Editing Battle of the Bulge (section)

===Malmedy massacres===
{{Main|Malmedy massacre}}
[[File:Malmedy Massacre.jpg|thumb|Scene of the [[Malmedy massacre]]]]

At 4:30&nbsp;a.m. on 17 December 1944, the 1st SS Panzer Division was approximately 16 hours behind schedule when the convoys departed the village of Lanzerath enroute west to the town of Honsfeld.{{sfn|Reynolds|2003|p=34-40}} After capturing Honsfeld, Peiper detoured from his assigned route to seize a small fuel depot in Büllingen, where the {{lang|de|Waffen-SS}} infantry summarily executed dozens of U.S. POWs.{{sfnm|Cole|1964|1p=78|MacDonald|1984|2p=203–209}}{{sfn|Review and Recommendation,  War Crimes (1947)|p=4-22}} Afterwards, Peiper advanced to the west, towards the River Meuse and captured Ligneuville, bypassing the towns of Mödersheid, Schoppen, Ondenval, and Thirimont.{{sfn|Cole|1964|p=78 |loc={{sp}}|ps=<br />Statement of General Lauer "the enemy had the key to success within his hands, but did not know it."}} The terrain and poor quality of the roads made the advance of {{lang|de|Kampfgruppe Peiper}} difficult; at the exit to the village of Thirimont, the armored spearhead was unable to travel the road directly to Ligneuville, and Peiper deviated from the planned route, and rather than turn to the left, the armored spearhead turned to the right, and advanced towards the crossroads of [[Baugnez]], which is equidistant from the city of Malmedy and Ligneuville and [[Waimes]].{{sfnm|Cole|1964|1p=78|MacDonald|1984|2p=203–209}}

At 12:30&nbsp;p.m. on 17 December, {{lang|de|Kampfgruppe}} Peiper was near the hamlet of Baugnez, on the height halfway between the town of Malmedy and Ligneuville, when they encountered elements of the [[285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion]], [[7th Armored Division (United States)|U.S. 7th Armored Division]].{{sfn|Cole|1964|pp=75–106}}{{sfn|MacDonald|1984}} After a brief battle the lightly armed Americans surrendered. They were disarmed and, with some other Americans captured earlier (approximately 150 men), sent to stand in a field near the crossroads under light guard. About fifteen minutes after Peiper's advance guard passed through, the main body under the command of SS-{{lang|de|[[Sturmbannführer]]}} [[Werner Pötschke]] arrived. The SS troopers suddenly opened fire on the prisoners. As soon as the firing began, the prisoners panicked. Most were shot where they stood, though some managed to flee. Accounts of the killing vary, but at least 84 of the [[Prisoner of War|POWs]] were murdered. A few survived, and news of the killings of prisoners of war spread through Allied lines.{{sfn|MacDonald|1984}} Following the end of the war, soldiers and officers of {{lang|de|Kampfgruppe}} Peiper, including Peiper and SS general Dietrich, were tried for the incident at the [[Malmedy massacre trial]].{{sfn|Toland|1999|p=382}}