The massacre is a war crime committed by the 12th Armored Division of the US Army on 22 April 1945 during the Western Allied invasion of Germany. Some 25 US soldiers from the 3rd Provisional Company killed 36 soldiers and reportedly raped 20 women and girls in the village of Lippach, near Westhausen. Around two-thirds of the soldiers had already surrendered, and were thus legally considered prisoners of war (POWs) according to the 1929 Geneva Convention on Prisoners of War.
Battle At noon on 22 April, the 12th Armored Division's 23rd Tank Battalion attacked 300 troops at the village of . German artillery, , and small arms fire held the Americans back until 4pm.
Massacre and mass rape As the rest of the 23rd Tank Battalion advanced toward , the 3rd Provisional Company came across an alcohol warehouse. Some 25 drunken US soldiers then shot at least 10 unarmed German POWs at a meadow on the outskirts of the village, while six more were herded through the streets and into the cemetery, where they were beaten and had their skulls bashed in.
Elsewhere, a captured German officer was beaten by US soldiers, who then bashed his head with a rifle and drove a bayonet through his chest. Two German POWs were taken to a farm, where US soldiers attempted to kill them using a circular saw, although they were unable to due to a power failure. Both POWs were subsequently shot by the soldiers, although one survived severely injured and was later treated by locals. On a country road east of the village, two more German POWs were reportedly run over by tanks.
Residents later found the remains of the soldiers, some of which had gunshot wounds to the back and the head, while four bodies appeared to have been burnt. In total, thirty-six soldiers lost their lives near , about two-thirds of them after the battle. The US soldiers also reportedly raped about 20 women and girls, some of whom were pregnant, ranging in age from 17 to 40. Ten of the soldiers killed were known to be 16 years old, while the oldest known soldier was born in 1909.
See also
List of massacres in Germany Rape during the occupation of Germany United States war crimes
References
Sources
Translated extract available at