Michael Wittmann

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Michael Wittmann
22 April 1914(1914-04-22) — 8 August 1944 (aged 30)

Michael Wittmann sitting on the gun barrel of a Tiger Tank
Nickname The Black Baron[1]
Place of birth Vogelthal
Place of death Between the towns of Cintheaux and St. Aignan de Cramesnil near the farm of Gaumesnil
Allegiance Flag of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service/branch Waffen SS
Years of service 1934-1944
Rank Hauptsturmführer
Unit Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler and Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101
Awards Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords

Michael Wittmann (April 22, 1914 - August 8, 1944) was a German SS-Hauptsturmführer during World War II. Wittman's crews (chiefly gunner Balthasar "Bobby" Woll, also a Knight's Cross holder) are credited with the confirmed destruction of 138 tanks and 141 artillery pieces, along with an unknown number of other armoured vehicles. Together with Johannes Bölter, Otto Carius and Kurt Knispel (the top scoring German panzer ace of the war with 168 confirmed tank kills[2]) he is considered to be one of the greatest tank commanders in history.[citation needed]

He is famous for his June 13, 1944, ambush of elements of the British 7th Armoured Division's, 22nd Armoured Brigade at the Battle of Villers-Bocage while commanding a Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger.

The circumstances behind Wittmann’s death have presented some debate and discussion over the years, but it has been generally accepted that Trooper Joe Ekins in a Sherman Firefly commanded by Sergeant Gordon of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry was his killer.[3][4][5][6] However, in recent years some commentators have suggested that the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment may be the actual killers of Michael Wittmann.[7]

Contents

[edit] Early Life and Career

Michael Wittmann was born on April 22, 1914 in the village of Vogelthal in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria. He was a second son of local farmer Johann Wittmann and his wife Ursula. In February 1934, Michael joined the Volunteer Labor Service, the FAD (what later became the RAD) and on October 30, 1934 he joined the German Army. He was assigned to the 19. Infantry Regiment based at Freising by Munich, eventually reaching the rank of Gefreiter. In October 1936 the 22-year old Wittmann joined the Allgemeine-SS. On April 5, 1937 he was assigned to the premier regiment, later division Leibstandarte-SS Adolf Hitler and was given the rank SS-Mann. A year later he participated in the invasion of Austria and the Sudetenland with the armoured car platoon.

[edit] WWII career

His first experience of combat came in the Polish Campaign and later during the Battle of France as a commander of the new self-propelled assault guns, the Sturmgeschütz III Ausf. A. The Greek campaign - Operation 'Marita' - was launched on April 6, 1941. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), captured the Greek capital, and formed the spearhead alongside the 9th Panzer division, which punched through the Greek countryside. After three weeks of campaigning, Nazi Germany had conquered Greece. Wittmann and his unit were sent to Czechoslovakia for a refit. The rest would not last long, however, as Wittmann's unit was soon dispatched to the Eastern Front to participate in the invasion of the Soviet Union. He initially served as a commander of a StuG III assault gun. He was assigned for both officer and tank training in the winter of 1942-43.

Returning to the Eastern Front as a newly-commissioned officer, Wittmann was reassigned to a tank unit with the rank of SS-Untersturmführer, where he commanded a Panzer III tank. By 1943 he commanded a Tiger, and by the time of the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel) he was a platoon leader. In January 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for his continued excellence in the field. By this time he had destroyed 88 enemy tanks and a significant number of other armoured vehicles. Wittmann left the Leibstandarte, as the Tiger company of the division was used as the nucleus of a new Waffen-SS heavy tank battalion, Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101. This new formation was part of the I SS-Panzerkorps, but wasn't permanently attached to any division or regiment.

By the time he was posted to France, in the late spring of 1944 following the Allied D-Day invasion, Wittmann held the rank of SS-Obersturmführer and had been awarded the oak leaves to the Knight's Cross. His most famous exploit during the Normandy campaign was his ambush of the lead elements of the 7th Armoured Division's 22nd Armoured Brigade, which brought about the Battle of Villers-Bocage on June 13, 1944.

He is credited with the destruction of eleven tanks: five Cromwell tanks, one Sherman Firefly, three M5A1 Honeys, one Sherman Observation Point(OP) tank, one Cromwell OP tank as well as several halftracks and other lightly-armed vehicles.[8] Photographic evidence along with other support material shows that he only destroyed one M5A1 Honey.

