Kampfgruppe Peiper

Kampfgruppe Peiper (lit.'Peiper's Battle Group') was a combat force consisting of units from the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS, led by Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Peiper. The unit comprised 5,000+ troops and 800+ heavy military vehicles. Prior to 16 December 1944, Joachim Peiper was commander of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment of the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. Troops were added to that unit to form the Kampfgruppe. The unit was under the command of Waffen-SS General Sepp Dietrich and his newly formed 6th Panzer Army.

It was the strongest German unit during the Battle of the Ardennes, equipped with Panzerkampfwagen Mk. V, 40 Panther V tanks, and 45 Königstigers, 149 half-track vehicles, eighteen 105 mm guns, six 150 mm guns, and more than thirty anti-aircraft artillery pieces. Sources contradict each other regarding the number of troops and vehicles. It happened that parts of the Kampfgruppe moved out to different locations.