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00:00To be continued...
00:30On the morning of 13th of June, 1944, during the fierce battles in Normandy, SS-Obersturmfuhrer
00:49Wittmann and the crew of his heavy Tiger tank were standing ready for action.
00:54They were about to take part in one of the most famous tank actions in military history.
01:00Wittmann had left his company to reconnoiter the battlefield when he became aware of the
01:06presence of an entire British armoured battalion halted on the road nearby.
01:14Undaunted, Wittmann drove his single Tiger at the column, firing on the move.
01:20The Tiger gained the element of surprise and quickly destroyed 12 half-tracks, 3 light tanks
01:26and 6 medium tanks.
01:30One of the most striking examples, of course, not so much of tank warfare, but of the handling
01:36of an individual tank.
01:38Indeed, what it could do and its capability was demonstrated in 1944 by Hauptmann Wittmann
01:44in his Tiger tank.
01:47Here you've got an accomplished tank commander, which he clearly was, with perhaps an expert
01:54that eye for the tactical situation, and I think it's probably a record in maybe in tank warfare
02:00history that he was able, with one tank, to disable what was virtually a British tank column.
02:09Wittmann calmly departed the scene of carnage to report, rearm and gather reinforcements.
02:16Two hours later, he returned to battle.
02:19This time, he destroyed a further 12 medium tanks, 4 heavy tanks and 14 Bren gun carriers.
02:27All in a day's work for the most successful tank commander in history.
02:30Michael Wittmann was really, probably the most successful junior tank commander of the entire
02:37Second World War.
02:38Not only did he achieve an unprecedentedly high kill rate, 138 tanks, 132 anti-tank guns,
02:46but he was also the recipient of some of Nazi Germany's highest awards.
02:51For example, the Knights Cross with Oakleaves and Swords, which was effectively the German
02:55equivalent of the Victoria Cross.
02:57So in sheer statistical terms, he was an extremely successful commander.
03:02He was also an extremely competent leader, an inspirational leader, one might say.
03:07And this, I think, leads on to something else which is also important, which is Michael Wittmann's
03:12propaganda value to the Nazi propaganda machine.
03:15It wasn't simply a question of what he did on the battlefield.
03:18It was his influence and his inspiration to other German fighting men and to the factory
03:24workers who produced the Tiger tanks with which Wittmann achieved most of his victories that
03:30was also particularly important.
03:32So regardless of what one thinks of his political viewpoint, and of course he was a dedicated national
03:38socialist in sheer military terms at the tactical level and in terms of his psychological impact
03:44both upon Germans and indeed upon the Allies, his impact was immense.
03:49Michael Wittmann was born in the tiny village of Vogeltal in the upper Fals on the 22nd of
03:57April, 1914.
03:59He was the first son of a farmer, Johann Wittmann, and his wife Ursula.
04:09In 1934, at the age of 21, Wittmann joined the German army, signing up for a two-year tour.
04:16In the first days of the Nazi regime, compulsory military service had not yet been reintroduced,
04:28so Wittmann was a volunteer when he reported for military service in Freising with the 19th
04:33Infantry Regiment.
04:35As a small standing army, comprised exclusively of volunteers, the interwar Reichswehr was a
04:41high-quality force which expected very high standards.
04:45Wittmann met those exacting standards, and after one year in the service, he was promoted
04:49to Gefreiter on the 1st of November, 1935.
04:531936 was the halcyon period for the Nazi Party in Germany.
05:02The first flushes of economic successes for Hitler's National Socialists impressed the
05:07young Wittmann.
05:08In the closed world of the military, the fervent Nazi beliefs of many of his colleagues also
05:14made an impression.
05:17Many of his colleagues planned to join the newly formed Waffen SS, and Wittmann decided
05:22that he too would join the military wing of the Nazi Party after his own army service.
05:28On the 1st of November 1936, Wittmann applied for admission to the SS, and was accepted into
05:34what was to become one of the most notorious organizations in history.
05:41The Waffen SS, or armed SS, was essentially the regular armed forces or ideological spearhead
05:51of the National Socialist cause, composed, at least in its early stages, of racially pure,
05:57ideologically utterly committed, and extremely physically fit young men.
06:03It eventually grew to a strength by 1945 of almost a million personnel, and provided something
06:09like 40 combat divisions for the German armed forces.
