page_title: Malmedy massacre
section_title: Bodies recovered
hierarchical_section_title: Malmedy massacre / Peiper advances west / Bodies recovered
caption_attribution_description: English: The bodies of Belgian men, women, and children, killed by the German military during their counter-offensive into Luxembourg and Belgium, await identification before burial.
context_page_description: The Malmedy massacre was a war crime committed by members of Kampfgruppe Peiper, a German Waffen-SS unit led by Joachim Peiper, at Baugnez crossroads near Malmedy, Belgium, on 17 December 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge. Eighty-four American prisoners of war were massacred by their German captors. The prisoners were assembled in a field and shot with machine guns; those still alive were killed by close-range shots to the head.
  The term Malmedy massacre also applies generally to the series of massacres committed by the same unit on the same day and following days, which were the subject of the Malmedy massacre trial, part of the Dachau Trials of 1946.
context_section_description: The Baugnez crossroads was behind German lines until the Allied counter-offensive in January. On 14 January 1945, US forces reached the crossroads and massacre site. They photographed the frozen, snow-covered bodies where they lay, and then removed them from the scene for identification and detailed post mortem examinations. The investigation was focused on documenting evidence that could be used to prosecute those responsible for the apparent war crime. Seventy-two bodies were found in the field on 14 and 15 January 1945. Twelve more, lying farther from the pasture, were found between 7 February and 15 April 1945.
  About 20 of the 84 bodies recovered had powder burn residue on their heads, indicating a deliberate shot to the head at point-blank range consistent with a massacre and not self-defence nor injuries received while attempting to escape. The bodies of another 20 showed evidence of small-caliber gunshot wounds to the head but didn't display powder-burn residue.  Some bodies showed only one wound, in the temple or behind the ear. Ten other bodies showed fatal crushing or blunt-trauma injuries, most likely from rifle butts. The head wounds were in addition to bullet wounds made by automatic weapons. Most of the bodies were found in a very small area, suggesting the victims were gathered close together before they were killed.
   The opening forced through the American lines by Kampfgruppe Peiper was marked by other murders of prisoners of war, and later of Belgian civilians. Members of his unit killed at least eight other American prisoners in Ligneuville.
  Further massacres of POWs were reported in Stavelot, Cheneux, La Gleize, and Stoumont, on 18, 19 and 20 December. Finally, on 19 December 1944, between Stavelot and Trois-Ponts, German forces tried to regain control of the bridge over the Amblève River in Stavelot, which was crucial for receiving reinforcements, fuel, and ammunition. Peiper's men killed about 100 Belgian civilians.
  American Army engineers blocked Peiper's advance in the narrow Amblève River valley by blowing up the bridges. Additional US reinforcements surrounded the Kampfgruppe in Stoumont and la Gleize. Peiper and 800 of his men eventually escaped this encirclement by marching through the nearby woods and abandoning their heavy equipment, including several Tiger II tanks.
  On 21 December, during the battle around La Gleize, Peiper's battle group captured an American officer, Major Harold D. McCown, who was leading one of the battalions of the 119th US Infantry Regiment. Having heard about the Malmedy massacre, McCown personally asked Peiper about his fate and that of his men. McCown testified that Peiper told him neither he nor his men were at any risk and that he (Peiper) was not accustomed to killing his prisoners. McCown noted that neither he nor his men were threatened in any manner, and he testified in Peiper's defence during the 1946 trial in Dachau. As was pointed out at trial however, by the time Col. McCown (having been promoted since) was captured near La Gleize on 21 December, Peiper's tactical situation had deteriorated and he knew that he and his men were likely to be taken prisoner themselves. On 17 December at Malmedy, Peiper's unit was still advancing aggressively and had hope of reaching its objective, whereas by 21 December at La Gleize, he was nearly cut-off, out of fuel, and had sustained over 80% casualties. Peiper kept Col. McCown and others essentially as bargaining chips as his unit fled La Gleize on foot, only for Col. McCown to escape in the confusion.
  Once re-equipped, Kampfgruppe Peiper rejoined the battle, and other killings of POWs were reported on 31 December 1944, in Lutrebois, and between 10 and 13 January 1945, in Petit Thier, where killings were personally ordered by Peiper. The precise number of prisoners of war and civilians massacred attributable to Kampfgruppe Peiper is still not clear. According to certain sources, 538 to 749 POWs had been the victims of war crimes perpetrated by Peiper's men. These figures are not corroborated by the report of the United St
caption: The bodies of Belgian men, women, and children, killed by the German military during their attack into Belgium, await identification before burial.
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