Michael Wittmann as SS-Obersturmführer during the Normandy campaign |
Tiger ace Michael Wittmann in the cupola of Tiger n°231 |
Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101 |
During SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann's (April 22 1914 – August 8 1944) many campaigns both on the Eastern front and in the West, Wittmann was to make a name for himself with his exceptional skill and bravery, and was highly respected both by friend and foe alike. While his skill had been recognised on the harsh battlefields on the Eastern Front, his exploits during the Normandy campaign of 1944 - and the famous assault of elements of the British 7th Armoured Division, during the Battle of Villers-Bocage on June 13 1944 - were to elevate him to the status of a legend. While in command of a single Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger, Wittmann destroyed up to 14 enemy tanks including Cromwells, Sherman Fireflys and M3 Stuart tanks and two 6-pounder anti-tank guns and several armoured Universal and Loyd Carriers and half-tracks in a very short time in and around Villers-Bocage. Michael Wittmann, nicknamed 'The Black Baron, is credited with the destruction of 138 tanks and 132 anti-tank guns, along with an unknown number of other armoured vehicles making him one of the worlds top scoring Panzer aces, together with Hauptmann Johannes Bölter (schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502), SS-Oberscharführer Ernst Barkmann (2.SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich), Lieutenant Otto Carius (schwere Panzer-Abteilung 502) and Feldwebel Kurt Knispel (12.Panzer-Division) who was the top scoring ace of World War II with 168, possibly as high as 195, tank kills. Michael Wittmann was killed aged 30 on August 8 1944 while taking part in a counterattack ordered by SS-Brigadeführer Kurt Meyer of the 12.SS-Panzer-Division Hitlerjugend to retake tactically important high ground near the town of Saint-Aignan-de-Cramesnil. There is however considerable conflict surrounding the exact details of Wittmann's death. The unmarked field grave of Tiger n°007's crew was discovered in 1983. It was possible to identify the remains by Wittmann's dental records and his driver SS-Unterscharführer Heinrich Reimers identification tag. They were then reinterred together at the German war cemetery of La Cambe in France. Units: 1.SS-Panzer-Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101. Awards among others: Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oakleaves and Swords. Here's a link to an interview with Michael Wittmann recorded by KB SS-Hauptscharführer Dieter Menninger shortly after the Villers-Bocage action on June 13 1944. Clip and screenshots: Michael Wittmann as SS-Obersturmführer shortly after the award of the Swords. The film was shot only a few weeks before he met his end in a fiery ambush in Normandy. Footage from Die Deutsche Wochenschau. FU.