Reviewed by Doc Snafu on December 23, 2025.
Flagged by Doc Snafu on December 23, 2025.
Document Sources: G-2 Periodic Report 1 – More about your enemy. (Warning graphic content)
Edited on 28-12-2021 (correction)
Incl 2 to VII Corps
G-2 Periodic Report #1
The following information was obtained on December 25, 1944, as a result of personal observation and interrogation by 1/Lt Frank B. Craig, IPW Team #93, attached to the 30th Infantry Division.
Ten or twelve completely burned bodies which were charred black were seen at Renardmont (Belgium) where a small shed had once stood. This shed has been completely destroyed by fire. The burned bodies of the civilians were piled up on one another. It was impossible to determine their age or sex. In the adjacent house, there was a middle-aged woman who had been stabbed with a knife and then shot. Two boy between age of 6 and 10 were seen with bullet holes in their foreheads. Outside this house, and within a radius of 30 yards, there were several other dead civilians. One old woman had been killed by a smash over the head, probably with a rifle butt. There was a body of a young man with his boots taken off who had been killed by being shot through the back of the head. Another young man whose wrists looked as though they had been tied, had been similarly killed. A married couple had been shot in a house little farther to the North, at K-7035019. Near a foxhole were the bodies of a 13-year old boy and a 15-year old girl who had been shot, apparently as they tried to escape.
Two Belgian civilians who live in the vicinity gave the following information. Mme L.F. states that some SS men came to the house where she was staying, and asked for American soldiers. After being told that there were no Americans nearby, the SS men left. Two SS men came to the house a little later and searched it. When this had been completed, they asked one of the officers whether the people should be shot. The officer left it up to the men. The SS men took one man from the house with them. Mme L.F. states she saw other SS men bringing men, women and children from their houses and shooting them in the street. Mrs M.P. states that the SS men killed her husband, together with her sister and brother-in-law. One man came into her room, searched it thoroughly and left. Mrs M.P. then went to the window where she saw the soldiers herding the people together. Some people were shot as they tried to escape. One was knocked down with rifle butts and shot. After the people had been put into the shed in Renardmont (K-7025009), she heard shots coming from there shed, and saw the shed go up in flames. Mrs M.P. believes that about 25 to 30 civilians were killed in the vicinity. (Source: 30th Infantry Division)
STORY AS TOLD BY GERMAN PRISONERS
On December 18, the Engineer Platoon of HQ Company, 1.SS-Panzer-Recon-Battalion (Pionierzug, Stabskompanie, Aufklärungs-Abteilung LSSAH), while on reconnaissance in the Stavelot (Belgium) area prior to attack, were ordered by their platoon leader, SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Dröge, to do away with all civilians who came in sight. Dröge is in our hands, either seriously wounded or dead. An identical order was given by the platoon leader of the bicycle platoon, SS-Untersturmführer Erich Kollaschny. Further, one Prisoner of War heard a company commander SS-Obersturmführer Heinrich Goltz, deliver the same instructions from a vehicle. The men carried their orders well, even exceeding them in their zeal to do their German duty. In the village of Parfondruy (Belgium), twenty civilians of all ages and sexes were slaughtered. Some were shot on the street. Others were assembled in a barn and butchered there. After the blood bath, a match was put to the barn and the contents consumed. It is believed that the Prisoners of War hoped in this way to hide what they had done.
SAMPLES OF CONFESSIONS OBTAINED
The civilians were picked up on the streets and brought into a barn, then they were shot.
I myself, SS-Unterscharführer Richard Rosenke (Annex 1), shot two civilians. They were a man and a woman, about 45 years old.
These civilians were then shot and the barn was set afire. All members of the platoon participated in the action.
When both Belgians noticed that they were to be shot, they tried to escape. Therefore I, and several of my friends, shot and killed the fleeing Belgians.
We had the mission to reconnoiter Stavelot. Before we could march into the village, we had to advance to the left of it to find out how strong and where the American artillery was. We had to pass through a village. Before we got into it, SS-Untersturmführer Heinrich Dröge gave the order to shoot everybody there. I was at the end of the platoon. I know that many civilians were herded into the barn and then shot. As I followed the platoon to the scene of the incident, I received the order from the SS-Untersturmführer to burn the barn down with the help of another soldier, a Fallschirmjäger. (Source: 1st Canadian Army)
FIRST ARMY IPW REPORT
Consolidated Report on 13 Prisoners of War
Unit: 25.SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment, 12.SS-Panzer-Division
Captured: Sadzot (P-4787) (Sheet 13 1:100,000), December 28, 1944
Preamble: It seems to have trickled through that the SS does not enjoy a great deal of popularity outside Germany. All the Prisoners constantly apologize about their membership of this hated organization. In general, losses seem to be about 50% and more.
Strength:
1.Co: Before Combat, 65 men; Today, 25 men
2.Co: Before Combat, 105 men; Today, 50 men
3.Co: Before Combat, 80 men; Today, 40 men
4.Co: No figures available.
5.Co: Before Combat, 120 men; Today, 50-60 men
6.Co: Before Combat, 120 men; Today, 55 men
7.Co: Before Combat, 120 men; Today, 30 men
8.Co: Before Combat, 120 men; Today, 100 men
10.Co: Before Combat, 100 men; Today, 15 men
PW states this to be a very conservative estimate.
Additional Order of Battle: 8.Heavy-Mortar-Company. The composition of the Heavy Mortar Companies is reported as follows, 1 Medium Mortar Platoon with 6 Medium Mortars (81-MM), 1 Heavy Mortar Platoon with 6 Heavy Mortars (120-MM), 1 AT Platoon with 3 Panzerschrecks AT-gun. (8.Co in its last engagement is reported to have lost 3 medium 81-MM mortars and 2 of the 120-MM heavy mortars.
