Biography
The Campaign in Normandy, Summer 1944
After a number of gruelling tours of duty on the Eastern Front, and a series of hard-fought campaigns which had seen him become the most successful tank commander of the war, Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann finally headed westwards, saying goodbye to the desolate Steppes for the last time. He was now to face another challenge, a completely different set of conditions, and a new adversary.
A Hero's Welcome
Wittmann's return home in the Spring of 1944 was the beginning of a new chapter in what was already an illustrious career; fêted by his countrymen as a national hero, he was continually invited to partake in interviews with the press, and it was not uncommon to see photographs of the battle-hardened Panzer commander and stories of his exploits on the Ostfront emblazoned across full-page newspaper spreads. For the retiring and somewhat humble Wittmann, the sudden thrust into the limelight was sometimes all too much, as he continually stressed that he was only doing his job, and that a number of equally brave and committed soldiers had fared no differently. Nevertheless, the propaganda machine continued to be infatuated with this young Waffen-SS warrior, and Wittmann finally decided to go along with the tide, if more for the fact that it would help to raise morale.
On the days of 15 and 16 February, accompanied by his fiancée Hildegard Burmester, Wittmann visited the Bavarian town of Ingolstadt, where after having met his father he was hosted by city officials. No sooner had this engagement been completed he then moved onto his home town of Vogelthal, where he was provided by a celebratory reception by the local population. Their most famous son had finally come home.
On 1 March, Wittmann was to marry his fiancée Hilde, whom he had first met the previous year while serving as a cadet at Bad Tölz. The wedding, held in the city of Lüneberg which was close to Hilde's home town of Erbstdorf, was a quiet and dignified affair, attended by the two sets of families and a number of Wittmann's comrades from the Leibstandarte - his best man was fellow Knight's Cross holder Bobby Woll, who had served both as a reliable gunner, comrade and friend during the bitter struggle in Russia. The Burghers of the city of Lüneberg were not shy in trumpeting their pride in their new resident; Wittmann was invited to sign the Golden Book of the city, and the enthusiastic local press gave extensive coverage of the event.
Left: SS-Obersturmführer and Oakleaves winner Michael Wittmann marries Hildegard Burmester, 1 March 1944. Right: Making a speech at the Henschel works, 16 April 1944.
Following his wedding Wittmann was to carry out a number of other public engagements, the most significant of which was a visit to the Tiger factory at the Henschel works at Kassel on 16 April, where after an organised tour of the facility he presented a short speech to the workers, where he commended them on their fine workmanship and provided them with plenty of encouragement to build more of these superb machines. While all of this was going on, piles of letters were rapidly building up in Wittmann's apartment, sent by hero-worshippers from across the Reich; it got to the stage where like certain film stars and celebrities today, Wittmann could not walk down the street without being mobbed by armies of well-wishers, autograph hunters and enthusiastic youngsters.
Wittmann rejoins his comrades
At the end of April 1944, Germany's most famous Panzer commander, accompanied by his new bride, made his way to Belgium and the city of Mons via Brussels. It was here on 22 April that Wittmann was reunited with the remaining elements of his 13th Company, who were returning to the Belgian city from the Eastern Front. As the train drew into the station and the men saw their now famous commander, loud and joyous scenes ensued. This was to be a double celebration for Wittmann, as it was also his thirtieth birthday.
The following day Wittmann and his wife headed off to France and the region around the town of Gournay-en-Bray, located between Rouen and Beauvais - the plan being to organise accommodation for the company which to be assigned to the area. After making several enquiries, they finally decided on the Château Elbeuf, located some four kilometres from Gournay-en-Bray. The château was empty save for the caretaker, and the surrounding woods offered good cover for the Tigers. The Wittmanns and a team of five including Bobby Woll soon applied themselves to the task of cleaning up the rooms for their new occupants from the newly formed 2nd Company, 101st SS Panzer Battalion. Frau Wittmann quickly settled into the routine at Château Elbeuf; her time in France was to more than make up for the honeymoon which she and Michael had missed out on.
Despite the relative tranquility and the picturesque location, life was not to be a holiday for Wittmann and his new company: there was a battle to be fought, and for this a regimented training routine was set in place. Wittmann was respected by his men, to the point where he was even treated like a deity by some of the younger recruits. He was a strict taskmaster, but one who automatically garnered respect from his subordinates; despite his status as the leading commander in the German armed forces, he still retained the level of humility that had always predisposed him to be a good leader of men throughout his career. Always willing to share his experience and expertise, Wittmann never forgot his roots. The fact that he wore the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves at his throat made little difference to the way he treated his men - he was not only their leader but above all their confidant, their Kamerad.