Historians have claimed his assault into Villers-Bocage was brought to an end after he retreated, following a brief engagement with a Firefly, and his tank was disabled by a 6 Pounder anti tank gun just outside of town. Wittmann’s own testimony of the fighting at Villers-Bocage contradicts this sequence of events, in which he claims his tank was disabled within the town.[9]

He did not take part in the later fighting which took place during the afternoon, although the mythology surrounding Wittmann has him taking part in the entire battle, halting the entire division and destroying anywhere between 20 and 30 tanks.[citation needed] For his ambush and destruction of the regimental headquarters of the 4th County of London Yeomanry he was awarded the swords to the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves, and was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer.[10]

[edit] Death

The only photograph taken of the wrecked Tiger 007, taken by the French civilian Mr. Serge Varin in 1945, still in the field near Gaumesnil where it had been stopped a year before.
The only photograph taken of the wrecked Tiger 007, taken by the French civilian Mr. Serge Varin in 1945, still in the field near Gaumesnil where it had been stopped a year before.

Michael Wittmann was killed on August 8, 1944 while taking part in a counterattack to retake Hill 122, near the town of St. Aignan de Cramesnil. The town and surrounding high ground had been captured a few hours previously by Anglo-Canadian forces during Operation Totalise.[11][6]

A group of seven Tiger tanks from the 3rd Company and HQ Company, Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 supported by several Panzer IV and Stug IV were ambushed by tanks from A Squadron, 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, 33rd Armoured Brigade, A Squadron, the Sherbrooke Fuisilier Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade and B Squadron, The 144 Royal Armoured Corps, 33rd Armoured Brigade.[12][3][13][4][5][6]

The killing shots have long been thought to have came from a Sherman Firefly of ‘3 Troop’, A Squadron 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry (commander - Sergeant Gordon; gunner - Trooper Joe Ekins), which was positioned in a wood called Delle de la Roque on the advancing Tigers' right flank[14] at approximately 12:47.[15]

It appears the shells penetrated the upper hull of the tank and ignited the Tiger's own ammunition, causing a fire which engulfed the tank and then blew off the turret.[16]

[edit] Discredited claims

For such a junior officer there has been quite a lot of speculation surrounding how he died. At the time of his death the majority of allied soldiers had never heard of him[17] although Wittmann was a household name within Germany.[18]

In 1985, issue 48 of After the Battle Magazine was published, containing an article on the last battle of Michael Wittmann. In this issue, Les Taylor, another member of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry during the war, stated that Joe Ekins was the man who was responsible for the death of Wittmann.[3]

The Squadrons from the 1st Northamptonshire Regiment each had a distinctive naming pattern. The tanks from A Squadron were named after Soviet towns, B Squadron after American states and C Squadron after villages in Northamptonshire. Sergeant Gordon’s tank was named 'Velikye Luki' which may be the source for the story that tanks from the 1st Polish Armoured Division killed Wittmann.[19].

[edit] The Typhoon theory

The main source of controversy surrounding the death of Michael Wittmann comes from the claim that he was killed when a ("Rocket Projectile 3") rocket from a Royal Air Force Hawker Typhoon struck his tank.

This myth, originating in German propaganda, {[fact}} stated Wittmann had fallen in combat to the dreaded fighter-bombers. This was further enhanced when a French civilian, Mr Serge Varin, who took the only known photo of the destroyed Tiger, stated in his opinion the tank was destroyed from an air attack. He said he had found an unexploded rocket nearby and could not see any other penetration holes other than the one on the upper hull. However, some accounts describe this as an exit hole and state the engine was intact and not damaged from any explosion.

Brian Reid has also discredited this explanation after examining the 2nd Tactical Air Force Logs. Reid notes that they make no claim of engaging or destroying any tanks in the area where Wittmann died during the time frame of the battle. [20] He concludes:

"...no tanks were claimed destroyed or damaged in the forward areas by immediate support aircraft"[21]

"...the only tanks claimed were by Typhoons on armed reconnaissance missions in areas away from the actual battle. Therefore Wittmann and his crew almost assuredly did not fall victim to an attack from the air."[21]

Reid also notes that Kurt Meyer, the divisional commander of the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend who had ordered the Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101 to counterattack,

"…made a point of remarking on the Allies' failure to use their tactical fighters on the morning of 8 August."[22]

There is currently also no evidence to support any other aircraft outside of the 2nd Tactical Airforce attacked the tank.