06:14The Waffen SS actually stands for armed SS, so that they are specifically fighting soldiers.
06:21And they were unusual in that they were very innovative in their tactics,
06:26and also things like their dress.
06:28They were some of the first troops to use camouflage clothing.
06:33In the case of many exceptional German soldiers, such as Field Marshal Erwin Rommel,
06:39revisionists have subsequently tried to play down the enthusiasm they held for Hitler
06:43and all he stood for.
06:45This is not true of Michael Wittmann.
06:48In his case, there was to be no redeeming conversion or late change of allegiance.
06:53He was a simple man, and the seductive allure of the Nazi Party drew his unquestioning obedience.
07:00Sadly, he was never to swerve from that evil path.
07:06Wittmann was given the SS number 311623, and proved to be a model National Socialist.
07:13In his free time, he participated in sports, recruiting, and took part in the mass political demonstrations and rallies of the period.
07:22In contrast to the frantic world of mass political rallies, Wittmann's first SS military posting was less than glamorous.
07:38He was employed as a guard at the large Wehrmacht munitions dump.
07:43Wittmann was soon bored with his routine.
07:46He wanted to be near the centre of this new force in Germany, so he applied to join the SS Liebstandarte, Adolf Hitler's personal bodyguard.
07:56Already, this was the best known and most elite unit in the Third Reich.
08:01The Liebstandarte Adolf Hitler might reasonably be described as Hitler's Praetorian Guard.
08:10Formed in 1933 as a bodyguard for the Fuhrer personally, it later expanded as the military vanguard of National Socialism, if you like.
08:20And in 1943, eventually became a fully fledged panzer division of the Waffen SS, with the strength of about 20,000 men.
08:28Both as a division and earlier as a regiment, it participated on the most important fronts of the Second World War,
08:36acting as an armoured spearhead for German offensive actions,
08:40and as a fire brigade that was sent to collapsing sectors of the front in order to prop them up.
08:47So, an absolutely elite formation.
08:51Thanks to his rigorous military background, Wittmann met the very strict selection criteria and was accepted.
08:58He began training with his new unit on the 5th of April, 1937, at the main cadet school in Berlin, Leichefeld.
09:08Wittmann was assigned to the 17th Company, which was an armoured scout car platoon.
09:14As part of an elite formation, the men of the armoured scout company received an intensive training course, which transformed them into experts.
09:25These skills were later to stand him in good stead.
09:28But for the time being, the newfound expertise was not needed.
09:33Hitler was still achieving his aims by a mixture of bluff and inspired gambles.
09:40In October 1938, Wittmann took part in the entry into the Sudetenland.
09:45The reception he witnessed, as waves of excitement swept through the people, made a lasting impression on him.
09:52The storm of jubilation eclipsed even the fervent National Socialist rallies which he had attended.
09:58He was awarded his first of many medals, commemorating the reunification of Austria and the Sudetenland with the German Reich.
10:16From now on, medals and decorations would occupy a special place in Wittmann's affections.
10:26The first moves in Hitler's master plan had been achieved without bloodshed.
10:31But as tensions rose, Adolf Hitler's crooked path led only downwards into chaos.
10:38The conquest of Poland heralded the coming of the Second World War.
10:45The Liebstandarte motorised regiment fought hard in Poland from the first day of the campaign, the 1st of September 1939.
10:55On that day, the armoured scout platoon was soon in action and Wittmann had received his baptism of fire.
11:01The campaign in Poland was brief, only 30 days in duration, but nonetheless, his experiences had whetted his appetite for combat.
11:10In the following year, Wittmann and his armoured car again saw action in the rapid campaign, which saw the fall of France.
11:19Wittmann, together with several other NCOs and men, was transferred to Jutteborg, where the self-propelled assault battery was being formed.
11:38There, he and his colleagues traded in their black panzer uniforms for grey assault gun tunics.
11:48It was to be two years before he would see panzer black again.
11:53This was the start of Wittmann's association with armoured fighting vehicles, which was to lead him to fame and infamy throughout the civilised world.
12:04There was much to learn. The assault guns were armed with the short-barrelled 75mm gun, which had little in common with the feeble 20mm cannon carried by the armoured cars.
12:17But Wittmann soon showed exceptional promise with a new weapon.
