HOME | DD

Description
Near Losheimersgraben, on the Belgian-German border, the evening of December 16th 1944.

A soldier of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division reports back to elements of the 1st SS Division, arriving with considerable delay, that they have not yet succeeded in capturing Losheimersgraben, located along the strategic route N626 towards St. Vith and Gouvy. Irritated, Obersturmbahnführer Joachim Peiper looks at his map, trying to estimate what the impact of the delay will be on their offensive...

A bit of history

During the Battle of the Bulge, the objective of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was to break through the US-held front line near Losheim, Germany on the Belgian-German border, pushing through to Spa and continuing to the Meuse river, where its primary goal was to capture bridges over the Meuse between Liège and Huy. These bridges were key objectives, as they would facilitate the offensive's ultimate goal - the capture of the Allied-held port of Antwerp, the loss of which to the Allies would be a devastating setback in the Allied plans to launch a spring offensive into Germany.

Following a string of lost offensives and heavy setbacks over the summer and autumn of 1944, the Ardennes Offensive presented itself as the final chance to Nazi Germany to inflict a defeat upon the Western Allies. However, a complete lack of men and resources meant, that the offensive was all but doomed from the start. The 1st SS Division, for instance, was equiped with the latest, state-of-the-art "Tiger II" tanks, however they were mechanically unsound, and the battlegroup only had the disposal over about a quarter of the quantity of fuel it needed to reach their stated goals. Additionally, it was supported by Volksgrenadier Divisions which mostly consisted of inexperienced men, injured men which had been returned to frontline service, and older men who had previously been found as 'unfit for service' due to their age.

Within the 1st SS Division, Obersturmbahnführer Joachim Peiper (1915-1976) led the 'Kampfgruppe Peiper', which could become infamous for its involvement in numerous massacres during the Battle of the Bulge. Although mainly known for the Malmedy massacre (in which 84 US PoWs were killed on December 17th 1944), the group also was involved in massacres at Büllingen, Ligneuville, Stavelot, Cheneux, La Gleize, Stoumont and Wereth, where PoWs and local civilians were killed - in all, between December 17th and 20th, the group was thought responsable for the summary executions of 111 Belgian civilians and 362 US PoWs.

The delays at both Losheimersgraben and Lanzerath on December 16th 1944 proved to be crucial in the failure of the 1st SS Division to reach its goals: managing to reach Trois-Ponts only on December 18th, his division was forced to seek a different route after the Amblève and Salm bridges on their route were destroyed by US forces. A subsequent break in the weather and the total absence of covering Luftwaffe fighters allowed Allied fighter-bombers to attack and destroy parts of his column, which in turn led them to be cut off from vital ammo and fuel supplies. As a result of this, the Kampfgruppe Peiper was forced to abandon its vehicles on December 24th 1944, returning to the German front lines by foot. The once 5800-men strong division returned to its frontline as a meagre group of 770, which had lost all of its rolling equipment of 60 tanks, 3 flak tanks, 75 halftracks, 14 flak wagons, 27 assault guns and numerous support vehicles. In all probability, the Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen with the numberplate SS-1029301 in which Peiper was photographed on December 16th 1944 was among the vehicles left behind at Stoumont.

Additionally

... well, since this section is already long enough, I direct you to the wikipedia article on Joachim Peiper for more information on his role during World War II, and his life following the War. In short, post-War, Peiper surrendered himself to US forces in May of 1945, but he was only recognised as being Joachim Peiper in August 1945, and subsequently tried for the war crimes in which he was said to be involved. However, while Joachim Peiper was at first condemned to death for his role, subsequent revisits of the trial, most infamously by US Senator Joseph McCarthy of Communist Witchhunt fame who accused the original trial of being a "Jewish attempt to take revenge on the Germans", saw doubts arise over the validity of the trial, mostly because of witness testimonies against Peiper said to have been obtained by torture. The subsequent controversy saw Peiper's conviction converted from a death penalty to a life imprisonment, only for it to be commuted into 'time served' in 1956.

Following his release, Peiper tried to disappear into anonymity, first working at Porsche and later at Volkswagen. However, when in the early 1960s public opinion in Germany changed and criminal investigations were relaunched against former Nazi war criminals, Peiper was fired from his job at Volkswagen and was forced to defend himself against numerous accusations. Assuming the name of "Rainer Buschmann", he became a freelance contributer to the Auto, Motor und Sport magazine, before moving to France in 1971 where he established himself as a freelance translator.

However, this proved to be a major miscalculation on Peiper's part, as some French had not exactly forgotten the War (well... duh!). Former members of the Communist Resistance soon discovered the wartime past of "Rainer Buschmann", and on the night of July 13th/14th 1976, unknown assailants fire-bombed his house, killing Joachim Peiper.

About the models

The 1/35th Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen was issued by Tamiya as kit 35224 in 1998; the set of figurines was issued by Tamiya as kit 35253 in 2002. A limited edition saw both issued in 2008 as a single kit for a short while, with the limited edition number 89752. While kit 35253 simply carries the name German Panzer Division "Frontline Reconnaissance Team", and kit 89752 carries the name German Type 166 Schimmwagen and Panzer Division Reconnaissance Team, neither kit explicitly identifies the figurines as being from the 1st SS Division LSSAH, or the officer as being Joachim Peiper, even though the scene is clearly based on a well-known propaganda photograph of the time.

This model is an older one of mine, built around 2002.

