Michael Wittmann was a German tank commander who, during the course of the Second World War, engaged and destroyed 138 enemy tanks plus countless vehicles and guns. He enlisted in the German Army in October 1934 and was discharged in 1936. He volunteered for duty with the SS and was accepted into the elite Leibstandarte, Hitler's body guard unit.

Although an infantryman, he displayed a keen interest in the workings of his unit's armored battalion and was soon posted to the assault gun section. He fought in Poland and France and then the Soviet Union. He won the Iron Cross First Class on November 21st 1941 and had established a reputation as a cool-headed soldier who could destroy enemy tanks. He was commissioned in December 1942 after completing officer training.

In 1943 he was assigned to a Tiger tank battalion and immediately displayed remarkable prowess with his new tank. He destroyed ten Russian tanks in one day in the fall of 1943. By that time he had already destroyed 66 enemy tanks. He continued successful engagements until he was transferred to the western front in the spring of 1944 as the commander of No. 2 Company of 501 SS Heavy Tank Battalion.

Wittmann and his battalion went into action on June 13th when the British 22nd Brigade (7th Armored Division) swung around the flank of the Panzer Lehr Division and headed for the village of Villers-Bocage and point 213, the key road junction outside the village. If the British could take VillersBocage they would be close to cracking the German flank anchored around Caen.

The German defenders had been stretched very thin by the invasion. The allies had landed a tremendous number of men and tanks during the first weeks of the invasion and had filled the beachhead. Now, these units were pressing the Germans on all sides.

The Germans found that moving reinforcements to the beachhead was a major problem. The ever-present allied fighter bombers shot up trains, truck convoys and columns of troops. German commanders quickly found that they could only move at night and find cover during the day or risk being attacked and destroyed by allied airpower.

Wittmann and his company faced a grueling forced march as they moved from Beauvanis to Normandy. They started with six Tiger tanks but arrived with only four left. The big tanks arrived just as the allies began their attack at Villers Bocage, and Wittmann and his men were assigned the defense of the area.

At 0530 on June 13 the point element of the 22nd Brigade (built around a squadron of the 4th County of London Yeomanry, armed with Cromwell and a Firefly tanks and a company of infantry from The Rifle Brigade mounted in armored cars and Bren gun carriers) advanced toward Villers-Bocage. They were moving along the road running southwest from Avranches to Cacn. The road climbed a steep hill just before it entered the town; and, while the point elements moved cautiously forward, the rest of the brigade was strung out along the road below.

Wittmann, sitting atop his well camouflaged Tiger tank, saw the British unit move forward and watched in fascination as the rest of the 22nd Brigade slowed and then stopped to allow their point element to reconnoiter the area. Amazingly, the majority of the point unit also slowed and bunched up along the road, as a platoon of Cromwell tanks entered the village. It was the opportunity he had been looking for and he made the most of it.

He ordered his tanks, positioned some distance to the rear, to attack and then charged into the battle himself. As he drew near the column, he opened fire and shattered the lead halftrack. The British were caught totally by surprise. The Tiger fired 88mm cannon rounds and 7.62mm machine gun bullets down the length of the column, destroying dozens of tanks, Bren gun carriers, and halftracks.

Wittmann then continued his mad charge by crossing the road and heading into the village itself. The Cromwell tanks in the village tried to get behind the Tiger but Wittmann was too smart for such a simple move. He traversed his turret to the rear and headed down a narrow side street. When a Cromwell tried to follow, it was destroyed by the Tiger's 88mm gun. Destroying several more tanks and other enemy vehicles as he moved, Wittmann drove his tank out of the village and raced back toward German lines to get more ammunition.

The action had been short, bloody, and vicious. In less than five minutes, Wittmann and his lone Tiger had destroyed 20 Cromwell tanks, 4 Sherman Firefly tanks,3 light tanks, 3 scout cars, 14 half tracks, and 14 Bren gun carners.

Despite the obvious setback, the allied advance continued. Later in the day, Wittmann's and the other three tanks in his company were damaged or destroyed. Ever wily, Wittmann made good his escape. He continued to fight against the advancing allies until he was overwhelmed by five Sherman tanks during a battle outside Chintheaux. He and his entire crew were killed when the Tiger was hit and exploded.

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