12:22After training, the fledgling assault gun battery was sent to garrison duty in France.
12:29After the short burst of activity which had characterised the lightning campaign through France, the long months of barracks duty hung heavy on Wittmann, who was keen to see action again.
12:44He was not to get his wish until the 6th of April 1941, when the Balkans campaign began.
12:55The German forces advanced through Yugoslavia to Greece, where, in addition to Greek forces, their opponents included English and Commonwealth troops.
13:04Wittmann's assault gun was involved in the fierce fighting for the Kledi Pass, which fell only after heavy resistance.
13:12Next, the Liebstandarte had to fight its way through the Kleswa Pass and on to Corinth and Olympia against fierce opposition from the Greek army.
13:23The fighting in Greece ended on the 30th of April 1941.
13:28After pausing to rest in Fessalia in May, the Liebstandarte was sent through Yugoslavia to Camp Diditz near Vishal, where they awaited the next phase of the war, the invasion of Russia.
13:42The war in Russia began with Operation Barbarossa on June the 22nd 1941.
14:02But the Liebstandarte wasn't initially committed.
14:05Their war in the Soviet Union began a month later, in July 1941.
14:11It was like a second baptism of fire for Michael Wittmann, who faced an attack by 18 Russian tanks on the battery's first day of action.
14:24He had encountered nothing like this in Poland or Greece, but Wittmann was a natural fighter, and he succeeded in knocking out six enemy tanks in succession.
14:34The rest fled the field in disarray.
14:37This was Wittmann's first striking success, and the incident provided the first signs of his supreme talent as commander of an armored fighting vehicle.
14:46On the 12th of July 1941, in recognition of his great feat on his first day in action in Russia, Wittmann was decorated with the Iron Cross, second class.
15:01But there was little time for celebration as the advance continued.
15:20The short 75mm gun of the German assault gun in the early war years was an inferior weapon to the long 76mm gun of the Russian T-34 tanks.
15:30But despite this disadvantage, Wittmann proved himself a master of armored warfare.
15:37Combat in Russia placed terrific demands on the assault gun crews.
15:42Frequently, Wittmann and his crew were on their own, separated from the rest of the assault gun battery.
15:49In this hostile environment, he proved himself to be an individualist and a successful lone fighter.
15:58Nevertheless, he remained popular with his comrades.
16:02Wittmann's gunner at that time, Otto Schult, described him as a modest man.
16:07Michael was a quiet, gifted, friendly NCO, with firm goals in front of him.
16:13He knew his tank. In a sense, he also knew his opponent. Positioned himself beautifully.
16:20And every time, there was an attempt even to, if you like, outflank him or remove him or, in a sense, put the pressure on him. That failed as well.
16:32With 2,000 miles of front to fight over, the German armored forces were spread incredibly thinly.
16:39It was lucky for Wittmann that he was such a good lone warrior, as the assault guns were rarely employed en masse, as the standing orders required,
16:47so his skills were forged in the hard battles of the summer of 1941.
16:54Unit commanders were always happy to have an assault gun assigned to their sector, particularly that commanded by Michael Wittmann.
17:05The German advance along the Black Sea began in the first weeks of August 1941.
17:11Wittmann fought near Sassaljai, a Naujabug, from the 10th to the 17th of August, and on the 19th captured Kersen.
17:22In the course of the fighting for the port city of Kersen, a bizarre incident took place as the assault guns commanded by Wittmann and Beck engaged first an enemy gunboat, then a submarine.
17:35The gunboat was sunk, but the effects of the fire directed to the submarine are not recorded.
17:42Wittmann had destroyed 10 enemy tanks by this point in his career.
17:56But his luck was about to change for the worse, as a direct hit on his vehicle, which failed to penetrate the armor, nonetheless left Wittmann wounded in the face and back by shell fragments.
18:10Tank crews in battle faced a large number of different kinds of danger.
18:23Most obviously there were the dangers posed by similar beasts to themselves, enemy tanks, assault guns, tank destroyers and self-propelled guns.
18:32In addition, of course, the enemy would often have anti-tank guns, towed anti-tank guns,
18:37which by virtue of their smaller size were easier to hide.
18:40And indeed, Michael Wittmann reckoned that it was more of a coup to destroy enemy anti-tank guns than to destroy enemy tanks.
