Tiger 2 tank (Fgst.Nr. 280273) of the Schwere SS Panzer-Abteilung 501. Tank number 213. La Gleize
Kampfgruppe Peiper wrote History with bloody letters. Beside rude combat engagements, its route was sown with murders of American POW’s and Belgian civilians. The Malmedy massacre and the post war Dachau trial will forever mark the unit and its commander with the seal of infamy. The impact left on the local population is still hurting today. One of the most famous attractions of KG Peiper was the attached s. SS Panzer Abteilung 501 (501st SS Heavy tank battalion) and its monstrous King Tigers. The number of Tigers involved has always been a subject of controversy.
If apparently the battalion was at full strength on December 16 with 45 Tigers, a dozen never left the assembly area due to mechanical and maintenance problems. Many suffered breakdowns, others became separated and fought individually. At the end of the second day of the battle, the battalion had totally lost its cohesion. From pictures and reports, it seems that only 11 Tigers crossed the Amblève at Stavelot. From that number only 6 followed Peiper to La Gleize. One of them was Tiger ‘213’.
In the last hours of the final stand, Tiger ‘213’, then commanded by SS-Obersturmführer (1st Lt) Dollinger, was in position at the Wérimont farm along with Tiger ‘221’ of SS Untersturmführer (2nd Lt) Hantusch. From their dominating position, both tanks were guarding the east and southeast approaches of LaGleize. On December 22, 1944, in the early afternoon, they engaged Sherman tanks of TF McGeorge coming down the route from Roanne Coo, at a distance of 2000 yards. Several hits were recorded on the lead tanks and the column was stopped. American return fire focused on both Tigers and succeeded to disable 211’s traverse mechanism. For its part, ‘213’ had a third of its gun blown off by a direct hit. Both tanks had to be abandoned. http://www.miaproject.net/the-battlefield-then-now/kampfgruppe-peiper-2/
That tank sits close to the very spot shown right now. I took pics of marks left by AT rounds that appeared to have just bounced off.
It's truly a monster, and I would not like to be on the wrong end of one!
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