Wittmann's Tiger Rampage | Villers-Bocage, June 1944 

Now see here, the crews did not stop for tea. They stopped for a vital planning meeting that happened to include tea. 😁

Thanks for the film. My Great Uncle Rennie FitzHugh was one of the casualties on the day. His body was never found and he is commamerated at the Bauxeux Cemetery. Gone but not forgotten.

Never forgotten, Cheers to "Rex" Ingram, M3 Stuart commander who faced the Tiger with all he got, bravest soul in Villers-Bocage

Imagine being in a Stuart and finding yourself facing a Tiger, that Ingram was a badass.

A Canadian Sherman tanker in Normandy put it this way; "No matter how well you are trained, without luck you won't survive."

You can say he was lucky, and he was. But he was also singularity aggressive and tactically brilliant. Let's say a different officer says "I've been found out" and fights a defensive battle or attacks with a whole platoon of Tiger. The former would have allowed the British to get their act together and given away the initiative. The latter would have been more cumbersome, also giving more time for resistance to pool. Wittmann was audacious without being utterly reckless. That is how you do things like this. Military history is replete with examples. And as for luck, well, Napoleon said he'd rather his marshals be lucky than brilliant.

Say what you want about the Tiger. It being expensive and complicated to build and it's a maintenance nightmare but there's no doubt that when it was operated by a professional crew it was an extremely effective beast.

While Lazerpig’s videos are fun, Dan Taylor of the Kent & Sharpshooters Yeomanry museum is the man who’s done the recent research in this battle - his book is eye opening.

One of the best presentations by The Tank Museum.

Now, there is a huge difference between being lucky to find an opportunity to grab, and getting lucky and succeed when making a mistake. I do not think Wittmann made a mistake, his actions that day were, as you say yourself, still remarkable. That propaganda runs away with it is just business as usual in war.

Exceptionally done narrative of a small fragment ofWW2 history! It's one of those truly surprising tank encounters of WW2 that indeed deserve a minute to minute telling of just what happened. Witmann's charge is really one thing that stands out from the tank battles of Normandy. Cheers to the Tank Museum to do this kind of history video! Thanks for the supporters of the Tank Museum that have given the chance to make such awesome recreation of a tiny part of the history of WW2. Hopefully you continue with this kind of historical work further!

I seem to remember 1 British officer saying V-B was 3 battles. We lost the 1st, the 2nd was drawn, and the 3rd was won. It's the last one that counts.

Best description of the battle I have ever seen/heard/read. Well done.

Otto Carius and another panzer commander went on a similar rampage in one of the three small Baltic countries and wiped out 60 Soviet tanks; big ones, the JS2 and such. It would be nice to see a similar analysis. I have to say, this was a very informative video. Well done!

What a harrowing story. I haven't heard about this engagement. What a great job y'all have done in telling it.

Great vid. Explained the action so clearly. Thank you!

Many tanks for the informative content

Brilliant video, thank you for putting it together and sharing!

This is such a well-made video. Excellent work.

This was such a fantastic explanation if this encounter. Thank you Bovington tank museum for making the video and sharing the story. :)

What an incredibly well made video. Thank you!

There were a couple of RA OP tanks with the HQ Troop on the bend outside Villers. They all turned around and fled back into the town. There is an unpublished account of the battle that describes this event and the narrator says one of the OP tanks got 'hung-up' on a tree trunk that was lying at the side of the road. The driver managed to get his OP free just before the Tiger arrived. If you check the photos of the Panzer Lehr Pz IV that is shown being towed on the bend outside Villers you will see that this Pz IV got hung-up on the same tree trunk. It could not drive off and had to be towed off by another Pz IV. Look closely at the photo16:48 and you will see the muzzle brake of the towing Pz IV is just visble behind the Cromwell and the tree-trunk is sticking out behind the Pz IV .

Cracking episode... edge of the seat suspense... more, more , more!

I always look forward to your videos. Thank you. 🍺🍺

Excellent video my sister in laws father was in 8th irish hussars in ww2 and Korea there battle honours include villa bocage and imjin River sadly he past away before my brother met his wife so never got to meet him but my brother has had his service medals and a picture of him in uniform aged about 19 taken in 1944 before the D day framed and proudly on display

Thanks John for an excellent and balanced video. Great graphics too.

Superb video. I enjoyed your retelling of these historic events immensely. Thanks.

I really like these videos discussing battles. More please 🙏

When opportunity meets preparation, luck often follows.

Excellent concise description. Graphics made it so much easier to follow what happened. War appears full of luck and chance. If Capt. Dyas’, who I saw interviewed many years ago, gunner had been in his place, Wittman’s career might have ended that day, rather than during Totalize.

great to hear a very good timeline of the actual events with graphics to match. excellent work here,.....more like this please.