The first thing that Michael Wittmann and his colleagues were to notice about their new surroundings was the level of vegetation and the presence of densely wooded areas, a massive difference from the wide open and seemingly endless plains of the Russian Steppes. The surroundings called for a completely different approach, and a much more intense level of vigilance. Every corner, hedgerow, wooded area or concealed road could contain a hidden sniper armed with specialist tank-killing equipment or an anti-tank gun, and each of these obstacles had to be observed and traversed with extreme caution. Tactical moves more often than not had to be made on the fly, and the Tiger crews were to soon realise that the lack of wide open spaces compromised their ability to make use of the long-range 88mm main gun which had been a significant factor in the Tiger's success in Russia. Much of the fighting was to take place in relatively enclosed battle zones, a situation where even the formidable Tiger found itself vulnerable to the very effective Allied heavy weaponry, and vehicles were ordered to drive fifty metres apart in case of air attack.
The move to the Front
The Allied landings in Normandy on 6 June 1944 were to set the scene for Obersturmführer Wittmann's return to action. Given their orders the following day, Wittmann's unit and the refitted and rejuvenated 2nd Company quickly moved to the Normandy area from their base via Paris. The route they had to take was somewhat precarious, and the panzer crews' worst fears were vindicated when the company soon found itself the victim of a number of air attacks. During the drive northwards, five men were killed, among them Unterscharführer Kurt "Quax" Kleber - the company's first casualty of the campaign.
Left: Wittmann (standing at left) discusses tactics with his colleagues following the arrival of the LSSAH Panzer detachments at the front. While Wittmann is wearing the traditional black Panzer uniform, the others are wearing the newer 'peas' camouflage pattern. At second right (with Knight's Cross) is Balthasar 'Bobby' Woll. Right: 'Bobby' Woll, who as a result of his own Tiger being out of commission was to fall back into his previous role as Wittmann's gunner for the first part of the Normandy campaign.
Of the Tigers damaged during the air attacks, one of those was that belonging to Bobby Woll, who was now an Unterscharführer with his own vehicle - or not, as it now turned out. This was something of a blessing in disguise for Wittmann, who seized the chance to grab Woll as his gunner, leaving his unfortunate new crewman behind with the maintenance unit under the command of Obersturmführer Stamm. By the night of 12-13 June, Wittmann had arrived at the front near Bayeux, in the area surrounding the nearby village of Villers-Bocage. As he took up his position south of the highway N175 at Montbrocq Hill, he had only half a dozen serviceable Tigers at his disposal. And so began the build-up to what would be one of the most famous days in the history of armoured warfare - Wittmann's assault on the town of Villers-Bocage.
The Battle of Villers-Bocage
What took place on the morning of 13 June 1944 in and around the Norman town of Villers-Bocage has since become one of the most significant feats of arms of the Second World War. On this otherwise ordinary day, Michael Wittmann took it upon himself to seize the initiative, and almost single-handedly halt the British advance with his Tiger I. It was a feat that was to elevate Michael Wittmann's stature in Germany, and much against his own quiet nature transform him into the hero that the bruised and battered Nazi leadership so desperately needed to boost flagging morale. In a matter of hours, Wittmann and his colleagues had reduced an imposing array of British armoured vehicles into a mass of smoking rubble, with Wittmann himself accounting for more than two-dozen enemy vehicles including over a dozen tanks. It was a dramatic, frenzied sequence of events that is covered in more depth here.
On his return back to base camp following his exploits in and around Villers-Bocage, Wittmann was warmly received by his divisional commander 'Sepp' Dietrich, and was to earn the heartfelt thanks of the commander of the Panzer Lehr, Generalleutnant Fritz Bayerlein, who recommended the brave SS-Obersturmführer for the Swords to his Knight's Cross and Oakleaves. The hero of Villers-Bocage was presented with the Swords award on 22 June by 'Sepp' Dietrich, and at the same time was promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer (Captain), although three days later he was to attend a second presentation, this time at Hitler's mountain retreat at Berchtesgaden.
After the Battle. Left: Wittmann discusses the day's events with regimental commander SS-Obergruppenführer und General der Waffen-SS Josef 'Sepp' Dietrich and 1st SS Panzer Corps adjutant, SS-Hauptsturmführer Hermann Weiser. Right: 25 June 1944, Wittmann receives the Swords to his Knight's Cross from Adolf Hitler.
