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Youngest Officer In The US Army Holds Up Kampfgruppe Peiper | Battle of the Bulge Walking Tour

WW2 Headquarters

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WW2 historians James Holland and Al Murray are in Lanzerath tracing the destructive advance of Kampfgruppe Peiper, the armoured spearhead of the northern thrust of Hitler’s Ardennes offensive, the Battle of the Bulge , in December 1944.

A small unit of 22 U.S intelligence and reconnaissance troops led by Lt Lyle Bouck dug in on Lanzerath ridge held off repeated attacks by a much larger German Fallschirmjäger force. The stand blocked the main route through the Losheim Gap, holding up SS-Sturmbannführer Peiper's powerful armoured column by crucial hours. Later that night, a furious Joachim Peiper stormed into the Café Scholzen, demanding of the Fallschirmjäger commander how it was possible that his panzers had been held up for so long by a single American platoon.

One of the most remarkable small-unit actions of the Battle of the Bulge.

Chapters
00:00 The Losheim Gap and the German Ardennes Offensive
02:25 Lt. Lyle Bouck and the 22-Man American Platoon
04:24 Digging In on Lanzerath Ridge
05:00 Fallschirmjäger Attack the Ridge
07:05 A Platoon Holds Up the German Advance
09:32 Lanzerath Village and Café Scholzen
11:30 SS-Sturmbannführer Peiper Demands Answers

#WW2Headquarters #BattleOfTheBulge #WW2 #MilitaryHistory #LosheimGap #JoachimPeiper #JamesHolland #AlMurray #WW2Documentary #WalkingTheGround #hellletloose

20 Comments

@WW2Headquarters Creator 6 months ago Pinned

It really struck us walking the ground at Lanzerath and beyond just how much this intense stand by Lt Bouck and his men mattered, throwing sand in the gears of Kampfgruppe Peiper’s advance.

We’ll pick up Peiper’s story in the next episode, so do subscribe 🔔 so you don’t miss it.

And if you enjoyed the film, please like 👍, share ↗️ and leave a comment below 💬 — it really helps support the channel.

@doogzandflo 6 months ago

A very good friend of mine (Patrick) owns and runs Calypso disco. His family owned it before him and have many tales of life during the war years and after. Fantastic video series. Keep up the good work Jim and Al.

@wmsd45 6 months ago

Amazing. While Lt Bouck turned 21 on December 17 1944, he already had over SEVEN years in uniform, joining the Missouri National Guard at the age of 14. His family needed the money. He didn't even get a high school diploma until after the war was over. With guys like him there was no way in hell America could lose. My own dad was an acting buck SGT during the Bulge and most guys in his battalion considered him an old man he was born nine months after Lt. Bouck. Lyle Bouck should have gotten the Medal of Honor for what he did but he was the kind of guy who would have probably tried to turn it down. There were thousands of guys like him in the service they just did what they had to do.

@tomkier-i3n 6 months ago

About 20 years ago, at skeet shoot near Phoenix AZ, I met a chap that had served in the US Army through WW2, Korea and Vietnam. He had joined as an enlisted man and retired as a full colonel (without attending staff college). He claimed to have been the first allied casualty of the Battle of the Bulge. He had been posted to sentry duty for the dog watch and due to the cold he was wearing every stich of clothing he could find, beg, borrow or steal and he was walking back and forth in an effort to keep warm. Without any hint of warning a shell landed a few metres away; he recalled being carried aloft for what seemed an age before being dumped to earth. Severely wounded he was evacuated to a clearing station where he was sedated. When he recovered consciousness he was recovering in a hospital in England where a surgeon quietly explained that he had just removed a shell splinter from his heart.

@christopherwilson8713 5 months ago

My dad was an 81mm mortar man with the 394th, 99th division. The morning of 16 December 1944 dad was positioned just north of Buchholz Station along the forest road. 15 years ago my brother and I did just what you guys are doing, walking the ground. We visited the foxholes and forest around Buchholz, Lanzrath, the twin villages, Elsenborn Ridge and much more. History is oozes from the ground as you walk through these locations. My brother and I were incredibly moved by the experience. Thank you for bringing this story to a wider audience.

@pixiniarts 6 months ago

These always make you wonder about the lost stories of WW2, the ones where no witnesses survived or never spoke of their experiences.

@theblackprince1346 6 months ago

The German spearhead was destroyed at the Disco Calypso. It was murder on the dance floor...

@jimmaynard 6 months ago

Imma need you to release this series way faster... Each episode has me begging for more

@communitydrivingschoolc.i.8316 6 months ago

Brilliant.. "Does Jochen Pieper like Calypso Music?" Keep em coming chaps...

@chrishardwick1090 1 day ago

Best Walking the Ground series yet; excellent content and footage plus the expert narration and banter

@archer8492 6 months ago

Have to say, the image of Joachim Peiper calypso-drumming his way towards the Meuse on top of his King Tiger, while presumably high off his arse on Pervitin, is going to stay with me.

@jamesboardman7048 6 months ago

I wish they wouldn't cut the clips of film too short . I would like to have time to take in the whole scene .

@gkky_ 6 months ago

I love how entertaining and informative these episodes have been without even having touched on Bastogne or Foy

@garondpaladin 6 months ago

Jim and Al have such good chemistry together

@democracy_GER 6 months ago

Al and Jim are for the ETO the best. They are on the same level as the Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast with Seth and John.

@zyzor 6 months ago

I see I click immediately. I’m a simple guy. Keep up the great content . I love these location series.

@ErnestFrankenkurt 6 months ago

That whole sector…Lanzarath, Buccholz Station and Losheimgrabben saw unexpected Day 1 reversals that put Peiper irreversibly off schedule

@mikeyj9607 6 months ago

In the early 80s, I was stationed at Prum Air Station in the Eifel. I had a general idea about the battle, and here I was stationed basically almost on top of it.I did a lot of exploring of the area in my off time, always wondering how in the hell anyone fought a battle here. One place I did not explore was the forests. Well, I never got off the paths, as I always remembered the new person briefing we got about the area .The Lt was talking about all the history and what was still around from the war (tiger's teeth, the first Hitler bunker was just up the road). Then he said, "Stay out of the forests, do not get off the path; the place still has mines and other stuff." There was a very large, dense forest right outside our fence line. Just after he said that, there was a boom. He just smiled and went *see*. Sometimes a weather front sets them off. Always thought that was a great briefing aid lol. Another strange thing, one day a local who must not have got the briefing we got walked up to our security gate guard, told him I found this in the forest, he then handed the cop a weather-beaten rusty M1 Garand, that was one surprised cop lol

@philrowe3832 6 months ago

First time I’ve ever caught one of your episodes from the release
I can see the views and likes are really quick, this just shows how popular and interesting your episodes are.
Excellent stuff indeed 👍

@chrismlynarczyk7017 1 month ago

Back in my youth in the late 70’s early 80’s, i was into my motorbikes, loved tinkering with them. I knew a few lads who got sucked into the drugs scene, and who were into taking speed. What a mess they became, two of them had breakdowns and one got sectioned. So not surprised Peiper burnt out after Normandy. Being in charge of a bike on speed is bad enough, but a King Tiger, thats scary