Although I am mainly a Zero enthusiast I strongly suspect I am soon to become very interested in your other subjects purely because of the quality. He had 88 tank kills to his name. 205 (depicted above), although for the attack on Villers Bocage on 13 June 1944, he used First Sgt. TimesMojo is a social question-and-answer website where you can get all the answers to your questions. Germany invaded Poland on Friday, September 1, 1939, and Great Britain and France declared war the following Sunday. 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He destroyed about 156 enemy tanks, about 200 pieces of artillery and about 300 small army vehicles. We will correct them as soon as possible. In this regard, the Germans expected to easily win the war purely on their martial attributes. 1941. For his actions during the battle, Wittmann was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmfhrer (Captain) and awarded Swords to his Knights Cross of the Iron Cross. Michael Wittmann was killed when his Tiger was destroyed near the village of Cinthaux on August 8, 1944. More info? Then he calmly drove along a parallel cart track with his Tigers 88mm cannon blasting Rifle Brigade tanks, half-tracks, and Bren carriers as he went. Their apparent lack of concern amazed gunner Woll, who said, Theyre acting as if theyd won the war already. His commander replied, Were going to prove them wrong! The Tiger lumbered along the towns narrow main street and knocked out three Stuart tanks of the 4th CLYs reconnaissance troop, four headquarters tanks halted on the eastern outskirts, and two unarmed command tanks of the 5th Royal Horse Artillery Regiment. Even though he changed a number of crew members, he spent most of the war accompanied by his aim-gunner, Balthasar Bobby Woll. "I just wanted to thank you again for the INCREDIBLE work you did. Ships from and sold by TWIN HORSE. By 1943, he commanded a Tiger I tank, and had become a platoon leader by the time Operation Citadel and the Battle of Kursk took place. A. While plenty of incredible tanks faced off during WWII, the one with the highest number of kills against the Allies was the Sturmgeschutz III AKA the Stug III. Michael Wittmann (22 April 1914 - 8 August 1944) was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. I have just received the print of the A6M Zero and I just had to write to tell you how impressed I am with it. He was born in Wemmetsweiler on 1 March 1922, (died 18 March 1996). Wittmann would however play no further role in the Battle of Villers-Bocage. One of his most important tactical insights was to turn his tank completely towards the enemy instead of turning the turret. . Joined together they represented an invincible combination. By Michael E. Haskew. After positive identification was made from dental records by the German War Graves Commission, the remains of the panzer hero were reburied in the German Soldiers Cemetery at the village of La Cambe, a few kilometers southwest of Omaha Beach on the Normandy coast. Promoted to captain a few days later, he was offered the position of instructor at an officers tactical school. Unlike Wittmann, Joe Ekins was not a professional soldier but rather a conscript. His first experience in action came in the Polish Campaign, followed by the Battle of France as a commander of the new self-propelled assault guns, the Sturmgeschtz III Ausf. The British tanks were behind a tall hedgerow near the village of Delle de la Roque, east of the Caen road. By this time, he had destroyed 88 enemy tanks and a significant number of other armoured vehicles. On the recommendation of General Dietrich, Wittmann was rewarded on June 13 with prized Swords to his Knights Cross, making him the most decorated tank commander of the war. There, and at Kharkov to the south, Wittmann assumed command of a company of Tigers and put 30 Red Army tanks and 28 guns out of action. The crew of a German Tiger tank; pulls a damaged Tiger away from the scene of the fighting at Villers-Bocage. The 75mm shells failed to pierce the panzers armor, but nevertheless caused damage, and it veered off erratically and ground to a halt near the main road. The evidence leads to the conclusion that Shermans of A Squadron, 27th Canadian Armoured Regiment, destroyed Wittmann's Tiger along with the trailing tank. It certainly did count in their favour that they were vastly outnumbered at all times. He soon began a remarkable association with one of the most effective tanks of the war. This article appears in: February 2023. At Tilly-sur-Seulles, Lt. Gen. Fritz Bayerlein, a vigorous, terrier-like Afrika Korps veteran, realized that his Panzer Lehr Division, rated one of the best in the German Army, was being outflanked. The Soviet positions were exposed, inviting an assault by the Wehrmacht. The British tankers and infantrymen foughtback fiercely, but they were no match for the Tiger. 