Wittmann's star was to ascend even further, as the stories of his heroics were to capture the imagination and fire the hearts of the German nation. The modest young Tiger commander, much to his own profound embarrassment, had become the darling of the propaganda press - one can only wonder what it might have been like had he had the sort of media exposure available today. An insight into Wittmann's personality and humility was best summed up by SS-Oberscharführer Herbert Reinecker, one of the many Waffen-SS War Correspondents who were able to sit down and talk with him after the momumental events at Villers-Bocage:
Michael Wittmann was not the type of hero one usually imagined, he was almost pale and physically rather frail. He exuded something, a sort of solemnity, as if something was blowing against him, that revealed something of what had recently happened to him - of the event that still affected him no euphoria, rather deadly seriousness, the victory did not lift the burden from him - how ridiculously great must have been the stress he faced - no-one can hide that away. He emboidied something: the humility of the victor. I still remember my strong feeling towards him, he was unbelievably likeable for his modesty... I will see him in front of me until the end of my life, one of the scenes that stays in the memory - the word hero has since held a different meaning for me.
(Extract cited in Agte, Patrick: Michael Wittmann and the Tiger Commanders of the Leibstandarte, pp. 345)
Following his being awarded the Swords and his promotion to SS-Hauptsturmführer, Wittmann travelled back to his new family home in Erbstdorf; during this short spell away from the front he was offered an instructors post at the Panzer training school at Paderborn. Not wanting to be parted from his comrades at the front at this crucial stage in the conflict, Wittmann refused the offer. His opting to return to the front was greeted with relief by his unit and fellow Panzer commanders when he rejoined them back in Normandy at the beginning of July 1944. It was to prove to be a fateful decision.
Wittmann's self-effacing nature, married to a solid sense of professionalism, was to define a character that was both admired and loved by his men, and respected by his adversaries. The desk job was never going to be for him; he belonged at the front, and would not have seen it any other way. Despite his status as the Leibstandarte's premier tank commander, Wittmann never shirked from getting his hands dirty; it was said that he was probably the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with Oakleaves and Swords to wear a fitter's jacket, similar to that worn by the men in the workshop.
Wittmann becomes Battalion Commander
July and early August were to see the Germans on the defensive, with the men of the LSSAH taking much of the heat: after having participated in the battle in and around the city of Caen, SS-Hauptsturmführer Wittmann was given command of the 101st SS Panzer Battalion on 10 July, after SS-Obersturmbannführer Heinz ("Hein") von Westernhagen had sustained serious head injuries. The new battalion commander handed over the command of the 2nd Company to his good friend SS-Obersturmführer Helmut "Bubi" Wendorff, and was introduced to his new Tiger, von Westernhagen's command vehicle Nr. 007.
Left: SS-Sturmbannführer Heinz "Hein" von Westernhagen, from whom Wittmann assumed the position of battalion commander in July 1944. Note the standard Army pattern eagle on the left sleeve. Right: Wittmann with his father-in-law in Erbsdorf, during his last period of leave prior to his taking command of the battalion.
While many would have revelled in the position of battalion commander, the role did not suit Michael Wittmann at all. The emphasis on directing tactics on maps rather than implementing them on the field was alien to him; while he undertook the tasks demanded of him with his usual professionalism, he made no bones about the fact that he missed being involved in the heat of battle with his men. On 18 July, the famed British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery launched Operation "Goodwood", an attempt to force the Germans towards the interior. The thrust southwards was preceded by a furious assault by over a thousand bombers, which peppered the German positions. British losses were high and Montgomery, who had earned his fame following his defeat of Rommel's Afrika Korps at El Alamein in 1942, was forced with call an end to the attack two days later on 20 July. During this period, the nineteen year old loader SS-Sturmmann Günther Boldt, who had been part of Wittmann's heroic crew at Villers-Bocage, was killed after his Tiger was hit by enemy gunfire; he was one of many who fell as the Allies' campaign in Normandy began to gather momentum.
The late production Tiger commanded by Michael Wittmann at the time of his death in the early autumn of 1944. The turret number 007 signifies the position of Battalion Commander, assumed by Wittmann following the injury of Heinz von Westernhagen.
As July came to a close, the fighting became more intense, as the 101st Battalion were increasingly caught right in the middle. The enemy made full use of their air superiority, pounding the German positions day and night. On 2 August, Wittmann was to be deprived of the services of Bobby Woll, who was sent on medical leave following his sustaining a head injury; the writing was on the wall, but still the redoubtable Wittmann refused to be disheartened. In a letter to his family, he wrote:
"...today every SS man knows, ...that things at home are, if not worse, at least no better than they are for us at the front. We always have a chance of rest between hard days of fighting; however, the homeland must work every day without once being able to rest for several consecutive days... The company will make itself heard more and more often... to continue to do its utmost until victory is ours".
At the beginning of the second week of August, the British launched another attack, Operation "Totalize". It was here where SS-Obersturmführer Michael Wittmann, hero of the Leibstandarte and the most successful tank commander of the war, was to have his last roll of the dice.
