Peiper's War: The Wartime Years of SS Leader Jochen Peiper, 1941-44

by Danny S. Parker

Overview

A biography of the ruthless Waffen-SS commander focusing on his point of view while fighting for Nazi Germany during World War II.

“A bad reputation has its commitments.” So wrote home Jochen Peiper from the fighting front in the East in 1943, characterizing his battle-hardened command during the World War II. Peiper’s War is a new serious work of military history by the renowned author Danny S. Parker which presents a unique view off the Second World War as seen from a prominent participant on the dark side of history.

Peiper’s War follows the wartime career of Waffen SS Colonel Jochen Peiper, an Aryan prodigy who was considered a hero in the Third Reich. Peiper had been Heinrich Himmler’s personal adjutant in the early years of the war, and, having procured a field command in Hitler’s namesake fighting force, the Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, he become famous for a flamboyant and brutal style of warfare on the Eastern Front. There, in his sphere, few prisoners were taken, and motives of racial genocide were never far from unspoken orders.

Transferred to the west, Peiper’s battlegroup incinerated a tiny town in Northern Italy and killed the village mayor and priest. Being well-connected to Himmler and other generals of the period, Peiper finds a place in the narrative as a storied witness to the inner workings of the Nazi elite along with other prominent SS officers such as Kurt Meyer.

In this meticulously researched work, we witness the apex and then death spiral of Nazi military intentions as Peiper fights for Germany across every front in the conflict. Peiper’s War provides a telling inside look at Hitler’s war and then how the dark secrets of his security-minded command were improbably unearthed at the end of the conflict by an obscure top-secret surveillance facility in the United States.

Praise for Peiper’s War

“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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526743435
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	07/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	366,429
File size:	34 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

DANNY S. PARKER developed a keen interest in the history of the Second World War at an early age. For twenty years, he has researched an in-depth biography of Jochen Peiper - an effort which spans over 200 interviews in the US and Europe. Unique information developed on the Malmedy massacre saw the publication of Fatal Crossroads in 2011. His general biography of Peiper, Hitler's Warrior, was released in December 2014 and this latest book chronicles the war years of that iconic personality. The author is particularly interested in preserving the rich history of the Second World War and through it conveying insight into the human condition. His other interests span the gamut: low energy home design, invention and machines, Zen practice and good coffee. On Twitter: @DannySParker

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Chapter 1 The Goths are Riding Again 1

Chapter 2 On the Savage Plain 25

Chapter 3 France and Back 45

Chapter 4 Operation Peiper 63

Chapter 5 The Sword of Damocles 77

Chapter 6 Kharkov 85

Chapter 7 'We Had Better Win this War' 113

Chapter 8 Zitadelle 123

Chapter 9 'The Tigers are Burning' 137

Chapter 10 Italy 153

Chapter 11 Dancing on the Volcano 165

Chapter 12 Boves 179

Chapter 13 The Wrong War 189

Chapter 14 Panzer Leader 203

Chapter 15 The Oak Leaves 221

Chapter 16 Waiting for the Invasion 239

Chapter 17 Total Sacrifice 267

Chapter 18 Normandy 297

Chapter 19 Operation Lüttich 323

Chapter 20 Falaise to the Seine 343

Chapter 21 Escape to the Westwall 365

Chapter 22 P.O. Box 1142 389

Epilogue 403

Acknowledgements 425

Notes 431

Editorial Reviews

"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 Magazine