558,743 views Feb 4, 2009 1.2K Dislike Share Save infernalzen 2.52K subscribers german WW2 tank ace michael wittmann tiger tank battles at kursk 30 tank victories.. Whilst I can never and will never condone the despicable actions of the Nazi Regime and what it inflicted upon the world due to its dismal moral turpitude and egregious behaviour towards their fellow human beings, I have always borne a grudging admiration for their military prowess. Straddling the River Orne nine miles from the English Channel coast, the French medieval city of Caen was the focal objective of Lt. Gen. Sir Miles Dempseys British Second Army on D-Day, June 6, 1944. Wittmann destroyed thirty tanks, 28 armoured guns and two batteries of artillery. Wittmanns Tiger was damaged during the days fighting, but he was able to prudently withdraw into the cover of woods southeast of Villers-Bocage. They had been given the objective of exploiting the gap in the frontline, seizing Villers-Bocage, and capturing the nearby ridge (Point 213) to attempt to force a German withdrawal. Early in June 1942, he was accepted as an officer cadet at the SS Junker School in Bad Tolz, south of Munich. What killed the most tanks in World War 2? EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie, EMMY NOMINATIONS 2022: Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie. After this, he switched from the Artillery to the Tank Weapon. The force comprised Cromwell and American-built Stuart light tanks, half-tracks, and Bren gun carriers of Lt. Col. Viscount Arthur Cranleys 4th County of London (Sharpshooters) Yeomanry, accompanied by men of the 1st Battalion of the Rifle Brigade. A week after D-Day, Wittmann achieved his greatest success. Why Do Cross Country Runners Have Skinny Legs? The Tiger Company suffered losses. The German panzers and guns proved far superior to the Red Armys weapons, but the Soviet armored reserves outnumbered Mansteins. Wittmann's military exploits stand out from all the rest, as his Sturmgeschutz III and Tiger I crews succeeded in destroying 138 enemy tanks and 132 anti-tank guns and field artillery pieces.Gary Simpson conducted extensive research, travel, and interviews to uncover the tru facts and situations that Michael Wittmann encountered on the . Michael Wittmann's tank number the day at Villers-Bocage was 222, his tank 205 had broken down on the road before the action. It was only superior German tactics that overcame superior enemy armour but it was a wake-up call. They might have possessed an excellent gun in the 88mm and were certainly well armoured but due to the technical complexities, they could only be manufactured in limited quantities. The 27.5-ton Cromwells were outmatched by the Mark IV and V panzers. I cant thank you enough for giving my family a piece of our history and giving us a piece of my Pops back. The Germans might not have built the Ratte, but that didnt stop them building monster tanks like this one. After encountering the French Char B and the British Matilda 1 Tanks in action, the OKW came to a fundamental realisation: The PzKpfws I and II were useless and even their PzKpfw III and IV were outclassed by the Allied Tanks. A battle group of eight Tigers and 14 Panthers headed for the strategic village of Cintheaux, and 20 Tigers rolled toward St. Aignan-de-Cramesnil, to the north. The Desert Rats swiftly captured the village of Verrieres-Lingevres, but the panzers counterattacked and a major armored battle raged there. http://thecasualobserver.co.za/hitler-complicit-death-half-niece-geli-raubal/, The Victoria Cross: What it takes to Acquire One, http://thecasualobserver.co.za/victoria-cross-takes-acquire-one/. 