18:48In addition, tank crews faced dangers posed by enemy infantry equipped with short-range anti-tank weapons.
18:54They had to deal with problems caused by anti-tank ditches, by trenches, by minefields and so forth.
19:00And in addition, of course, there were the simple ergonomic problems of operating in battle.
19:06Tanks tended to be festooned inside with all sorts of equipment, some of it sharp.
19:10And over rough ground, tank crews could be thrown around and find that they impacted with this equipment, which wasn't terribly pleasant.
19:17But perhaps the paramount fear for most tank crews was that of fire.
19:21Because in very small, confined spaces, this meant that tank crews only had a matter of seconds, usually, to evacuate a damaged vehicle.
19:32In late August, after the capture of Kersen, Wittmann rested near Bobrinetz.
19:38In recognition of his accomplishments to date, on the 8th of September, Michael Wittmann was awarded the Iron Cross, first class.
19:47By then, he was already counted as the best gun commander in the battery and an indispensable member of the Lieb standard.
19:55The German advance continued through the eastern Ukraine. Tigranog was taken on the 17th of October.
20:03By this stage, Michael Wittmann, who had been wounded a total of three times in 1941, was now promoted to the rank of SS-Oberscharführer.
20:17The Lieb standard had been bloodied in the constant action of the previous months, and the combat strengths of his units had fallen to dangerously low levels.
20:26Despite this, the units continued to drive eastwards, and on the 17th of November 1941, the attack on Rostov on the Don began.
20:36The city was only captured after further fierce fighting.
20:40On the 21st of November, Michael Wittmann was awarded the Tank Battle Badge in silver.
20:51The Liebstandarte moved into the winter positions along the Sambek River.
20:56The assault gun battery was based in Taggenrog.
21:00From there, the assault gun carried out armored reconnaissance sorties to the east and north.
21:06Tank combat was comparatively rare at this period, as the Soviets had few tanks left in action by this stage of the war.
21:17Nonetheless, Wittmann's tally continued to rise to 25 enemy tanks and 32 anti-tank guns destroyed.
21:25But combat losses were not just on the Russian side.
21:30Those on his own side also rose steadily.
21:36In February 1942, the depleted assault gun battery was reinforced and brought up to battalion strength through new additions from Germany,
21:45and the transfer of a battery from the SS Viking Division.
21:50As a result of this expansion, Wittmann was made an SS officer candidate in early 1942.
21:57He left the battalion in June, in order to attend the candidate training course at the SS Junkerschul in Bad Tolz.
22:07Wittmann learned tactical lessons, which he combined with his practical battlefield experience.
22:13The 28-year-old Wittmann now served as platoon commander in the 2nd Company of the SS Panzer Replacement Battalion.
22:26During his time away from action, Michael Wittmann was promoted to SS Unterströmführer.
22:31On Christmas Day 1942, he received his transfer to Farlingbostel for the formation of the new heavy tank company.
22:40Wittmann once again exchanged his grey assault gun uniform for a black panzer uniform.
22:48There were rumors of a new miracle weapon which fired the anticipation of Michael Wittmann and his colleagues.
22:54Armies are full of rumors, but for once, these rumors were true.
22:59The Germans were indeed to be equipped with the mighty Tiger tanks, but there was also disappointment for Wittmann.
23:07Each Tiger company had a few of the old Panzer III's for scouting and support.
23:12As he had experience in armored cars and had trained using these machines, Wittmann was assigned to a Panzer III, not a Tiger.
23:20Wittmann was anxious for a Tiger of his own, but he had a long wait.
23:35He never missed the opportunity to state that his wish was still to command a heavy tank.
23:40Finally, in March 1943, he achieved his aim and stood for the first time in the turret of a Tiger as its commander.
23:53Wittmann could afford no time to reflect on his new status.
23:57The strategic situation on the Russian front was desperate, and the Tigers were pitched straight into action.
24:02Massive tank duels, the bitter one-to-one combats, and tank battles against anti-tank guns were the daily work of Michael Wittmann.
24:17His first great moment of triumph came in the titanic battle of Kursk.
24:21For sheer scale and intensity of combat, Kursk is almost unparalleled in recent military history.
