Beginning Of The End: The Leadership Of SS

Beginning Of The End: The Leadership Of SS Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper

SS ObersturmbannfÃ¼hrer Jochen Peiper was one of Germany 's most colorful military leaders of World War II with an audacious reputation. The name Peiper will always be linked to the MalmÃ©dy Massacre, the death of Belgian civilians and more than seventy American soldiers, but there is still a myth around Peiper. Why was a twenty-nine year old Waffen-SS officer chosen to lead the German spearhead unit during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944? Peiper was a special leader within the one of the most elite Waffen-SS divisions, the Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler. Peiper was charismatic and extreme loyal to his unit. His men trusted him as a leader, even under the most extreme conditions. In Germany he was a well-known war hero. It was a logical decision that Peiper became the commander of the spearhead unit, but there were other factors leading to this decision: tactical considerations, a we-know-what-to-expect-principle, and Peiper was lucky that he was still alive and serving in the Waffen-SS.

Beginning Of The End: The Leadership Of SS Obersturmbannführer Jochen Peiper