Fatal Crossroads: The Untold Story of the Malmedy Massacre at the Battle of the Bulge

by Danny S. Parker

Overview

On December 17, 1944, during the Battle of the Bulge, more than eighty unarmed United States soldiers were shot down after having surrendered to an SS unit near the small crossroads town of Malmédy, Belgium. Although more than thirty men lived to tell of the massacre, exactly what took place that day remains mired in controversy. Was it just a “battlefield incident” or rather a deliberate slaughter? Who gave the orders: infamous SS leader Jochen Peiper or someone else?

Fatal Crossroads vividly reconstructs the critical events leading up to the atrocity—for the first time in all their revealing detail—as well as the aftermath. Danny S. Parker spent fifteen years researching original sources and interviewing more than one hundred witnesses to uncover the truth behind the Malmédy massacre, and the result is riveting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780306820687
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	05/01/2025
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	437
File size:	6 MB

About the Author

Danny S. Parker is widely regarded as an expert on World War II in Europe. He has written extensively about the Ardennes military campaign and the Malmé massacre, including the highly acclaimed Fatal Crossroads, Battle of the Bulge, and To Win the Winter Sky. He lives in Cocoa Beach, Florida.

Table of Contents

List of Maps viii

Acknowledgments ix

Prologue 1

1 "Like a Storm Wind" 13

2 Men of the 285th 37

3 Malmedy 47

4 "It Don't look Good Boys" 61

5 "Those Beautiful Trucks..." 85

6 Killing Field 103

7 "Bump Them Off!" 127

8 "Let's Go!" 155

9 Fateful Hours 181

10 Escape 195

11 Baugnez 205

12 Shock 221

Epilogue 229

Appendices

I Survivors and Victims 253

II Order of March: 285th FAOB 261

III Order of March: Kampfgruppe Peiper at the Baugnez Crossroads 263

IV Malmedy: In Search of the Truth 269

Notes 285

Index 377

Editorial Reviews

Poughkeepsie Journal, 9/4/11
“A riveting account.”

Kirkus Reviews (starred review), 10/15/11
“A sharply focused look at a grisly 1944 incident, the massacre of more than 80 American prisoners outside Malmédy, Belgium. Assembling a massive amount of data (the back matter alone consumes more than 120 pages), the author views the tragedy from the perspectives of survivors, the Germans and the Belgian civilians, some of whom aided the wounded, some of whom did not…Comprehensive, definitive, grim and gripping.”

WWII History magazine, Winter 2011
“[A] riveting account.”

Roanoke Times, 1/1/12“Fatal Crossroads manages to bridge the often uncomfortable terrain between in-depth details tailored for historians and brilliant, readable narratives appealing to lay readers…Parker not only sheds light on an oft-forgotten portion of the American experience in World War II, he rigorously dissects it, providing a benchmark for any future studies of the Malmedy massacre.”

Military Review, 12/1/12
“Fatal Crossroads provides a valuable analysis of the Malmedy Massacre through firsthand accounts of its victims, perpetrators, and observers. It provides a unique, realistic awareness of wartime atrocities.” 

From the Publisher