Duel in the Mist: The Lah in the Ardennes Offensive: Kampfgruppe Peiper. Stoumont, 19th - Hardcover

...as an important historical account of this most famous of battles, it s a valuable and fitting tribute to the Ardennes Offensive and the men who fought and died there. --Military Machines International, June 2009

... it really is an astonishing achievement... From a historical point of view, it adds up to an atmospheric and intoxicating combination and you will, like me, read it from cover to cover, barely putting it down... Duel in the Mist is a magnificent production and if you are on the lookout for new and absorbing volumes on military history, this one should not be missed. --Model Magazine International

Hitler's last offensive in the West in December 1944 became known as the Battle of the Bulge. It developed into the largest land battle ever fought by the US Army. His plan called for three Armies under Generalfeldmarschall Model, to break through the American front in the Ardennes, cross the MEUSE River and then exploit the great port of Antwerp. This, it was hoped, would cut off the British 21st Army Group and the US 9th Army from the rest of the allied front, causing mass surrenders. Hitler saw it as a basis for another Dunkirk. SS-Obergruppenfuhrer Sepp Dietrich's 6th Panzer Army on the right flank of the attack was destined to gain the major honours in the forthcoming campaign. The detailed plan called for SS-Oberfuhrer Wilhelm Mohnke s 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler and SS-Standartenfuhrer Hugo Kraas's 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend to take the lead and form an all-powerful wave which would surge to and across the Meuse river south of Liege. IN the 6th Panzer Army order, these divisions were ordered to effect ruthless and rapid penetration and to bypass opposition whenever possible. For this task each division formed four Kampfgruppe - KG Peiper in the case of the Leibstandarte and KG Kuhlmann in that of Hitlerjugend. Three days after the start of the offensive KG Kuhlman has been halted after an advance of only some 6 km and although KG Peiper had advanced over 60 km, it s supply lines were cut, it was desperately short of fuel and it was at a fraction of its original strength- twenty-four tanks as opposed to the 117 with which it had started. Surprisingly, only a few of those tanks missing when the KG reached the village of Stoumont on the fourth day of the offensive had been knocked out. The others had either broken down or were cut off from the vanguard. This book describes the actions of KG Peiper over a 24 hour period - a period that saw the KG s attempt to push still further to the west through the village of Stoumont, reach its high water mark only 6 km later and finally be forced to withdraw in the face of overwhelming strength and lack of resources. This account is written in astounding detail - over 36, 000 words including copious reference notes, and many previously unpublished photographs and movie stills.