The final piece of evidence, which rules out air attack upon the attacking German tanks, comes from eyewitness testimony. German tank crews and other members of the Schwere SS-Panzer-Abteilung 101, such as Alfred Bahlo, Hans Dollinger, Hans Höflinger and Doctor Rabe along with allied tankers such as Captain Boardman, Trooper Ekins and Major Radley-Walters have all stated in interviews (as well as other media such as letters) that the Tiger tanks came under tank attack only and do not mention any air attacks during this battle.[23][3][13][4][5]

[edit] The most recent claim

After discrediting the main claimants other than Joe Ekins, Brian Reid then discusses the possibility that Ekins was not in fact Michael Wittmann’s killer as there was another armoured regiment in the area much closer to Wittmann’s tank.

A Squadron of the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment, 2nd Canadian Armoured Brigade commanded by Major Sidney Radley-Walters was positioned in the chateau grounds at Gaumesnil. This area, south of Hill 112, is parallel with the Delle de la Roque woods and the location of Joe Ekin’s Firefly. The regiment at this time was made up of several Sherman III and 2 Sherman VC, whose tankers had created firing holes in the property's wall. From this position, based on verbal testimony of the Canadian tankers, they engaged several tanks (including Tigers) and self propelled guns driving up the main road and across the open ground towards Hill 112. [24]

Reid puts forth the opinion that with the range Joe Ekins would have to fire over to hit Wittmann’s tank,[25] the proximity of the Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment to the tank, no other evidence to suggest anyhing other than tank-to-tank combat, that the latter are most likely the killers.[26] The 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry being positioned over 1000 metres away from Wittmann's tank, the Canadian tanks were only around 500 meters away.[21] There are no official Canadian records to back up this position due the Regimental Headquarters halftrack being destroyed by a stray USAAF bomb.[27]

Ken Tout, who at the time of Operation Totalise was a member of C Squadron of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry, published a postwar account of the battle and of Wittmann’s demise. Tout claimed Joe Ekins as Wittmann's killer. However, when researching his new book on the subject, he interviewed former members of A Squadron, Sherbrooke Fusiliers. In this book, for the first time, he does not claim Wittmann for the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and acknowledges that other regiments were in the area at the time and engaged the attacking Tigers.[28][13]

With the Tigers caught in a crossfire between the Northamptonshire Yeomanry and the Sherbrooke Fusiliers it is understandable that both regiments claimed to have destroyed his tank. With no other evidence available, it does appear that the Canadian tankers were in fact Wittmann’s killers.

In the appendix of “No Holding Back”, devoted to Wittmann’s demise, there is topographical map[29] of the engagement, diagrams of the tank[30] and the location of the shell strike[31]

[edit] Burial

Photograph taken of Michael Wittmann and his crew's grave in the La Cambe German war cemetery
Photograph taken of Michael Wittmann and his crew's grave in the La Cambe German war cemetery

The German war graves commission, either with help of veterans from the s.SS-Pz Abt. 101 or from the author of “Panzers in Normandy – Then and Now”, located Wittmann and his crew's unmarked grave in 1983. They were then interred together at the German war cemetery of La Cambe in France.[32]

[edit] Criticism

Historian Wolfgang Schneider, has questioned the competence of Michael Wittmann stating "A competent tank company commander does not accumulate so many serious mistakes as Wittmann made".[33]

While other historians have praised Wittmann for his actions at Villers-Bocage, Schneider has criticised the sole advance of Wittmann into Villers-Bocage, he states while it may "seem brave" he notes that "it goes against all the rules". Not only was intelligence not gathered, there was "no centre of gravity" or "concentration of forces" and because of Wittmann's actions "the bulk of the 2nd Company and Mobius 1st Company came up against an enemy who had gone onto the defensive".[33]

He sums up "The carefree advance of a single panzer into a town occupied by the enemy is pure folly" and states elsewhere that "Such overhastiness was uncalled for". Had Wittmann waited to regroup with elements of his Company and the 1st Company "Such action would have been more effective".[33]

He ends, "Thoughtlessness of this kind was to cost [Wittmann] his life on August 9th 1944, near Gaumesnil, during an attack casually launched in open country with an exposed flank.” [33]

[edit] Personal life

On March 1, 1944, Wittmann married Hildegard Burmester in the town of Lüneburg.

[edit] Summary of SS career

[edit] Dates of rank

[edit] Notable decorations

[edit] References and further reading

  • After the Battle Magazine, Issue 48 (contains the first article dealing with Wittmann's death)
  • Agte, Patrick . Michael Michael Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII: Volume. 1. Stackpole Military History (Oct 2006). ISBN 0-811733-34-3
  • Agte, Patrick . Michael Wittmann and the Waffen SS Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte in WWII: v. 2 (Stackpole Military History): Volume. 2 Stackpole Books (Oct 2006) 0-811733-35-1
  • Hart, Stephen A. Sherman Firefly vs Tiger: Normandy 1944. Osprey Publishing (2007) ISBN 9781846031502
  • Jones, Greg. Panzerheld
  • Kurowski, Franz. Panzer Aces: German Tank Commanders of WWII, Stackpole Books, U.S. (15 Oct 2004) , ISBN 0-81173-173-1
  • Lefevre, Eric (Author), R. Cooke (translator)Panzers in Normandy: Then and Now. After the Battle (Oct 1983) 0-900913-29-0
  • Neville. First Northamptonshire Yeomanry
  • Reid, Brian. No Holding Back: Operation Totalize, Normandy, August 1944 Robin Brass Studio (April 2005) 1-896941-40-0
  • Schneider, Wolfgang . Tigers in Combat: Volume. 2 (Stackpole Military History) (15 April 2005) 0-811732-03-7
  • Simpson, Gary L. Tiger Ace: The Life Story of Panzer Commander Michael Wittman. Schiffer Military History (1994) ISBN 0-88740-526-6
  • Taylor. Michael Wittmann's Last Battles
  • Tout, Ken. A Fine Night for Tanks: The Road to Falaise Sutton Publishing Ltd; New Ed edition (16 Dec 2002) 0-750931-89-2
  • Tout, Ken. By Tank - D to VE Days Robert Hale Ltd (29 April 2007) 0-709081-48-0

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ Reid, Pg 412
  2. ^ Kurowski, Pg125
  3. ^ a b c d After the Battle Magazine, Pg 50
  4. ^ a b c Tout, By Tank - D to VE Day
  5. ^ a b c Reid, Pg 424
    Lord Boardman letter to Radley-Walters, 13 June, 1999
  6. ^ a b c Hart, Pg 52-69
  7. ^ Reid, Pg 410-430
  8. ^ Forty, Pg 139
  9. ^ Taylor, Pg 38. Quoting Wittman's account
  10. ^ Forty, Pg 134
  11. ^ Reid, Pg 410
  12. ^ Reid, Pg 414
  13. ^ a b c Tout, A Fine Night for Tanks
  14. ^ Hart, Pg 65
  15. ^ Hart, Pg 60
  16. ^ Reid, Pg 427
  17. ^ Reid, Pg 411-412
  18. ^ Forty, Pg 134
  19. ^ Hart, Pg 52-69
  20. ^ Reid, Pg 426-429
    PRO, Air 25/709, 84 Group RAF Operations Record Book August 1944, pg 8 Serial 18, 8 August 1944
    PRO, Air 25/698, 83 Group RAF Operations Record Book August 1944
    PRO, 2 TAF Operations Record Book, Sheet 28, 8 Aug 44
    PRO, 83 group Operations Record Book, 8 Aug 1944
  21. ^ a b c Reid, Pg 429
  22. ^ Reid, Pg 426
  23. ^ Reid, Pg 415, 421-423 & 425
  24. ^ Reid, Pg 410-430
  25. ^ Reid, 2005. Pg 416
  26. ^ Reid, Pg 410-430
  27. ^ Reid, Pg 414
  28. ^ Reid, 2005 p. 423
  29. ^ Reid, Pg 416
  30. ^ Reid, Pg 413
  31. ^ Reid, Pg 427-428
  32. ^ Lefevre
  33. ^ a b c d Marie, p. 159

[edit] External links