24:30In particular, the engagement around the village of Prokhorovka on the 12th of July 1943,
24:35when something like 1,000 tanks of the SS Panzer Corps on one side,
24:40and of the 5th Guards Tank Army on the Russian side, were concentrated in an area of a few square miles.
24:47So I think that's what makes the Battle of Kursk particularly unique.
24:55On the day that the great battle began, Wittmann destroyed eight tanks.
25:00In the following tank battles, Wittmann emerged as an unmatched tank ace.
25:05He overran batteries, picked out even the most cleverly camouflaged anti-tank gun nests,
25:11and constantly outfought enemy tanks.
25:13He was cautious when he had to be, aggressive when it paid off.
25:18His keen hunter instinct, combined with a huge slice of luck, allowed him to emerge unscathed
25:24through five furious days of the biggest tank battles in history.
25:28Over and over again, enemy tanks went up like blazing torches before him.
25:33And when Michael Wittmann washed his sweaty, powder-smeared face on the evening of the fifth day of the battle,
25:41he knew that he had left behind him 30 wrecked T-34s, 28 Soviet anti-tank guns,
25:48and two batteries of artillery destroyed.
25:54Wittmann continued his success in late autumn.
25:56Near Brusilov, he ran into a Soviet tank assembly area, taking the enemy by surprise.
26:08And in that single action, blasted ten tanks from the mass of Soviet armor.
26:14Three more fell prey to his Tiger later that afternoon.
26:17Wittmann marked every tank destroyed, but he rated the anti-tank guns he destroyed twice as high.
26:25He hated these concealed nests, which he called the hiding places of death.
26:30He derived special satisfaction when he destroyed an anti-tank gun.
26:34By this stage of the war, Wittmann professed that enemy tanks had ceased to be a strain on his nerves,
26:40and only the anti-tank guns still made him uncomfortable.
26:45He described them as lurking in their lairs, and so much more difficult to spot than tanks.
26:52The keen Nazi propaganda department were keen to capitalize on Wittmann's success,
26:58and a war writer was sent to join him in his tank.
27:01He filed this report.
27:03In an attack against a large town, guarded strongly by tanks and anti-tank guns,
27:10we cleared the way rather quickly by destroying several tanks and anti-tank guns,
27:15and soon reached the town.
27:17Our targets were all to the right of our direction of travel,
27:21from our twelve to approximately three o'clock positions.
27:24Suddenly, to our left, behind a haystack,
27:27we sighted a Joseph Stalin I with its gun trained on us.
27:30Wittmann, turn left, target 100 meters, go.
27:35And that was it.
27:39This action resulted in the destruction of fifteen enemy tanks in a single day.
27:44Wittmann frequently maneuvered the Tiger based on his experience in assault guns.
27:50From a static position, he would swing the whole vehicle round,
27:54rather than waste time moving the turret.
27:56Moving the Tiger in this way was accomplished by one track turning forward and the other in reverse.
28:03This called for extreme caution with the Tiger, however,
28:07because of the great danger of shedding one of the huge tracks while turning in place.
28:11The tracks turning in opposite directions caused soil to accumulate under the idler wheels, and the tracks to snap.
28:23The Tiger tank was instrumental, I think, to Michael Wittmann's success.
28:26The Tiger tank was instrumental, I think, to Michael Wittmann's success.
28:28Unlike most tank crews, Wittmann's gunner, Bobby Voll, often fired without a target designation from his commander.
28:36For as Wittmann frequently put it, there was no time for a conversation.
28:40And Bobby Voll often acquired the target in the few split seconds which meant the difference between life and death.
28:45The Tiger tank was instrumental, I think, to Michael Wittmann's success.
28:52It was a beast of enormous lethality, but in Michael Wittmann's hands it really reached its full potential in a manner which very few other German tank commanders ever achieved.
29:03Having said that, I think it's also true to say that not only did the Tiger make Michael Wittmann, but Michael Wittmann made the Tiger.
29:13The psychological impact of the Tiger tank, which was already considerable and indeed justified,
29:20was radically increased by Michael Wittmann's excellence in command of Tiger tanks,
29:26and by the propaganda that the Germans were able to make using his success.
29:30So it's a rather symbiotic or synergistic relationship I think we're looking at.
29:39The Tiger is an awesome weapon.
29:42If you combine that with experienced tank crews, you must remember at the time the Germans had been through the fighting in Poland,
29:48some had even been in Spain, through the Balkans, France.
