This is one of the tales that moved Zbigniew Herbert to write "The Ardennes Forest."

The Ardennes Forest, on the Belgian-German border, has been a battlefield for centuries, from the time Julius Caesar campaigned against the Gauls to Napoleon's conquests. Most recently this dark and rugged terrain was the setting for the Malmedy Massacre:

In the last German offensive of World War II, three German Armies conducted a surprise attack along a 50 mile front in the Ardennes beginning on Dec. 16, 1944, and quickly overtook thin U.S. lines. Part of German preparation for the attack included directions from military leaders to all troops: fight with the utmost brutality. German officers urged their soldiers to show no mercy, even to prisoners of war.

On the second day of the Battle of the Bulge, a truck convoy of Battery B of the 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion was intercepted southeast of Malmedy by a regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division of the Leibstandarte-SS, under the command of 29 year old SS Lt. Col. Jochen Peiper. His troops had earned the nickname "The Blowtorch Battalion" after burning their way across Russia and had also been responsible for slaughtering civilians in two separate villages.

Upon sighting the trucks, the Panzer tanks opened fire and destroyed the lead vehicles. This brought the convoy to a halt while the deadly accurate tank fire continued. The clash was brief and violent. With no weapon larger than a machine gun and with German tanks and infantry closing in, the battery commander surrendered. The US soldiers dropped their rifles, and Peiper's men herded them into a nearby field.

A German officer ordered a tank crew to fire on the US POWs, setting off a wild killing spree as the SS opened fire with machine guns and pistols on the unarmed, terrified POWs.

A few POWs bolted, but most fell where they stood - either killed or seriously wounded. German fire cut down almost all who tried to escape before they could run very far. The SS soldiers on the scene roamed among the fallen POWs, shooting or bludgeoning those who showed signs of life. In some cases English speaking SS walked among the victims asking if anyone was injured or needed help. Those who responded were shot. Others tracked Americans fleeing the site to buildings at the intersection. They set the structures on fire and shot the US soldiers who ran outside to escape the flames.

A total of 81 Americans were killed in the single worst atrocity against U.S. troops during World War II in Europe. Sadly, this was only one of four similar incidents to occur that day.

More information on the Malmedy Massacre

More information on the Battle of the Bulge