Personalities – Command Structure (as reported)
According to the Consolidated Report on 13 Prisoners of War dated December 28, 1944, compiled following captures at Sadzot (Belgium), the command structure of the II. Battalion, 25.SS-Panzergrenadier-Regiment, belonging to the 12.SS-Panzer-Division (Hitlerjugend), can be partially reconstructed. At battalion level, command was exercised by SS-Obersturmbannführer Schulze (Lt Col), who is reported as commanding officer of the II. Battalion. His authority extended over the subordinate rifle and support companies, including the heavy weapons elements, though no indication is given that he held a direct technical command over any specialized platoon or company.
Within the battalion, the 1st Company was commanded by SS-Untersturmführer Schulz (2/Lt), while the 6th Company was under the command of SS-Untersturmführer Pohle, likewise holding the rank of 2/Lt. The 7th Company presents a case of disrupted leadership, its regular company commander having been wounded during recent fighting and evacuated. As a consequence, temporary command was assumed by SS-Oberscharführer Doernhamke, acting in the capacity of company commander despite his non-commissioned officer rank, a situation reflecting the severe attrition suffered by the regiment during the Ardennes Operations.
The battalion’s heavy weapons support was provided, in part, by the 8th Company, identified as a schwere Granatwerfer-Kompanie (Heavy Mortar Company). This unit was commanded by SS-Untersturmführer Fritsch and was equipped with both medium and heavy mortars, forming a critical component of the battalion’s indirect fire capability. Additional support elements included the 10th Company, commanded by Leutnant Huebner, a Wehrmacht officer attached to the regiment, indicating the continued presence of non-SS personnel within certain support and specialist roles at this stage of the campaign.
Onomastic Note and Source Limitation: All personal names cited above are reproduced exactly as they appear in the Allied prisoner-of-war interrogation reports. Such documents are known to contain frequent phonetic spellings and inconsistencies, particularly with German surnames such as Schulze, Schulz, or Schultz. In the absence of corresponding German personnel records (Stellenbesetzungen or Personalakten) for the period in question, the precise identity and full names of several officers—most notably SS-Obersturmbannführer “Schulze”—cannot be established with absolute certainty. Any further nominative attribution beyond what is reported here would therefore be speculative and is deliberately avoided.
Mission: To take Sadzot in order to create an advanced HQs
Retreat-Tactics: The Regiment used the following methods in order to safe guard itself in the event of a necessity for an Absetzmanoeuver (disengagement). Each Company sent only 2 platoons into lines, the 4.Heavy-Mortars Platoon remained in reserve and the 3.Platoon was employed to prepare a secondary line of defense.
Signal Equipment: The Prisoner from the Battalion’s Signal Platoon reports the employment of a radio-set called Dora-2. It differs, according to the Prisoner, fromthe old Dora-set in that it can operate with ultra-shortwaves, which is supposed to interfere with enemy sound location.
Morale: A marked drop in the last 4 days.
HUMAIN (P-2381) – FIVE DAYS GERMAN OCCUPATION
(Report from a reliable civilian source)
December 23, 1944: First German spearhead composed of 15 camouflaged Mark VI-2 Tiger tanks, 30 reconnaissance cars, about 100 half-tracks, trucks and jeeps, passed through the town from 0900 to 1100, going in the direction of Havrenne (Belgium). Many of the men were dressed in American uniforms with armored combat hats. About 1/3 of the spearhead consisted of American vehicles.
December 24, 1944: Convoy consisting of trucks loaded with Wehrmacht infantry, and about 25 105-MM Guns on wooden wheels pass through the town going West. Troops were Alsatian, Polish, and Czech origin. None of the vehicles were American. The Germans on the other hand had plenty of captured American rations. 3 tanks stopped in the town for repairs.
December 25, 1944: Very little enemy activity in the town.
December 26, 1944: 8 Tiger tanks, several trucks, and small groups of soldiers on foot retreat through Humain towards Hargimont (Belgium). The 8 Tiger tanks remain in the town, where they are attacked by our Army Air Force. 1 Tiger exploded. At 1630, informant overhears following message being sent over wireless by the Officer in charge ‘Only 300 men left, send help.’ In the afternoon of Dec 26, Germans ran out of supplies, and as usual, decide to loot the town.
December 26, 1944: Early in the morning, informant overhears another message being sent over wireless: ‘Enough ammunition left to cover retreat only’. In reply, the Officer in charge was ordered to fight to the last man. Soldiers, disgusted, throw arms away, and hide in basements. Officers, armed with machine-pistols, chase soldiers out of basements, and force them to fight the arriving Americans. Germans depart. (Source: UD 1st Army)
OTHER INTELLIGENCE NOTES
(1) Draft Order This document was found on a German soldier belonging to the 1.Co Panzer-Regiment (Der Führer). The original was written in German and Slovenian. It is hereupon stated that the service to which you are called is not voluntary, but based on the interstate conventions of June 7, 1944. Based on these Conventions, people of German nationality are called upon to serve in the Wehrmacht or in the Waffen-SS. Any disobedience to the call to arms will be punished by law. Application at deferment from serving in the German Army will be directly dealt with by the draft guard, and only exceptional and critical cases: students, supporters of families, and essential war workers; documents to prove such are to be brought along. Examples: Report cards or statements showing continuation in the next higher class, family statements, and tax reports. Should an applicant claim a change of nationality other than German, a statement to corroborate such must be obtained from the Statistical Bureau based on the census of 194, and presented to the present Officer of the Slovakian Army. If you are so sick that you are unable to be transported, a statement from a city doctor or hospital is to be presented, proving such claim.