Description
Near Losheimersgraben, on the Belgian-German border, the evening of December 16th 1944.

A soldier of the 12th Volksgrenadier Division reports back to elements of the 1st SS Division, arriving with considerable delay, that they have not yet succeeded in capturing Losheimersgraben, located along the strategic route N626 towards St. Vith and Gouvy. Irritated, Obersturmbahnführer Joachim Peiper looks at his map, trying to estimate what the impact of the delay will be on their offensive...

A bit of history

During the Battle of the Bulge, the objective of the 1st SS Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler was to break through the US-held front line near Losheim, Germany on the Belgian-German border, pushing through to Spa and continuing to the Meuse river, where its primary goal was to capture bridges over the Meuse between Liège and Huy. These bridges were key objectives, as they would facilitate the offensive's ultimate goal - the capture of the Allied-held port of Antwerp, the loss of which to the Allies would be a devastating setback in the Allied plans to launch a spring offensive into Germany.

Following a string of lost offensives and heavy setbacks over the summer and autumn of 1944, the Ardennes Offensive presented itself as the final chance to Nazi Germany to inflict a defeat upon the Western Allies. However, a complete lack of men and resources meant, that the offensive was all but doomed from the start. The 1st SS Division, for instance, was equiped with the latest, state-of-the-art "Tiger II" tanks, however they were mechanically unsound, and the battlegroup only had the disposal over about a quarter of the quantity of fuel it needed to reach their stated goals. Additionally, it was supported by Volksgrenadier Divisions which mostly consisted of inexperienced men, injured men which had been returned to frontline service, and older men who had previously been found as 'unfit for service' due to their age.

Within the 1st SS Division, Obersturmbahnführer Joachim Peiper (1915-1976) led the 'Kampfgruppe Peiper', which could become infamous for its involvement in numerous massacres during the Battle of the Bulge. Although mainly known for the Malmedy massacre (in which 84 US PoWs were killed on December 17th 1944), the group also was involved in massacres at Büllingen, Ligneuville, Stavelot, Cheneux, La Gleize, Stoumont and Wereth, where PoWs and local civilians were killed - in all, between December 17th and 20th, the group was thought responsable for the summary executions of 111 Belgian civilians and 362 US PoWs.

The delays at both Losheimersgraben and Lanzerath on December 16th 1944 proved to be crucial in the failure of the 1st SS Division to reach its goals: managing to reach Trois-Ponts only on December 18th, his division was forced to seek a different route after the Amblève and Salm bridges on their route were destroyed by US forces. A subsequent break in the weather and the total absence of covering Luftwaffe fighters allowed Allied fighter-bombers to attack and destroy parts of his column, which in turn led them to be cut off from vital ammo and fuel supplies. As a result of this, the Kampfgruppe Peiper was forced to abandon its vehicles on December 24th 1944, returning to the German front lines by foot. The once 5800-men strong division returned to its frontline as a meagre group of 770, which had lost all of its rolling equipment of 60 tanks, 3 flak tanks, 75 halftracks, 14 flak wagons, 27 assault guns and numerous support vehicles. In all probability, the Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen with the numberplate SS-1029301 in which Peiper was photographed on December 16th 1944 was among the vehicles left behind at Stoumont.

Additionally

... well, since this section is already long enough, I direct you to the wikipedia article on Joachim Peiper for more information on his role during World War II, and his life following the War. In short, post-War, Peiper surrendered himself to US forces in May of 1945, but he was only recognised as being Joachim Peiper in August 1945, and subsequently tried for the war crimes in which he was said to be involved. However, while Joachim Peiper was at first condemned to death for his role, subsequent revisits of the trial, most infamously by US Senator Joseph McCarthy of Communist Witchhunt fame who accused the original trial of being a "Jewish attempt to take revenge on the Germans", saw doubts arise over the validity of the trial, mostly because of witness testimonies against Peiper said to have been obtained by torture. The subsequent controversy saw Peiper's conviction converted from a death penalty to a life imprisonment, only for it to be commuted into 'time served' in 1956.

Following his release, Peiper tried to disappear into anonymity, first working at Porsche and later at Volkswagen. However, when in the early 1960s public opinion in Germany changed and criminal investigations were relaunched against former Nazi war criminals, Peiper was fired from his job at Volkswagen and was forced to defend himself against numerous accusations. Assuming the name of "Rainer Buschmann", he became a freelance contributer to the Auto, Motor und Sport magazine, before moving to France in 1971 where he established himself as a freelance translator.

However, this proved to be a major miscalculation on Peiper's part, as some French had not exactly forgotten the War (well... duh!). Former members of the Communist Resistance soon discovered the wartime past of "Rainer Buschmann", and on the night of July 13th/14th 1976, unknown assailants fire-bombed his house, killing Joachim Peiper.

About the models

The 1/35th Volkswagen Type 166 Schwimmwagen was issued by Tamiya as kit 35224 in 1998; the set of figurines was issued by Tamiya as kit 35253 in 2002. A limited edition saw both issued in 2008 as a single kit for a short while, with the limited edition number 89752. While kit 35253 simply carries the name German Panzer Division "Frontline Reconnaissance Team", and kit 89752 carries the name German Type 166 Schimmwagen and Panzer Division Reconnaissance Team, neither kit explicitly identifies the figurines as being from the 1st SS Division LSSAH, or the officer as being Joachim Peiper, even though the scene is clearly based on a well-known propaganda photograph of the time.

This model is an older one of mine, built around 2002.