Stopping 1. SS Panzer Division during the Ardennes Offensive

by Hughes Wenkin, Christian Dujardin

Overview

During the Ardennes Offensive, Kampfgruppe Peiper faces encirclement and a desperate battle for survival against elite American divisions.

During the Ardennes Offensive in December 1944, Kampfgruppe Peiper ran out of fuel in the small village of La Gleize, surrounded and caught in a vice-like grip by three elite American divisions: the 82nd Airborne Division, the 3rd Armored Division and the 30th Infantry Division.

Behind it, 1. SS Panzer-Division ‘Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler’ did everything it could to come to its rescue and resume the offensive. A race against time ensued between the Americans, who wanted to annihilate the fighting group of one of Germany’s most famous SS commanders, and the German soldiers who tried to come to the rescue of their brothers in arms.

The clash between these units of seasoned veterans resulted in a bloody melee around the perimeter of La Gleize.

Would Peiper be able to pull through once again?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781036103880
Publisher:	Pen and Sword
Publication date:	05/31/2025
Pages:	200
Product dimensions:	6.75(w) x 9.75(h) x (d)

About the Author

Hugues Wenkin, a historian and engineer, has been collaborating with the most important French historical publishers since 2006. Author of numerous monographs and historical studies on mechanised warfare, his works are always based on in-depth archival research. He makes it a point of honour to systematically confront his tactical analyses with a return to the battlefield, while his factual, contrarian approach allows him to see the issues addressed in a new light. As a senior adviser to the editors of the Mook 1944 publications, he renews the genre through a scientific approach and the reinterrogation of primary sources. Hugues is currently preparing a PhD about the Phoney War in Belgium, while his book on V Weapons won a prestigious award from the French army.

Author of several books on the Battle of the Bulge, Christian Dujardin is a well-known local historian in the Ardennes. As a field specialist, he trains local guides at the request of the official Belgian tourism services, and is a scientific advisor for the Bastogne War Museum.