There are several problems with the Malmedy massacre scene. First, there was no snow on the ground when it took place; it snowed afterwards and covered up the bodies. Second, the film shows the massacre beginning when an American prisoner seizes a rifle from a German guard and shoots him, causing the Germans to open fire on everyone; that did not happen. Third, the massacre is shown being committed by Wehrhacht--regular German army--troops. In fact, it was committed by an SS unit under the command of the notorious Col.
Joachim Peiper, and it was not, as claimed in the film, a "tragic accident"--Peiper's intention all along was to kill the prisoners, and he had them transported to that open field for precisely that purpose (Peiper served 12 years in prison after the war for his involvement in the crime. In 1976 he was living in France when he was shot to death in his home, which was then burned to the ground, in what many believe was revenge for the Malmedy massacre).
Yes and no - The German version of events unsurprisingly maintains the prisoners were trying to escape when the shooting started and there is a suggestion from some of the survivors that men were moving away from the main group before, or immediately after the first shots were fired, however this is also described by other survivors as men from the front rank pushing backwards to get out of the firing line. The first shots were fired by Romanian SS tanker George Fleps acting on the orders of his tank commander Staff Sergeant Hans Siptrott who believed he was compliant with order issued that prisoners were to be shot if they interfered with the main objective which was to get to the Meuse bridges.
At the time of the shootings Peiper was much further back with the HQ group; he did not have the prisoners transported to the field, that's where they were assembled after being captured at the crossroads a few yards north.
The battle group was responsible for other shootings along their line of advance particularly Stavelot where Belgian civilians were shot in their homes.
It's worth noting that on January 1st 1945, 14 days after Malmedy, 60 German PoWs were murdered at Chenogne as the Americans went on the counter offensive. No-one was ever brought to justice and it was acknowledged that many units were instructed to kill SS troops and paratroopers out of hand.
