Malmedy Survivors

The Malmedy Survivors were 43 men left of about 120 that managed to escape ferocious German guns after their captors of the 1st SS Panzer Divison opened fire on their mostly unarmed prisoners. The massacre took place on December 17, 1944, in a field near the Belgian town of Malmedy. The men who made it back to Allied lines faced an intense brutal winter's cold, SS search parties sent after them, and their own wits and many who escaped the inital attack perished quickly afterward. Their struggle was featured in the film Saints and Soldiers, as survivors of the massacre struggle to evade German patrols and hide out until the Allies retake the area.

Battle vs. the Ghetto Flops (by El Alamein)
Five members of the U.S. Army have just escaped from the massacre at Malmedy have trudged several miles through the blustering cold, an SS patrol hot on their heels. They come across a fork in the road, and turn down the back route, knowing the SS won't follow that way. They'll wait for the Nazis to double back, and then continue onward. They stumble upon a shelled-out abandoned village, with a few standing cottages and some weak stone walls surrounding the perimiter.

The captain of the group moves in with the only firearm, a Colt M1911 with 2 spare magazines. He signals his men to continue onward and they creep forward, covering their footprints in the snow as they walk forth. They take shelter in the biggest, darkest of the houses, with a half-collapsed roof and a basement. The men rest in the basement while the captain takes first watch.

Meanwhile, an SS truck has crashed after a landmine incident, and 5 Jewish Flops are the only survivors. They steal their dead captor's Luger and take several spare magazines, while they salvage gravity knives and their own crude clubs from the back of the truck. They quickly head down the opposite road and end up in the same village as the Malmedy survivors.

The storm begins to brew stronger and the Flops, barely clothed, sprint for the nearest shelter - the house that the Malmedy survivors are hiding in. Just then, the captain decides his watch is over, and goes down in the basement to send another man up. While he's gone, the Flops occupy the top level and huddle by a dying fire from an explosion in the corner. The sleepy American climbs up the steps and turns to the doorway. He never sees the Flops as they raise the Luger and fire into his back. The American falls to the snowy ground and stains it pink. (4-5) The Americans in the basement rush out and the captain fires at the Flops without question, killing the one holding the Luger. (4-4) The Flops scatter throughout the village, and the Malmedy survivors give chase.

One of the Flops grips his club and hides behind a wall as two Americans are coming. He leaps out and hits one of the soldiers in the stomach, tearing through his belly and knocking him on his back. The other U.S. soldier whips out his bayonet and drives it deep into the Flop's stomach, before tearing it out and running it through his neck. The Flop spits blood in his attacker's face (who winces), then slumps down and dies. Turning, the American wipes his face but sees his friend is long gone, doubled over in a painful position. (3-3) Just as soon as this scene is complete, the American stumbles back as a bullet goes through his arm. One of the Flops recovered the Luger and is pushing on the offensive. The American retreats deeper into the village.

The American captain has had to change his magazine for the M1911 and has only 1 spare left. A Flop rushes at him with a gravity knife and slashes at his thigh. It deflects off of a canteen of water and the American whacks the Flop upside his chin with the barrel of the pistol, before turning it round and firing into his chin. (3-2) The Flop falls and dies instantly. The captain looks down at his uninjured leg in awe before shaking off the feeling and continuing on.

The last two Americans run into the two Flops. Charging at each other with clubs, knives and bayonets, the Flops gang up on the first Malmedy survivor, one jamming a knee into his thigh and the other plunging the gravity knife into his chest. The American roars in pain and falls back dead but his friend whips the M3 Knife across the back of one of the Flop's necks, cutting the spinal cord at the base of the brain. (2-1) The two remaining men face off, knife vs. knife. Suddenly, the Flop takes out his Luger and fires, killing his opponent. (1-1)

Turning, the Flop sees the last American firing his M1911 at him, charging in rage. The Flop starts to fire back but needs to change magazines. The Malmedy survivor catches up and puts the pistol to the Flop's head, and pulls the trigger. However, he's wasted all of his ammo. Forgetting about reloading, the Malmedy survivor swats the Luger out of his enemy's hand just as he finished reloading. The Flop turns as the Malmedy survivor punches him with his bare fists, blackening an eye and bloodying the nose with the first strike. The Flop tries to counter with a punch to the side of the head but the American catches the fist and twists it backward. The Flop screams in pain and staggers back, giving the Malmedy survivor time enough to scramble back to the Luger and shoot four times at the man's torso. The Flop flails and falls dead. (1-0)

The Malmedy survivor shakes his head and pockets all the weapons he can find before looking again at his map to see where his nearest Allied base command center is.

Expert's Opinion
The Malmedy Survivors beat the Ghetto Flops because, even with scaled-down weaponry they were still trained soldiers, while the Flops were simply desperate men trying to survive in a world falling apart around them. The M1911 had greater stopping power than the Luger and up-close the physically stronger Americans were able to overpower the underfed Flops.

To see the original battle, weapons, and votes, click here.