During the German counteroffensive in the Ardennes during the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944, the German SS shot and killed approximately 20 Belgian civilians, including men, women, and children, on the road between Stavelot and Trois-Ponts in Belgium.

　　During the Battle of the Bulge, a counteroffensive launched by German forces in December 1944 as part of the Western Front of World War II, approximately 20 Belgian civilians, including men, women, and children, were shot and killed by the German SS on the road between Stavelot and Trois-Ponts.On December 15, the bodies scattered throughout the town were awaiting identification before burial. 

　　The German invasion of Belgium began on May 10, 1940.The Belgian army was pushed back along the Meuse River on May 28, and the Belgian king and army surrendered unconditionally. Approximately 6,000 Belgian soldiers were killed in action, and 15,850 were wounded. Belgium was liberated by Allied forces beginning on September 2, 1944, when they entered the town of Heinze, and liberation was completed on December 12, 1945.

　　On December 16, 1944, German forces suddenly launched the Ardennes Offensive in the Battle of the Bulge, deploying over 250,000 troops. Belgian towns and civilians in the Ardennes region suffered severe casualties, with homes reduced to rubble and many civilians killed by German troops and the SS.The Battle of the Bulge ended on January 28, 1945, when German forces withdrew to Germany. Allied casualties included 19,246 American soldiers killed in action, 47,500 wounded, and 23,000 captured or missing, resulting in a total of 89,746 casualties.British troops suffered 200 deaths, 1,200 wounded, or missing. German forces lost 67,200 killed, 32,800 wounded, or missing. Soviet forces launched a fierce offensive against German forces on the Eastern Front starting January 12, 1945, just before the end of the Battle of the Bulge.