Hi I am doing a little research and was trying to find out what tank Jochen Peiper of the LAH would have commanded? Thinking of doing a diorama and Peiper figures are available now I just need to know which tank . thanks in advance. Mark
For most of the way through the Battle of the Bulge, Joachim Peiper rode in a SdKfz 251/3 ausf D with SS Sturmbannfuhrer Josef Diefenthal, commander of III Btl, SS Pz.Gren.Rgt 2. A color plate of this vehicle is in Osprey’s: Ardennes 1944; Peiper and Skorzeny. If you want it, just holler.
Thanks for the info, would love to see the colour plate. Mark
He also commanded a Panther AusfG somewhat… The King Tigers he was famous for were relgated to the rear of the assault column because they kept breaking down and used too much gas…
It has no number but a cross on both sides of the hull and the 1st SS Panzer Div. insignia on the upper right corner of the bow plate.
If you really want to know everything about Peiper, throw down the $95 for this;
I’ve flipped through this book, but didn’t think I needed to blow $95 on it, so it is not in my collection.
Thanks for the info guys. That book looks good. I have one about Peiper written by Charles Whiting. it’s a poorly written book, very poor on the verge of crap, no good fotos and vauge info. Anyway thanks again. Mark
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Caption that illustration …
“Shoot him, shoot him, aaaaand … shoot him.”
I saw The Battle of the Bulge about a month ago, and his tank (I think the character of Hessler was based on Peiper) looked an awful lot like an M-48 Patton. I guess the Germans really were ahead of their time in tank technology! [:D]
D’oh! Just goes to show you, those Hollywood nudnicks. Peiper clearly is shown in film footage in an M-47 in the Ardennes.
Were those M-47’s? [oops] I am not as up on post WWII armor, and since I was watching a telecast vs. video or DVD, I didn’t have the option of pausing to checking references. On the other hand, I liked what they did by having the Americans drive M-24’s. Although the Battle Scenes were totally inaccurate, probably being closer to what went on in Kursk than the Ardennes, it was nice to be able to easily identify the German tanks from the American tanks. I suppose an M-47 vs. M-24 would be fairly analagous to a Tiger II vs. a Sherman.
Oh, I didn’t mean it that way. I was just being silly. I actually don’t remember what tank they used to fill in for the “Tigers” that Hessler was given. If I had been him, I would have asked if I could have taken that cool model they show him in the beginning of the movie.
Robert Shaw was so cool. Too bad he’s long gone.
One source i read on-line puts him in the lead KT of the 1 SS Pz.Div. on the opening day. Don’t know if it is correct or not.