29:50They've got a large corps of highly motivated, very effective troops that are able to use any of the new weapons they come out with.
30:03And they would save the Tiger for the best of those troops.
30:06Now Wittmann had obviously shown himself very well during the course of the early part of the war,
30:11and so the opportunity to fight in the Tiger seems a very good match.
30:18On the 15th of January 1944, armoured groups of Liebstandarte and Das Reich divisions were ordered to drive further northwest,
30:28in the direction of Lyubar.
30:29This armoured advance was stopped principally by heavy fire from anti-tank guns and mortars.
30:36Those two days of intense fighting saw Wittmann destroy six enemy tanks,
30:4220 anti-tank guns, 60 guns, 32 trucks and countless other vehicles.
30:48On the 16th of January 1944, both Wittmann and Bobby Voll received the Knight's Cross.
30:57Voll was the first soldier holding rank as low as gunner to be awarded such a high decoration.
31:03There were now two wearers of the Knight's Cross in Wittmann's Tiger.
31:08As a member of Wittmann's crew, Voll's success surpassed that of every other gunner in the Winter Battles of 1943 and 1944.
31:18By the 13th of January, he had destroyed 80 tanks and 107 anti-tank guns.
31:27Bobby Voll played an important part in the success of Michael Wittmann.
31:31With his quick reactions and good eye, he was a master behind the mighty 88 gun.
31:37Confident of Voll's ability, Wittmann was not intimidated and would often take on superior numbers of enemy tanks.
31:44The two made a fine team and Voll knew Wittmann's ways to the letter.
31:50While a crew's driver, radio operator and loader often changed, the commander and gunner stayed together whenever possible.
31:57The commander of a Tiger was closely tied to his gunner and their actions had to be well coordinated.
32:03Making up the rest of Wittmann's crew, posing here for propaganda photographs in January 1944, were Werner Ergang, radio operator.
32:15Eugene Schmidt, driver.
32:17And Sepp Robner, loader.
32:18As the gunner, Voll was of decisive importance. The enemy's next shot could mean the end of them all, if his aim was poor.
32:28Balthazar Voll, Michael Wittmann's Tiger gunner, used a rather idiosyncratic method.
32:38He preset his sights to 800 metres, which was the kind of average length of which, or distance of which Tiger would engage a target.
32:45And he would then correct for targets that were closer or further away, using his great experience and essentially intuition in order to fire the gun either higher or lower than the point which was directed by the sight.
32:59So a very quick and efficient way of firing the gun.
33:02The rings on the barrel of Wittmann's Tiger each represent ten tanks destroyed.
33:13The Tigers were feared by the Soviets, and the heavy German tanks often drew heavy anti-tank fire in their attacks.
33:21They were used as weapons to smash gaps in enemy positions for the grenadiers to move up in support.
33:27In countless attacks, they breached anti-tank fronts and destroyed enemy artillery positions.
33:34With their high rate of fire, they could outfight any tank on the battlefield.
33:39Although few in number, the Tigers performed outstanding feats in the offensive and defensive roles.
33:46Constantly under a hail of fire from anti-tank rifles, anti-tank guns and rocket launchers, the Tigers did not get off unscathed.
33:54However, thanks to their strong frontal armor, they were difficult to knock out.
34:01Often, shells fired by enemy tanks and anti-tank guns simply bounced off their frontal armor.
34:07Nevertheless, the Tiger was not invulnerable.
34:10And losses always kept pace with the slow trickle of new machines arriving at the front from the hard-pressed German factories.
34:17The incredible achievements of Wittmann on the battlefield did not go unnoticed.
34:25He was fast becoming a national hero.
34:28On the 2nd of February 1944, he was summoned to Hitler's headquarters.
34:32Michael Wittmann received the Knight's cross with oak leaves from the hand of Adolf Hitler.
34:41In the course of his conversation with Wittmann, Hitler noticed that he was missing a front tooth as a result of his wounds.
34:48He subsequently sent him to his dentist to have the tooth replaced.
34:51Michael Wittmann's success seems to have been based on a number of very great abilities.
34:59He is notorious for being able to work out where ambushes were likely to happen.
35:06He is described as having a sixth sense by a number of members of his unit for where enemy physicians might be, especially where they might be at night.
