Another excellent review with plenty of info! I'm looking forward to more, chascbv 
I have a question for your since you seem like a bigger expert than me  What do you think of the King Tiger from Kampfgruppe Piper? Is that an actual tank that Piper used as his ride in the Ardennes? I always thought he'd ride in a halftrack or some other lighter vehicle since he was commanding the entire battle group. |
On page 142 of the Battle of the Bulge Then and Now, the author mentions that when the Kampfgruppe entered the town of Ligneuville, the lead Panther was knocked out and a Sherman was drawing a bead on Peipers' vehicle(SPW) before the driver backed up out of the line of fire.
Also remember that the Kampfgruppes' mission was to move fast and Peiper considered the Tiger II's a burden and positioned them at the end of his column. An experienced veteran like Peiper would never lead from the rear.