Patton's way to let the elements affect him.

Patton's driver, Sergeant John Mims of Abbeville, Alabama, slows at the entrance to the old stone barracks serving as Twelfth Army Group headquarters. The sentry snaps to attention and salutes. In return, Patton touches the gloved fingertips of his right hand to his steel helmet. The jeep passes onto a muddy parade ground, and a quick glance at the assembled cars shows that Dwight Eisenhower and his staff have not yet arrived from Versailles. Nor is Omar Bradley's official vehicle in view. Courtney Hodges, the general in command of the U.S. First Army, is also not in attendance—though this does not surprise Patton. Hodges failed to anticipate the German attack through the Ardennes, and then spent two days denying that it was happening. He even passed the time procuring a new hunting rifle and actually held a raucous staff Christmas party. Hodges was so ashamed of his behavior that he had locked himself in his office, where he sat with arms folded on his desk, head buried in his arms.

General Bradley's behavior hasn't been much better. As recently as two days ago, he was telling an aide that the German's sudden offensive did not concern him.

But Bradley now looks like a fool. The unsettling fact is that the German army has been decimating American forces for the last twelve hours. The situation has led Eisenhower to call an emergency meeting of the top Allied commanders. Patton's Operation Tink is no more. As the irascible general predicted almost two weeks ago, Courtney Hodges and his First Army need to be rescued. And it is Patton's Third Army that will have to do it.

*   *   *

“The present situation is to be regarded as one of opportunity for us and not of disaster,” Dwight Eisenhower tells the crowd of generals and senior officers seated at the long conference table. Ike has just been notified that he has been promoted to five-star general. But rather than showing elation, his face is pale and tired. A look around the dank second-floor room shows that every top commander, with the exception of British Field Marshal Montgomery and Lieutenant General Courtney Hodges, is in attendance. A situation map sits on an easel. The air smells of Patton's cigar, wet wool, and wood smoke from the fire burning in a potbellied stove. The low flame fails to warm the room, and almost no one has removed his thick overcoat.

General Eisenhower (left) meets with Generals Patton, Bradley, and Hodges on an airfield in Germany, March 1945.
[Bridgeman Art Library]

Eisenhower continues, forcing a smile, “There will be only cheerful faces at this conference table.”

“Hell,” Patton interrupts, “let's have the guts to let the sons of bitches go all the way to Paris. Then we'll really cut 'em off and chew 'em up.”

Patton's brash remarks fail to get much more than a grim chuckle. But they set a tone. Patton's aggressiveness is vital to Allied success. For while everyone else in the cold, damp room might have a vague idea of how to rescue the First Army, there is little doubt that the job will fall to Patton.

“George, that's fine,” Eisenhower responds, once again reclaiming the room. “But the enemy must never be allowed to cross the Meuse.”

This is the line in the sand. Joachim Peiper and his SS panzers are desperate to reach the Meuse River and secure its bridges in order to advance the German attack, but the Allies cannot let this happen.

Eisenhower's G-2 intelligence chief, the British Major General Kenneth Strong, briefs the room on the current location of the American and German forces. Since late September, the German army has successfully prevented the U.S. and British forces from making any significant advances into the Fatherland. The war has become a stalemate. The Allies foolishly rested on their laurels, assuming the Germans could never reverse the tide. That was a mistake.

If the seventeen divisions of German soldiers now marching through the Ardennes can somehow make it across the Meuse, the war could change radically—and not in the Allies' favor.

“George,” Eisenhower states. “I want you to command this move—under Brad's supervision, of course.” Here Eisenhower nods at Omar Bradley.

Ike continues, “A counterattack with at least six divisions. When can you start?”

Patton is ready. He has not only come to the meeting equipped with three different battle plans, but he met earlier this morning with his staff and arranged a simple series of code words. Launching Third Army's attack is as simple as Patton calling his headquarters and saying the code for whichever plan is chosen.

“As soon as you're through with me,” Patton replies.

“When can you attack?” Eisenhower presses.

“The morning of December 21, with three divisions,” Patton responds, still clutching his lighted cigar.