Boves massacre

The " Boves massacre " was an alleged World War II war crime that took place on 8 September 1943 in the comune of Boves, Italy. Up to 45 Italian civilians were killed and 350 houses were destroyed by artillery fire of the Waffen-SS under the command of SS-Sturmbannführer Joachim Peiper. Two German NCOs had been captured and were held by Italian partisans in the vicinity of the town. After obtaining their release, Peiper ordered the destruction of the town.

Although Boves is often cited as a WWII atrocity by some, it remains contentious due to the lack of evidence. The attempts by plaintiffs to bring about the conviction of Joachim Peiper for action at Boves, occurred 25 years after 1943, but the German court at the time concluded that "...there is insufficient suspicion of criminal activity on the part of any of the accused to warrant prosecution."