villers bocage:michael wittmanns most famous feat of arms

Villers Bocage: Michael Wittmann's most famous feat of arms. - Plata's MySpace Blog |

 

The grave of Wittmann and his crew in the cemetery of La Cambe
After the remains were found of Wittmann and his crew, they were reburied at the German war cemetery at La Cambe, where it is attracting many visitors. Unfortunately there are people who think it is necessary to bring extreme rightwing and fascistic items to their grave. Wittmann was an SSer (he was known as a fanatic ‘heel clicker’) and fought for a rotten regime. But his heroism may in that context not be forgotten. He was very popular among his comrades and showed sometimes, during the dirty fighting at the East front, his human side. One day, crewmembers who jumped burning from their destroyed T-34 had their flames put out by blankets from Wittmann and his crew and were handed over to the medical service. But Wittmann was a cold blooded tanker who seemed unstoppable and which was ultimate leading to his death. The German cemetery at La Cambe can be found on the N 13 (global central between Bayeux and Carentan). Wittmann and his crew are buried in lot 47, row 3 and grave 120

 

I remember reading he had his Tiger destroyed in Normandy and walked back to his lines to start fighting again. He had refused to destroy the first tank because he expected to recover it

 

People : Hauptsturmfuhrer Wittmann: - World War Two

there has been much debate skipper,but which way do you jump ?

the graves..

 

Wittmann and his crew is congratulated
(notice the 88 stripes on the barrel of the 8,8cm gun of Tiger S04)

 

I am no expert in the matter, but whatever people may think of him he was a great warrior

 

agree skipper,his record will tell you that..

 

There are many claims that Wittmann was a great Stug. ace and he racked up a large number of kills before he got a Tiger. However checking the claim that he destroyed 130+ tanks will show you they are ALL from his Tiger period.
So what happened to all the claims about his Stug days?
A bit of research will show you that his tank kills in Russia all date from July 1943. Furthermore they are racked up in very short periods in action. Quite simply he seems not to have 'existed' until he was chosen to be the Tiger tank pin up boy.
He came from nowhere and then racked up high scores. For Villers he is credited with 25 tank kills. It is in his award citation and 25 were added to his score but he could not possibly have engaged more than 11 tanks. In reality he was given credit for 14 tanks he did not knock out.

 

Wittmann was a member of the SS so he will never have my sympathy, but I'm prepared to admit he was a brave man, even if his bravery lead him into foolhardy acts.

As for his last battle, Wittmann was probably killed by a Canadian Sherman but he wasn't alone.
The famous Panzer Ace Michael Wittmann was killed on the 8th August 1944 when leading 7 Tiger I’s of SS.Pz.Abt.101 over open ground, near Cintheaux, in a counter attack towards the suspected position of the 1.Polish Arm.Div. reported to be ahead at Aignan de Cramesnil.
His formation came under fire from Allied units, one of which was the 3.Plt., A.Sqn., 33.Arm. Bgd., 1.Northamptonshire Yeomanry, in woods to his flank, and a unit of the Sherbrooke Fusiliers, hidden behind a stone wall on the opposite flank, both with a mix of Sherman 75mm gun tanks and Sherman Fireflys.
Within minutes, 5 of the Tigers had been Ko’d, and 1 was later abandoned by its crew, without any losses to the Allied units.
Wittmann’s tank was seen by eyewitnesses from his own unit to have been hit and had its turret slightly displaced on its turret ring, before it exploded a few minutes later, throwing the turret into the air. No crew was seen to escape.


Hans Höflinger a commander of another Tiger in the attack described the attack:
'Then we drove off, Michel (sic) right of the road and I left, four others with Michel and the brother of Heinz Von Westernhagen with me. Approximately 800 meters to Michel's right there was a small wood which struck us as suspicious and which was to prove fateful to us. Unfortunately, we couldn't keep the wood under observation on account of our mission. We drove about one to one-and-a half kilometres, and then I received another radio message from Michel which only confirmed my suspicions about the wood. We began taking heavy fire from anti-tank guns and once again Michel called, but didn't complete the message. When I looked out to the left I saw that Michel's tank wasn't moving. I called him by radio but received no answer. Then my tank received a frightful blow and I had to order my crew to get out as it had already begun to burn fiercely. My crew and I dashed toward the rear and got through. I stopped to look around and to my dismay discovered that five of our tanks had been knocked out. The turret of Michel's tank was displaced to the right and tilted down somewhat. None of his crew had got out. I climbed into Von Westernhagen's tank and, together with Heurich, whose Tiger was undamaged, tried to get to Michel's tank. We could not get through. Dr. Rabe also tried it, but in vain...I can state the exact time of the incident; it was 1255 hours, near the Falaise-Caen road in the vicinity of Cintheaux

