Quote:
Originally Posted by texassapper
Sorry, I give those stories the same credence as the Hun raping the Nuns, and bayonetting babies, in Belgium.
They are propaganda.
|
Russia has hit civilian targets. plenty of video of it the same as this reddit video. whether it was intentional or not is harder to verify. there will always be civilian casualties in war.
the Germans did execute US troops in the battle of the Bulge for example. that did happen.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malmedy_massacre
the "reasoning" for this was in part that the German counter offensive needed to reach its objectives quickly and didn't have time to waste on prisoners. this order reportedly came directly from Hitler.
Regarding command responsibility for the actions of his officers and soldiers, Dietrich said he received from Hitler
superior orders that no quarter would be given to enemy soldiers.
[16] Likewise, regarding command responsibility for the actions of his officers and soldiers, Peiper said he received superior orders that no quarter was to be granted, no prisoners taken, and no pity shown towards Belgian civilians.
[16]
the US retaliated.
The
inspector general of the
First Army learned of the Malmedy massacre approximately four hours after the fact; by evening time, rumors that the
Waffen-SS were summarily executing U.S. POWs had been communicated to the rank and file soldiers of the U.S. Army in Europe.
[3] Consequently, the commander of the
328th Infantry regiment issued Fragmentary Order 27, which indicated that: "No SS troops or paratroopers will be taken prisoner, but will be shot on sight";
[3] hence the soldiers of the
11th Armored Division summarily executed 80
Waffen-SS POWs in the
Chenogne massacre on 1 January 1945.
[3]
some senior German officers were against this for several reasons, one is it was against their own code of conduct as military officers and the other was the inevitable response it would provoke by the Americans. now, instead of either retreating or surrendering the US forces knowing they'd be executed would dig in and fight.
there are some reports that some senior commanders in the
Wehrmacht unlike the fanatical
Waffen-SS refused to implement this order and an unsubstantiated report/rumor that one senior
Wehrmacht commander on being told by one of his junior officers that he had carried out Hitler's order against his commander's direct counter-order not to, pulled out his Luger and shot the junior officer on the spot. how true this is is uncertain.
ooops now Ukrainians are shooting POWs
