"This is a well-researched work with detailed footnotes. The photograph section is invaluable in appreciating the destruction wrought by Peiper in Russia and Italy."

ARMOR

A formidable account of Peiper, his career in WWII and his attitudes, from an author who has devoted more than 20 years to researching this SS Panzer commander. This is a warts and all account of a man in an environment that shaped him, Very, very different from the environment that many exist in today – Most Highly Recommended

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Firetrench

Jochen Peiper's name will be forever associated with the Malmedy Massacre and the murder of US prisoners of war during the Ardennes offensive, a crime for which he was later sentenced to death, though ultimately spared. This superbly researched book, the third of the author's four which meticulously profiles this notorious, dashing, brutal, archetypal Aryan, touches on that episode but is above all concerned with his earlier exploits with the 1st SS Panzer Division, serving in Russia, Italy and Normandy. The narrative paints a vivid portrait of the man, and helped along by quotes from Peiper himself and those of his contemporaries the reader is left in no doubt about his mindset, particularly with lines such as "During six bloody years I fought and bled in all European Theatres and became a preferred favourite of the God of Hosts! In spite of it all - it was a proud and heroic time. Where we were standing was Germany, and as far as my tank gun reached was my kingdom". It also explores the workings of the 1st SS Panzer Division and the innumerable superb actions it fought, not to mention atrocities wrought, on almost every front in which Germany was engaged.

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Pegasus Archive

Peiper’s War is about Jochen Peiper who served in the elite 1st SS Panzer Division, seen as Hitler’s best of the best. This book also reveals how Piper worked closely with Heinrich Himmler and maybe this is where he learnt some of harshness and callousness as he was feared in his field. Peiper ended up fighting in the East and the West and this is where he is more well-known as he played a large part in the Battle of the Bulge. Whilst fighting in the West, Peiper and some of his men executed some American POW’s for which he was prosecuted and sentenced to death, which was never carried out.

This book portrays Peiper, you could say as a decent man who did actually have the trust and respect of his fellow soldiers, I would say that the harshness of war especially serving on the Eastern Front, he probably would have been a very decent man in all aspects. This is a lovely and well written book, very well researched and clearly written, in fact I thoroughly enjoy reading it. Although it isn’t your best ‘read in bed’ book, as this is a pretty weighty tome and comes in at about 590 pages. There are a good number of maps throughout the book that are very easy and clear to read. In conclusion, I will say that this is a fascinating book and it’s in danger of being in my Top 10 books of the year.

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UK Historian

This book has provided me with a new insight of the man who was Joachim Peiper, both from his actions and how he was considered by those around him. Jochen as he preferred to be called was an interesting character who does in my opinion seem to be a dedicated National Socialist in mindset. I do find myself wondering what the man was like after his release and move to France where he was murdered in the 1970's. I wonder what sort of man he would have been if he had not fought on the Eastern Front and what this would have had on how history remembers him.

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Armorama

Excellently annotated maps and numerous photos, quite a few of which were new to me, add to the quality of Parker’s work and the 150 pages of notes give an indication of the level of research. His next book is on Peiper in the Ardennes. I’m already looking forward to it. I'd doubt those with a predilection for dressing up in black are though.

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WW2 Talk

Rather like waiting for a bus, along come three books to the review desk that focus on the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler (LAH).

The three are ‘Peiper’s War’ which details the wartime actions of Jochen Peiper the renowned leader, and the other two are personal memoirs by Werner Kindler (Obedient unto Death) and Herbert Maeger (Lost Honour, Betrayed Loyalty). I read all three concurrently with the intention of checking accounts and hopefully gaining an insight into those events from different perspectives. I therefore, with apologies to each author and the publishers, have combined the reviews as each book is mutually supporting and the added value of all three books is certainly greater than the sum of the parts. I would suggest that anybody seriously interested in knowing more about the LAH should buy all three books.

The biography of Peiper between 1941-44 concentrates on the Eastern Front and the incredible performance of the LAH on the battlefield against overwhelming odds. Their superior training, tactics, equipment and morale consistently outperformed the Soviet Army, which by and large was a poorly trained militia. Casualty reports underline the toe to toe superiority of the LAH and the development of the Panzer Grenadier tactics. Intrinsic to the success of the LAH was its leadership and Peiper emerges as a soldier’s soldier; a man who led by example, who quickly grasped changing situations and formed them to his advantage, who protected his soldiers through his efficient use of them and who in return enjoyed their total loyalty. This was particularly evident in the actions around Kharkov and Kursk in 1943.

Obedient unto Death and Lost Honour, Betrayed Loyalty give the soldiers view and really add value to the Peiper biography. Both of the authors portray the gritty reality of fighting on the Eastern Front and place the war as a matter of the survival of Germany rather than the pursuit of the political objectives of its national Socialist leadership. Sustained by the purported war aims of the Allies and the evidence of Soviet atrocities (which of course were matched by some German elements) the German soldier expected to have to fight to the death as surrender was very unattractive. Both authors deliver a clear narrative of their and the LAH’s exploits and whilst at times (particularly with Kindler) it seems a daily list of battlefield actions and close order fighting, it must be so as that was the intensity of their experience.

All three books are recommended. Read separately they stand as excellent accounts, and read together they are even better.

Michael McCarthy. Battlefield Guide

Michael McCarthy