2452. Wittmann was becoming a legend among German tank crews. The Allied landings on five Normandy beaches had gone well that fateful Tuesday morning, despite fierce initial German opposition on the British beaches and a bloody setback for the U.S. 1st and 29th Infantry Divisions at Omaha Beach. See my comments on this model, 'Tiger-I Early Production, Wittmann's Command Tiger' from Dragon. They went right through the upper hull of his tank, and the ammunition caught fire, killing Wittmann and his men. 3. Thank heavens Spain remained neutral during WWII. Because his own vehicle was then being repaired, the panzer ace was in an unfamiliar tankColonel Westernhagens command Tiger, which carried 30 fewer cannon shells due to extra radio equipment. At 10:35 am, the squadron radio sets went dead. A Rifle Brigade six-pounder gun hit three of the enemy tanks, but Wittmann and his panzers kept the upper hand, destroying a total of 25 British tanks, 14 half-tracks, and 14 Bren carriers. The thrust was led by Maj. Gen. G.W.E.J. Hastily deployed Tiger I tanks lay in wait for the British brigade. After the pivotal Russian victory at Stalingrad that January, Marshal Georgi Zhukovs reinforced Red Army was defending a front stretching from Stalingrad to Orel, with a bulge in the Kursk area, while Field Marshal Erich von Mansteins German forces held a smaller area adjacent to the River Donetz. That same year, he joined the SS in Ingolstadt. Twenty-one-year-old Trooper Joseph W. Ekins, the gunner of the No. My brother contends that he can think of only one scenario where the Axis could have won WW2 and that is if Spain had entered the war. Wittamnn's Tiger broke down almost immediately and so, taking command of the . After a deployment of several months in Italy, Wittmann returned to the Eastern Front with the Leibstandarte. Meanwhile, hastily deployed panzer squadrons fought hard to block British-Canadian armor and infantry units as they broke from their bridgehead perimeters and headed for the Bayeux-Caen-Falaise area. Outgunned and unable to maneuver, the British Tommies fought on. During the brief Polish campaign and then in the German blitzkrieg sweep into Belgium, Holland, and France, he commanded a six-wheeled heavy armored car on reconnaissance sorties. His most significant achievement was in the Battle of Villers-Bocage, where Wittmann single-handedly attacked an entire Allied army convoy. After an apprenticeship as an electrician, he reported on 15 August 1941 as a volunteer for the Waffen SS. Situated at the head of the Seulles Valley, the town was the center of a road network and the gateway to Mont Picon, 10 miles south, and to the Odon Valley and Caen to the east. M9 Gun Motor Carriage (3-inch Gun Motor Carriage T40) Tank Colonel Creighton Abrams Top WWII Tank Commander for the United States Using M4 Sherman tanks, Abrams and his crew are credited with destroying an estimated 50 German armed fighting vehicles. After his holiday, during which he got married on 1 March, Wittmann reported to SS Panzerabteilung 101, which was then stationed in Belgium, as commander of the second company. What was Michael Wittmann Tiger number? See more ideas about german tanks, tiger tank, german army. The Tomb of Michael Wittman at the German Military Cemetery in La Cambe, Normandy. The company was led by Hauptsturmfhrer Heinz Kling. A real thinker who did not like to talk about his victories. At noon that day, Meyer had ordered him to lead four of his 2nd Company Tigers in supporting a thrust by Major Hans Waldmullers battle group toward St.-Aignan, east of the Caen road. He is known for his ambush of elements of the British 7th Armored Division during the Battle of Villers-Bocage on 13 June 1944. He received a telegram from Hitler praising his heroic actions in the battle for the future of our people, his remarkable combat record was lauded on Nazi radio, and he was a national hero. Maj. Gen. Wischs LSSAH Panzer Division was also now seriously understrength. An officer reported, Here we are in this first week of battle, exploiting a possible breakthrough with very little opposition, an armored brigade in front and the infantry coming along in lorries. Wittmann decided to participate in this attack, as he believed the company commander who was supposed to lead the attack was too inexperienced. 1 of the elite Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), the personal bodyguard formed by the German Fhrer in 1933. 