It is one of the most famous battles of World War II where almost 90,000 Americans were wounded or killed as the Nazis mounted their final offensive push on the Western Front.

But to mark the 75th anniversary of the outbreak of the Battle of the Bulge yesterday, three high profile official US military sites chose to illustrate it with an image of a Nazi rather than heroic American troops who mounted a comeback.

The Department Of Defense, the Army's 10th Mountain Division and XVIII Airborne Corps all shared the colored photograph of Joachim Peiper.

Peiper wasHeimlich Himmler's personal assistant and the chief of a unit that ordered the murder of at least 84 American prisoners of war on December 17, 1944, in the Malmedy massacre during the battle.

The prisoners were lined-up in a field and gunned down with machine guns by their captors. Peiper's unit also assembled and shot more American troops in the days that followed.

The Department Of Defense has sparked outrage after using a colored photograph of Nazi Joachim Peiper, pictured, to mark the start of their Battle of the Bulge anniversary coverage

American soldiers check for identification on the bodies of more than 80 dead U.S. troops shot by Nazi troops in a massacre near Malmedy, Belgium, during World War II's Battle of the Bulge

The Nazis wore some of the uniforms of the captured troops to confuse Allies in a bid to capture a key bridge over the Meuse river during Operation Grief.

Peiper was later found guity of war crimes during the Dachau Trials in 1946 and served 12 years in prison.

Critics were furious that the senior SS officer's image had been used, with one writing that its use was 'vile' and 'disturbing'.

The post, the first in a series to mark the 75th anniversary of the Battle which started on 16 December 1944, has since been taken down from two of the sites and edited to remove the photograph on the XVIII Airborne Corps Facebook account.

Reacting to the Airborne's post, one person wrote: 'Really? You had to post a picture of a Nazi SS officer to commemorate the battle of the bulge? I guess that would represent the views of our current administration.'

While another said: 'Please take down this image of a Nazi war criminal. You're helping the enemies—foreign and domestic—of the US by posting it.'

The Battle Of The Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II and ended on 25 January 1945 (Infantrymen are pictured battering down the door of a house where German snipers were holding out in Stavelot, Belgium, in 1944)

The Americans suffered at least 80,000 casualties including more than 10,000 dead during the battle (A US soldier is seen guarding German PoWs during the battle)

The Airborne Corps removed the Nazi's image and instead shared three images of soldiers in action during the conflict.

Responding to one concerned comment, they explained their reasoning for sharing Peiper's image.

They explained that 'this is just the first day of a continuing series. We describe the action chronologically'.

They also said 'sometimes in movies, the movie will create a sense of tension by introducing a bad guy. It is technique of effective storytelling,' reported the Daily Beast.

An American serviceman shared screenshots of the post appearing on three military accounts, writing that he was 'dumbfounded' by the Nazi's picture being used

Several people were shocked that the Airborne Corps shared Joachim Peiper's picture to mark the start of their anniversary coverage

The picture was later removed and swapped for pictures of US soldiers during the conflict

The now deleted image also said it had been colored by Tobias Kurtz, a digital artist from Slovakia who uses a picture of the far-right Slovak People's Party's flag on his website, reported the Independent.

The Battle Of The Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front during World War II and ended on 25 January 1945.

Hitler's forces launched the attack on December 16, 1944, taking Allied troops in Belgium and Luxembourg by surprise.

The Allies eventually recovered, mounting a heroic defense in the Siege of Bastogne after a US commander had responded 'Nuts!' to a German demand of surrender.

Up to 40,000 people including thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting.

The site explained that the picture was just the first of a set of planned posts and said that they were describing 'the action chronologically'

Peiper was a personal assistant to leader of the SS and the Gestapo Heimlich Himmler, pictured, and the chief of a unit that killed at least 84 American prisoners of war

Its legendary rescue by US paratroopers has since been celebrated in the TV series Band of Brothers. The siege also helped seal General George Patton's reputation as a US military giant.

The overall Battle of the Bulge would rage across the Ardennes for six weeks - drawing in 600,000 American and 25,000 British troops against 400,000 Germans - until the Allies prevailed in January 1945.

Between 15,000 and 20,000 German troops died, against between 10,000 and 19,000 Americans.

And 3,000 Belgian civilians perished under artillery bombardments or in massacres carried out by the Waffen-SS in villages like Houffalize.