35:16He was able to define where and when danger might appear.
35:21But Wittmann, the man, was very serious about fighting and about the war and about the success.
35:29He joined the SS because he believed wholeheartedly in Nazi doctrine, which was not uncommon at the time.
35:35But he was able to use that belief, that doctrine, and possibly became a somewhat serious man.
35:44One illustration of that was, on frequent occasions, he was brought back from the front having been successful to train other troops.
35:53And there's one occasion on an icy winter morning when he was drilling some troops and he had this habit of very sharply bringing his heels together.
36:04And on this particular occasion, in doing so, he completely skittled himself over and knocked himself down.
36:12And naturally, the troops he was training laughed at him for this.
36:15He had them doing extra duties for a month after that.
36:20So you get the impression of slightly humorless, but obviously very dedicated tank commander.
36:27Wittmann also took advantage of this brief pause from the fighting to marry his sweetheart, Hildegard Burmester.
36:34Once again, it was an unmistakably Nazi event.
36:37After the wedding ceremony, performed by the civil magistrate, Wittmann accepted a gift copy of Mein Kampf.
36:45A speech was then given by SS Sturmbann-Fuehrer Pein, who declared that the philosophy of life of the Teutons still had meaning in their lives.
36:56Wittmann's period of calm was to prove short-lived.
37:00On June the 6th, 1944, the Allies landed in Normandy.
37:07It was here that he would gain lasting fame.
37:13Conditions for German tank crews in Normandy must have been quite horrific.
37:16The superiority of the Allied Air Force at the time meant that any movement out of cover was almost always latched upon straight away.
37:25If you look at any of the photographs of the tank crews during the Normandy campaign,
37:30they're frequently looking up at the sky, keeping a very good watch out.
37:33Large amounts of armour congregating in order to make an attack, which is the only effective way of using armour,
37:40would almost certainly have been attacked very quickly by any Allied aircraft.
37:46It must have made the conditions quite horrific.
37:48On the morning of June the 13th, 1944, Wittmann was positioned near Villa Boccage, when he surprised a squadron of the County of London Yeomanry.
38:01The unsuspecting British troops had stopped for breakfast, when Wittmann's Tiger roared up.
38:06In no time, the lightning reflexes of Wittmann and Bobby Woll had claimed twelve half-tracks, three light tanks and six billion tanks.
38:16Wittmann then dashed back and gathered three other Tigers and a Panzer IV.
38:20At eight o'clock, a lookout reported to SS Obersturmfuhrer Wittmann that a large column of enemy tanks was advancing on the Karn-Villars-Boccage road.
38:33Wittmann, who was in cover with his Tiger south of the road, saw a British armoured battalion followed by an English armoured troop carrier battalion advancing for Villa Boccage.
38:43The situation called for immediate action.
38:50Wittmann was unable to get orders to his other tanks, who had moved off.
38:54Instead, he immediately drove at the English column with his single tank, firing on the move.
39:00This rapid intervention initially split the column.
39:03From 80 metres, Wittmann destroyed four Sherman Firefly tanks, positioned his Tiger next to the column and drove 10 to 30 metres beside it, firing in his direction of travel along the column.
39:18He succeeded in knocking out twelve enemy tanks in a very short time.
39:22The accompanying battalion in armoured troop carriers was almost completely wiped out.
39:29The following German tanks and infantry company took about 130 prisoners.
39:35But Wittmann drove on, in advance of his company, into the town of Villa Boccage.
39:40It's a very interesting scene to look at when you see how he positioned himself and basically knocked these things off one by one by one.
39:52In other words, it was by no means a Turkish ship, but it was extremely good tactical handling.
39:57It's an absolute masterpiece of individual tank fighting and what could be done by an extremely skilled commander with obviously an expert crew and a very good tank, by the way.
40:07Just before the Hotel de Bras d'Or, he destroyed another Sherman, and then found himself facing several enemy tanks at the exit from the town, the Jean d'Arc Square.
40:22He subsequently turned his Tiger around and drove back down the main street.
40:27As it passed the Hugh Godfroy clothing store, the Tiger was hit by a shell fired by an anti-tank gun, which wrecked one of the drive sprockets.
40:37Nevertheless, he still destroyed all the enemy vehicles in range and scattered the enemy unit.