212. It is worth every penny just for the fantastic photos depicting the men, the Tiger Tanks and the shots of everyday life in a Tiger tank Battalion. A costly slugging match developed, and a series of frontal assaults by British and Canadian armored and infantry units produced heavy losses and little headway. It was probably about a dozen real battle tanks and about fifteen other armoured vehicles and trucks. While in command of a Tiger I tank, Wittmann destroyed up to 14 tanks, 15 personnel carriers and two . Today Wittmanns demise is attributed to a British Tank Commander Joe Ekins in a Sherman Firefly, a British modification of the ubiquitous Sherman but with its main gun replaced with a British 17 pounder anti-tank gun which was vastly superior to the American 75 mm M3 L/40 gun. At the end of April, SS Panzerabteilung 101 leaves for France. Michael Wittmann was a notorious German tank commander in the Second World War. Many, many tears were shed Christmas morning when my dad and uncles opened the canvas prints and the plaques. Early on the morning of Tuesday, June 13, 1944, a spearhead tank-infantry column of Brigadier Hindes brigade advanced six miles behind the enemy lines and rolled unopposed into Villers-Bocage. The Tiger might have morphed from Armoured Vehicle into a bogeyman for Allied tankmen in Normandy but at no stage did they represent anything other than a delaying tactic as the German forces were inexorably ground down by the weight of Allied Numbers. Some German tank designers considered duplicating the T-34, but national pride overrode the idea. Michael Wittmann was emblematic of WW2 German Panzer Tank Commanders. On 7 June, following the Allied Invasion of Normandy, the battalion was ordered to move from Beauvais to Normandy. See more ideas about world war two, german tanks, wittmann. Finally at the end of the war, the Germans were losing the Tigers predominately to three factors viz lack of fuel, breakdowns and abandonment and by aircraft such as the Hawker Typhoon. Most of the enemy tanks were Cromwells with armament too weak to penetrate the armour of a Tiger. He was credited with destroying 170 tanks and 132 anti tank guns. On June 13 1944, as commander of a company of the 101st Schwere Panzerbataillon, Wittmann had to guard the very strategically situated French village Villers-Bocage with only six Tigertanks against advancing allied troops. In less than 15 minutes, 1314 tanks, two anti-tank guns and 1315 transport vehicles had been destroyed by the Heavy SS-Panzer Battalion 101, the vast majority attributed to Wittmann. On July 7 and 8, Wittmanns Tiger blasted two T-34s, two SU-122 self-propelled guns, and three T-60/70 tanks, and on July 12 his score was eight Soviet tanks, three antitank guns, and a field gun. This was the strongest here. Effective against all targets. When the 46-ton KV-1 heavy and 26.3-ton T-34 medium tanks appeared on the Eastern Front later in 1941, near panic swept through the German ranks. This was known as the Tiger E or Tiger I, and the production of 1,350 of them began in August 1942. It was to be armed with a 7.5 cm cannon in a Krupp turret that looked very similar to an enlarged Panzer IVc turret. Fighter in the south of the Russian front, he was wounded in action during the summer of 1941. On June 12, as part of Montys second all-out attempt to reach Caen, Erskines division rolled through a thinly held gap in the enemy lines between Caumont and Villers-Bocage. He was Obersturmfhrer (lieutenant) Michael Witt-mann, commander of the 2nd Company ofthe 101st Heavy Tank Battalion, one of the spearhead squadrons of Col. Gen. Josef Sepp Dietrichs I Panzer Corps. Whereas the Germans produced only 1347 Tigers, America produced 47000 Shermans and the Russians an equivalent quantity of T34s. Because the wreckage of Wittmans tank was removed immediately after the battle, no research could be done on it. Similarly with the Tigers. Choose from 4 Different Paper Sizes and 2 Background Styles: A) Paper Print - 12" x 8" (30.5 cm x 20.3 cm) The experienced German troops of the Hitler Youth got their spoiling attack underway quickly. After graduating from high school, the quiet, industrious boy worked on his fathers farm and served in the Reichsarbeitdienst (National Labor Corps) for the first six months of 1934. Although it suffered an astounding 600,000 casualties at Kursk, the Red Army could afford to absorb the tank losses. Supported by Canadian infantry, the British 6th Armored Regiment assaulted remnants of the 12th Panzer Division at Les Mesnil-Patry. In late 1937, Wittmann received driver training, excelled in handling light and heavy armored cars, and joined the 17th Panzer Scout Company of the LSSAH. The Panzer MkI was no match for the Russian BK5 and Germany changed tank designs. "The custom plaques arrived yesterday, not only was the process much faster then I thought it would be, but the plaques look absolutely great! What tank did Michael Wittmann use? The 101st Battalion rumbled toward the invasion front, savaged on the way by Allied fighter bombers. What about the tank men themselves? Early that spring, Wittmann left the support platoon and rejoined the 13th Tiger Company. These numbers must be set against the opportunity