BEGINNING OF THE END: THE LEADERSHIP OF SS OBERSTURMBANNFÜHRER JOCHEN PEIPER A thesis presented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MASTER OF MILITARY ART AND SCIENCE General Studies by HAN BOUWMEESTER, MAJ, ROYAL NETHERLANDS ARMY M.A., Free University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 2000