 

thats all you really need to say redcoat,absolutely true brave man,this is an article from the daily mail june 2009..

Nazi souvenirs on sale in London ahead of D-Day anniversary | Mail Online

 

He must have been a good tanker, but too many of the SS troopers' accomplishments were dressed up for domestic consumption. I think it's good to check the claims with a grain of salt...

 

I've read many accounts of Villers-Bocage and, for sure, many of the British vehicles knocked out were soft-skinned or lightly-armoured.

But I do think, at the end of the day, you have to hand it to Wittmann. He undoubtedly 'went for it' and he couldn't have known at the time what he was facing. Every Nation needs its heroes and Wittmann was certainly chosen to be one - but to me he was a courageous fighter.

( He was probably lacking in imagination but that's true of most 'heroes'...)

 

courageous/fanatic! fighter..either way the man was as you say martin a hero...

 

During his insane-o one-man Rambo-style assault on the British forces, Michael Wittman destroyed twenty-seven Allied tanks - the highest recorded tally of tanks killed in one day by one unit in the history of the world. In addition to single-handedly annihilating an entire battalion of Limeys, Wittman also took out a large number of armored troop transports, half-tracks and supply carriers. For his balls-out assault, Wittman received the German equivalent of the Medal of Honor and was hailed as a hero throughout the Third Reich. High Command offered to give Wittman a chance to retire and work in Berlin as a tank instructor but Wittman refused, stating that his duty was to engage the enemy. He had asses to kick, goddamnit. He returned to the front almost immediately, and on 8 August 1944 he was killed in action when he was fired on simultaneously by eight million different British and Canadian tanks, anti-tank guns, bazookas, bomber aircraft and nerf rocket launchers. His tank was obliterated to the point where his remains weren't found until like two years after the war ended or something.? remains of wittmanns tank..

Despite being a goddamned Nazi, Michael Wittman was perhaps the greatest and most daring tank commander the world has ever seen. During his career, he recorded 138 tank kills, 132 anti-tank gun kills, and destroyed hundreds of trucks, carriers, artillery, and errant sportscars. There's even a report that he fired his tank gun at a Russian submarine once, probably just to be awesome. The guy was completely balls-out, afraid of nothing, and capable of killing anything with wheels and/or tracks. He was an accomplished commander, a skilled tactician, and a worthy adversary for Allied forces on both sides of the European Theater."bad posting",and not my opinion obviously,regards,ray..

 

Sniper,

What do you mean by 27 tank kills is the highest recorded tally by one unit in the history of the world? Other superb WWII tank commanders aside, Zvika Greengold and H. R. McMaster easily topped that record.

Wittman was one heck of a soldier, but he ain't that good.

 

spotted it! have now finished sentence...

 

He did not. This number is an invention and simply is untrue.

This is absurd. A Battalion is a very large Infantry Unit. There was a COMPANY of The Rifle Brigade present. Is there no end to this fiction.


I realise you are baiting but you parrot the usual fan boy rubbish.

 

Yes. In command of a tank Unit he swanned off on his own into an enemy held town. Was knocked out and had to run for his life.
Other cooler heads might have done something more intelligent-say go around the town into the rear of the REGIMENT of tanks that were in the streets of Villers.
Wolfgang Schneider (by no stretch of the imagination anything other than a Tiger devotee) is very critical of Wittmann and his actions that day. In short Wittmann took the decision to increase his own tally over the chance to increase the German strategic position.

 

Villers-Bocage

not my field of expertise,but here states the same? what is your call on this then mkenny..ray..

 

Michael Wittmann - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia