The truth about the Malmedy "massacre"

Rating: 9/10 (13 February 2010)

Like "A midnight clear" another (rare) convincing Second World war war movie from the USA. Thanks to the members of a reenactment group in the USA the German soldiers of December 1944 (USA citizens!) are as authentic as they could be in their different camouflage outfits. This is exceptional for a war movie! They even speak more or less real German and even behave like Germans did.
The so called Malmedy Massacre is now revealed as a German reaction at panic driven US POW's which grab a rifle and shot a German soldier. The reaction was the (understandable) opening of fire from the Germans. They also were on the move and could not wait for following troops to deliver the POW's to the rear. So the incident provoked a fierce reaction. Like the treatment US paratroops in Normandy exercised on German POW's, the treatment of prisoners was not always in the line of the Geneva Convention and they were frequently shot by partisans, Germans, US and Soviet soldiers. The US soldiers (42th & 45th divisions) behaved outright criminal in the Biscari, Webling and Dachau incidents. They shot intentionally a comparable number of POW's, but did that on purpose (= murder). In Malmedy most US soldiers were not shot but already killed by long range tank canon fire before the incident. Many (43) survived however in the meadow. So the incident served the US Army well there after, masking their own bloodshed. When it became known it also stiffened the US opposition in the Ardennes.......
The firefight in the château near Lanin village the US soldiers shot a dozen Germans and lost two of their own. This firefight is very realistic although the losses are a little bit one sided but not so one sided compared to the bulk of the other "realistic"(?) war movies like Saving Private Ryan.
A fine realistic moving low budget movie with beautiful scenery and dramatic and beautiful music.