Review
"... exhaustively researched, compellingly written, and supported with detailed maps. It's a story of raw courage in the face of seemingly impossible odds, and it's a great read."
World War II
"Exemplary research highlights anecdotes galore and even includes 12 black and white maps that you can use to create small platoon on platoon, or two platoons on one platoon, skirmish scenarios."
Historical Miniatures Gaming Society
"Military historian Frank van Lunteren set himself three tall-order tasks: ferret out all relevant primary sources, no matter how obscure; weave the evidence together into an engaging narrative (and crafting clear tactical accounts is among the toughest of writing chores); and produce the most thorough history of the part played by the officers and men of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in the Ardennes Campaign. Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper scores high on all counts."
D.K.R. Crosswell, author of Beetle: The Life of General Walter Bedell Smith
"Frank van Lunteren gives us the rare privilege of hearing in personal and touching detail the stories of the Battle of the Bulge as recounted by the paratroopers of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. Never have I actually felt the cold and desperation of the Bulge as I did while reading this book. Enduring the most brutal conditions of the winter war, the 504th went face-to-face with elite Waffen SS in Germany's final bid to conquer Europe. Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper is a timeless sago of courage, determination and victory."
Barbara Gavin Fauntleroy, author of The General and His Daughter: The Wartime Letters of General James M. Gavin to His Daughter Barbara.
"Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper continues Frank van Lunteren's superb series on the famed 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II. Masterfully telling the gripping account of little-known battles against the best-equipped, most elite and fanatical troops of the Waffen SS panzer divisions, the author details the brutal battles waged on the northern shoulder of the Bulge in Germany's last, desperate offensive during the freezing winter of 1944-1945. Over a hundred interviews, including many new and never-before-published first-person eyewitness accounts by both 504th veterans and their German adversaries take the reader into the midst of the fighting as Tucker's troopers charge across open ground to attack armored flakwagons and heavy reconnaissance vehicles with little more than small arms, grenades and machine guns. Van Lunteren's work stands as a lasting testament to the tremendous heroism and devotion to duty of the tough paratroopers of the 504th. I highly recommend this outstanding book."
Phil Nordyke, 82nd Airborne Division historian and author of More Than Courage: The Combat History of the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment in World War II and All American All the Way: The Combat History of the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II, and other titles
"...catapults us into the core of the triumphant 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment to fight alongside pure courage and bravery."
ARGunners.com
"The reader is thrust into the midst of the battle as if they were direct participants. One is engulfed in the personal experiences by named members of the 504th to include the verbiage of the citations for awards of bravery and self-sacrifice. One is also almost mesmerized by the, at times, excess of detail of both individual and elements of small unit actions. And this, not only from the perspective of the 504th but also, that of Peiper’s Kampfgruppe. For, in many ways, this book is a ‘two way street’ covering not only the U.S elements, but also the enemy’s—and that is what is necessary if one is to truly appreciate what the 504th achieved!"
Airborne Quarterly
Full of first-hand accounts by 504 Parachute Infantry Paratroopers who fought at the Battle of the Bulge, Blocking Kampfgruppe Peiper chronicles the long-overlooked contributions of the regiment in this pivotal battle of World War II. Frank van Lunteren has researched and compiled the personal accounts of these "Devils in Baggy Pants" into a story destined to be a lasting testament to the sheer determination and bravery of these men."
Dominic T. Biello, www.ww2-airborne.us
"An inspiring and heart-breaking account of just one part of one campaign in the bloodiest war on record.. "
Books Monthly
About the Author
Frank van Lunteren was born and raised in Arnhem, the Netherlands. His interest in military history dates to the 1980’s, when as a child he first visited the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. He went on to study political history at the Radboud University in Nijmegen, while privately researching the exploits of the paratroopers, and at the 61st convention of the 82nd Airborne Division Association in Harrisburg, PA in August 2007, he was Guest Speaker at the 504th Regimental Dinner.
He originally conducted research on the wartime service of Ted Bachenheimer (1923-44), the famous top scout of the 504th PIR during World War II. But his contacts proliferated, as did his project, and he eventually met and interviewed so many veterans that the present work – on the entire 504th PIR’s service in Market Garden – is the Result.
