Today marks the sixty-fourth anniversary of the death of German panzer-ace Michael Wittman in combat against Allied forces in France. Wittman and his crew claimed an amazing total of 138 enemy tanks destroyed and is considered by many to be one of the finest tank officers to have lived.
Hauptsturmfuhrer Wittman was a member of the Waffen-SS, the military arm of the Nazi Schutztaffel. Unlike the totenkopf (death's head) units, the Waffen-SS was generally uninvolved in Nazi atrocities (with a few notable exceptions). I make no excuses for the crimes of the Nazis and the SS here, but note only that brave, good men die on every side in every war; some, or perhaps all, deceived by evil men in fighting for an evil cause.
I like to think of Captain Wittman as such a man. While the Waffen-SS was declared a criminal organization at the Nuremberg trials, it's nonsense to believe that the rank and file volunteered for anything other than to defend their homeland. I'll reserve my hatred for Hitler and his cronies and put in a word to revive the reputation of a man who earned his place and meat in Valhalla.
Captain Wittman's death is a matter of controversy to this day with multiple conflicting stories. He's buried alongside his crew in the German military cemetary at Le Cambe, France.
I promise, next time I'll write about someone who fought on our side.
2 comments:
Whittman "single handedly" (with his tank crew) stoped a column of British tanks that had just gone through Villers Bocage on the 13th June. He saw them coming and wiated behind a hedge tioll they giot to his position. He hen fired on the lead tank and drove down the column firing on tan,ks and trucks. Villers bocage was retaken by the Germans and not liberated again til AUg 4th.
He had the unenviable honour of being the first Tiger tank to be knocked out by Shermans. Ity was on the advance south from Cen towards Falaise on the 8th aug. 5 c anadian shermans surrounded his tank and destroyed it.
His body wasn't discovered till 1998.
d day audio guide
My understanding is that German War Graves authorities located their unmarked grave in the 80's at some point and they were moved to the current site.
He was a hell of a tank commander, I appreciate the extra information!
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