This volume from Time Life"s definitive history of World War II details all of the action and behind-the-scenes maneuvering on both sides of the line. The brutal conditions of mud, snow, and bitter cold come across in both the horrors and heroism of a last-ditch struggle. Among the villains is German Lieutenant Colonel Joachim Peiper, 29-year-old commander of the 1st SS Panzer Regiment, which spearheaded a house where 22 Americans were holed up. After a pulverizing attack by the Germans, the Americans waved a white flag and, when the firing subsided, walked out to surrender, as soon as they emerged, they were shot down. Worse still, when the Allies recaptured a town that had been taken by Peiper a few days before, they found 93 civilians-men, women, and children-shot to death. Survivors told the GIs that the children had been killed because their crying annoyed the SS troopers.