40:45At this point, Wittmann himself takes up the story.
40:50I then decided to abandon the tank. We took all the weapons we could carry, but I didn't destroy the tank as I believed that we could regain possession of it.
41:00I made my way to the next division, about 15 kilometers away. We had to dodge enemy tanks several times. Could have taken them out, but had no close range anti-tank weapons. So with a heavy heart, we had to leave them be.
41:15I reached the division and immediately reported to it. The subsequent counter-attack destroyed the enemy and took the town. The bulk of the armored regiment and a rifle battalion were destroyed.
41:29Sepp Dietrich, his senior commander, later expressed his admiration in his report.
41:36Wittmann had made his way north on foot, approximately 15 kilometers to the headquarters of the Panzerlehr division.
41:44From there, he turned about with 15 Panzer IVs of the Panzerlehr division and once again headed for Villers-Boccage.
41:55Through his determined action, Wittmann and his Tiger tank destroyed the greater part of a powerful British offensive column.
42:03And acting solely on his own initiative and displaying the highest personal bravery, he averted a threat to the entire front of the 1st SS Panzer Corps.
42:13At that time, there were no reserves available to the Corps.
42:17With today's action, Wittmann has destroyed 138 enemy tanks and 132 anti-tank guns with his tank.
42:28Signed, Dietrich, SS-Uppergruppenführer Panzergeneral der Waffen-SS.
42:35Quite clearly the engagement at Villers-Boccage was important.
42:38It prevented one of a series of British attempts to outflank the important communications centre in the city of Caen from the west.
42:46However, to argue that Michael Wittmann or indeed any other individual could seriously have influenced the course of the campaign in the Normandy area is nonsensical.
42:56Quite clearly no individual could have made a substantial difference to a campaign that was determined at much higher levels.
43:03In response to this incredible feat, the highest tally of armour destroyed by a single tank in a single day's fighting,
43:13the Führer awarded the Knights Cross of the Iron Cross with oak leaves and swords to SS-Uppersturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann, commander of a heavy panzer company.
43:24Wittmann was the 71st soldier of the German armed forces to be so honoured.
43:29Hitler knew the value of Wittmann as a national hero and pressed him to accept a post as a tank instructor where he could pass on his hard won knowledge.
43:41Wittmann instead rejoined his battalion at the front.
43:45He felt he was needed there and his deep-rooted sense of duty would not let him accept a cushy job.
43:50Wittmann knew that the war had entered its decisive phase.
43:55In spite of the material superiority of the enemy which he had seen and experienced first-hand in Normandy, Wittmann was optimistic as he drove back to the front.
44:04He had only been able to spend a very short time with his young wife before he said goodbye and set out for Normandy.
44:14It was to be his last assignment.
44:16On August the 8th 1944, Wittmann rode into his last battle.
44:24In an otherwise unremarkable encounter, his borrowed tank, bearing the number 007, was targeted by superior British forces.
44:34A direct hit blew the turret from the tank.
44:37Wittmann and his crew died instantly.
44:39The greatest tank hunter in the history of warfare was dead.
44:46Michael Wittmann's credited with destroying 140 enemy tanks.
44:52And I'm afraid this comes under the scope of lies, analysing statistics.
44:57Whilst I wouldn't dispute that Wittmann scored a high number,
45:01it's fairly evident from events like Villa Bocage, where he is credited with destroying 25 tanks.
45:11The recent evidence seems to suggest it was much nearer half a dozen to a dozen tanks.
45:17And an awful lot of arm and personnel carriers, which have no effective defence or method of attack on the Tiger.
45:25Relating why this came about, during the Russian campaign, an awful lot of cricket scores were run up by successful tank commanders.
45:36And under this guise, it was very good for the media at home.
45:41In order to keep morale up at home, the Germans were very proficient at pushing forward their tank aces, also their aircraft aces.
45:55During the Russian campaign, though, frequently they're off against quite inferior equipment.
46:01The T-34 is seen as an excellent piece of equipment, but most of the kills would have been amongst the much thinner armed light tanks
46:12that would have had no response or no adequate protection from the Tiger and no way of destroying it.
46:19Wittmann and his crew are buried at Lacombe Military Cemetery in Normandy, near the site of his greatest victory at Villers-Bocage, a fitting resting place for a tireless warrior.
46:37.
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