Photo of Michael Wittmann sitting on a Tiger Tank, note the zimmerit paste applied to the tank.

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 in a Tiger tank.

The circumstances behind Wittmann’s death has presented some debate and discussion over the years but it is generally accepted that Trooper Joe Ekins in a Sherman Firefly commanded by Sergeant Gordon of the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry was his killer although in recent years The Sherbrooke Fusilier Regiment have been put forth to be the actual killers of Michael Wittmann.

His first taste of active combat came in the Polish Campaign and later during the operations in France as a commander of the new self-propelled assault guns, the Sturmgeschutz III Ausf. A.

Wittmann (left) with StuG III Ausf.A in Russia, July 12, 1941.

The Greek campaign - Operation 'Marita' - was launched on April 6, 1941. Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler (LSSAH), distinguished itself for the first time in the capture of the Greek capital, and formed the spearhead alongside the 9th Panzer division, which punched through the Greek countryside. After only 3 weeks of campaigning, Nazi Germany added the Balkans to its ever growing list of possessions. 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 crew commander of the StuG III assault gun and it was using this weapon that Wittmann was to become an expert in the art of armoured warfare. He was assigned for both officer and tank training in the winter of 1942-43.

I SS Panzer Corps insignia.

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 had graduated to the Tiger and by the time of the Battle of Kursk (Operation Citadel) he was commander of his own platoon. The year 1943 would provide Wittmann and his crew (including Woll, his gunner) with many successes, and in January 1944 he was awarded the Knight's Cross for his continued excellence in the field. At 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 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 of his posting to France in the late spring of 1944 following the Allied D-Day invasion, Wittmann held the oakleaves to the Knight's Cross as well as the rank of SS-Obersturmführer.

Wittmann's Tiger Number. 205 leads Tigers of the Second Company the town of Villers-Bocage in June 1944.

Perhaps his most famous exploit during the Normandy campaign was his actions which brought about the Battle of Villers-Bocage on June 13, 1944, where he ambushed elements of the 7th Armoured Divisions, 22nd Armoured Brigade destroying 5 Cromwell tanks, 1 Sherman Firefly, 3 M5 Honeys, 1 Sherman OP tank and 1 Cromwell OP tank (OP tanks were armed with dummy wooden guns) and quite a few halftracks and other lightly armed vechiles. His assault on these tanks was brought to an end when he retreated after being fired upon by another Firefly and then had his tank knocked out by a 6 Pounder anti tank gun. He never took part in the later fighting which took place during the afternoon although the mythology which surrounds Michael has him taking part in the entire battle, halting the entire division and destroying anywhere between 20 and 30 tanks! 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.

Tiger commanded by Michael Wittmann at the time of his death ar Villers-Bocage in August of 1944.

Michael Wittmann was killed on August 8, 1944 when taking part in a counterattack to retake Hill 122, near the town of St. Aignan de Cramesnil, which had been captured a few hours previously by Anglo-Canadian forces during Operation Totalise.

Michael Wittmann’s destroyed Tiger 007 in the fields near Gaumesnil.

The group of 7 Tiger tanks from the 3rd Company and the HQ Company, s.SS-Pz. Abt. 101(along with some Panzer IV and Stug IV) were ambushed by 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

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

__________

We are always looking for contributors for this section.  If you would like to contribute a tip or article for consideration please email us at. info@legionsgames.com. We will give you full credit in the article and regular contributors will earn future product discounts for their efforts and dedication to growing our site and what we believe will become a valuable reference for everyone committed to improving their knowledge of the background behind the games they love.