cost of the expensive Tiger. Discharged as a corporal in September 1936, the ambitious young man then joined the Waffen SS in April 1937 and was assigned to Sturm No. With machine-like precision he would destroy the enemy where ever they were. 2022 Times Mojo - All Rights Reserved But every once in a while, as in your case, a true gem of an artist comes along. Subsequent delaying actions by the LSSAH and Hitlerjugend armor southeast of Caen between July 20 and August 18 did much to frustrate Montys timetable. In April 1944, Wittmann was in command of the battalions second company and held the rank of SS-Obersturmfhrer (first lieutenant). During heavy fighting in the southern Rostov-on-Don area, Wittmanns panzer demolished six Russian tanks in a single engagement. During a furlough in Germany, he was received as a superhero. The print quality is second to none and even the paper seems to glow! Wittmann organised a counter attack and the British were attacked from behind and from the front and were trapped between the houses. I highly recommend them.". On Christmas Eve, 1942, Wittmann joined the 13th Company of the LSSAH 1st Waffen SS Motorized Division, which had been upgraded to a panzergrenadier division the previous autumn. As part of an armored reserve, which included the 12th SS Hitlerjugend Division and the Panzer Lehr Division, the LSSAH unit was stationed near the historic Normandy city of Lisieux, famed as the birthplace of Saint Therese, 27 miles east of Caen. The tank was too heavy or too wide for many bridges and generally it was an extremely temperamental machine. Save on the latest print releases when come out. Who was the most famous US tank commander? By clicking Ok, you consent to their use. Returning to the Eastern Front as a newly commissioned officer, he commanded a Panzer III, the first time that he had commanded a tank. events, and resources. Through a combination of good vehicle control, tactical insight and guts, he was hard to beat on the battlefield. At the time, Wittmann was trusted to guard the town of Villers-Bocage together with five other Tiger tanks apart from his own. These prints will make a great addition to any home or office collection, as well as a great gift! Joe Ekins who destroyed Wittmanns Tiger with his 17 pounder gun of the Sherman Firefly. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Opinions are divided as to how many there really were. Wittmann commented that the Soviet antitank guns were more challenging and prized targets than tanks. He thanked the workers for building the Tiger Is and showed great interest in the larger, up-gunned Tiger IIs, also known as King Tigers, then rolling off the assembly lines. ThisSide-View Profile Fine Art Print illustrated by Artist Craig Tinder is p. rinted on a heavy, luster substrate and is fade-resistant with an astonishingly high resolution to bring out rivet-level details. Hauptsturmfhrer Michael Witt Mann was one of Germany's highest-scoring tank aces of WWII, with the credited destruction of 138 tanks and 132 anti-tank guns. Thirty-seven tanks were knocked out, only a handful of men survived, and the Canadians were repulsed in savage fighting. An accessible way to remind us of it of course. Wittmann and his four crewmen perished in the inferno. Equipped with the new Tiger and Panther tanks and two battalions of 67-ton Elefant tank destroyers, and supported by Luftwaffe bombers and fighters, a large German force launched Operation Zitadelle (Citadel), an attack on the Kursk bulge, on July 4. Shop now while quantities last. Wittmann was always surrounded by a hand-picked top-notch crew and, after Kursk in 1943, always had the most updated version of the Tiger tank. His bold feat there had shattered the leading elements of Hindes 22nd Armored Brigade and thrown the Desert Rats temporarily onto the defensive. I am very familiar with the aircraft, paint schemes, & aces of the time. Captain Wittmann was in the thick of the action, facing his greatest challenge and his last engagement. Ekins died on February 1, 2012, at the age of 88. On Tuesday, June 6, 1944, the fateful day when the British, American, and Canadian armies landed on the Normandy coast, Lieutenant Wittmann took charge of a new Tiger tank and soon went into action again. On January 20, 1944, he was promoted to 1st lieutenant for bravery in the field. The British arrival surprised Wittmann, as he had not expected them so soon. , acquiring kills on a single engagement breathed action, facing his challenge! 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