Malmedy — Massacre and Resistance

Malmedy, BE

Malmedy was both a scene of one of the most notorious war crimes of the Western Front and an important element of the **northern shoulder** defence during the Battle of the Bulge. The town lies at the junction of roads that **Kampfgruppe Peiper** needed for its drive west. American engineers held Malmedy against German probes, and the town was accidentally bombed by American aircraft on three separate occasions during the battle — killing 38 American soldiers and a significant number of Belgian civilians in what became one of the worst friendly-fire incidents of the campaign. The roads around Malmedy were the scene of desperate defensive actions that channelled Peiper's route through **Ligneuville** and **Stavelot** rather than directly through the town. The **Malmedy area** is inseparable from the story of Kampfgruppe Peiper's advance and the atrocity committed at the Baugnez crossroads on December 17, 1944, which shocked the Allied armies and stiffened American resolve throughout the remainder of the Bulge battle.