Waffen-SS units under Rundstedt 's overall command committed war crimes during the campaign in the West , including the Malmedy massacre , which was perpetrated by troops under the command of Joachim Peiper . His unit of the SS division '' Leibstandarte '' was under the command of Wilhelm Mohnke . Peiper 's battle group ( '' Kampfgruppe '' ) was charged with seizing the bridges over the Meuse ahead of the advance of the 6th Panzer Army . On 17 December , near Malmedy , a group of Peiper 's men , opened fire on a large group of unarmed U.S. prisoners of war , killing 84 . Responsibility for this crime ran from Peiper to Mohnke to Dietrich to Model to Rundstedt , although none of them had been present and none had ordered such action . When Rundstedt heard about it , he ordered an investigation , but in the chaos of the failing offensive nothing came of this
Malmedy massacre
Malmedy massacre
Gerd von Rundstedt