Excellent video. The graphics really bring clarity to what happened.

going alone in with only one tank into this Clusterf... full of Tanks, Inf. ect sounds like a suiciderun, he was really lucky that day. i remember i played that Mission in Comp. of Heros 3rd part, was pure fun.

The interesting thing here is that Wittmann's command originally consisted of 5 tigers. Three were sent to attack a Polish unit on another hill, but I have yet to find out what the outcome there was. In the mean time Wittmann was originally accompanied by another Tiger on the assault on Villers-Bocage. It broke down in an open field and the crew abandoned it, sore thumb and all. So both Wittmann's Tigers were lost in the assault. I also think it rather churlish that the infantry were criticised for their behaviour in the action. Being caught off guard with no armour and limited impact on the Tiger, (Only PIAT's to use) they were rather on a hiding to nothing. Further, one should note that the crew of the 6pdr were rather gallant in bringing their gun into action despite the attention it received earlier in the battle. Kudos to the resilience of the gunners and the actual gun for their action I think. Finally, Joe Ekins exacted revenge for the 8th Army on his gun in a Firefly from an apple orchard where he ambushed Wittmann's new troop as it once again took a bold advance on the British line. This time Joe and then some Canadians killed all 5 of Wittmann's tanks including Wittmann himself. This time the luck was with the British with that Firefly being positioned on the flank of Wittmann's advance.

From what I can remember, he made his own look with his daring and guts!

great video, thanks a lot.

Holy crabcakes. All in 15 min. Astounding

He might have been good as a tank commander but he was killed a few weeks later and the German army did not have many like him or the number of tanks they needed. All the tiger tanks lost that day were not replaced as Germany only built 1,200 or just over of them. Thank you for the video and clearing up some of the bs about him.

Another excellent video! Thank you!

Well-paced and Narrated with excellent photos to accompany the episode. Excellent work and valuable 'lessons learned' examples here for Jr. Commanders and NCOs and troopers serving today, who need to take note. 41C

Good video that shows what superior guns and armour could mean in the hands of skilled crews, same happened at the Eastern front. But quantity and especially air support luckily made the difference at the end.

I own a large portion of the Wittmann estate and visited his widow frequently. The letters he received from comrades who had served with him through the years are full of admiration for their former commander and many expressed their longing to serve under him again at one point. The few days of vacation Wittmann had, he took the time to always answer all the corresponce he had received during his time at the front. Asking his widow what "Michel", as he was called by his men, would have done if he had survived the war, she answer that he would have wanted nothing more, but to become a farmer...

The best end to end video by a country mile I've ever watched, all the honest nitty-gritty of bike touring..a fantastic inspirational journey for all cyclists..well done and thank you for posting.

Thanks for this well balanced account. The best book I've seen on this topic is called "Villers-Bocage Through The Lens", which does a very good job of analysing the contemporary photos and also provides an overview of the subsequent actions over the next few days. It was the first account I found that dispelled the "Wittmann as Superman" myth, whilst capturing the confusion of the action.

So lazerpig started the discussion yet again

Fortune favours the bold...

i really dislike how they downplay this man' s great archivement and pretend it was all luck in his career he destroyed 165 tanks, 200+ artillary pieces, and about 300 armoured vehicels, he recieved his knights cross with oakleaves and sword from adolf hitler personally only a 159 were ever awarded in world war 2,

Good research and scholarship! It is good to know that most of the crews and the infantry survived the attack.

Wittmanns solo yolo's are legendary... From his Stug eastern front days up to his demise

I doubt Wittmann decided to withdraw specifically because Sgt Lockwood's tank was a Firefly but rather due to the smoke and dust obscuring his vision so it was pointless continuing. Did he even know what a Firefly was, even if he was able to see Lockwood's tank clearly? The Germans had only begun encountering Fireflies for the first time the previous week, and Wittmann had been on the road march with his battalion through that period so what would his awareness of Fireflies have been? How much info was there about a new allied tank with the 17 pounder gun, before Wittmann arrived in Normandy the day before?

Excellent presentation! Informative and captivating. Good job!

you have to give to the allied tanks design that they , apparently , had a high rate of crew survivebility

Gosh, that pee break weighed heavily in history 😓

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing.

this is the most detailed breakdown of the villa Bocage Michael Whitman battle I have ever seen! (it reminds me a bit of a video of Reliant vs Enterprise in Star Trek II I watched on another channel) and being in the right place at the right time, no kidding! still...losing a Tiger is never a good thing in Germany's position.

All War has an element of Luck involved 😂😂😂

Fortune favors the bold

A bit of feedback: You guys make great, respectable, historical videos. Please don't resort to clickbait thumbnails with those silly arrows!

Tanks for the video.

3:09 Usually an "O" group is an Orders Group, not an Operational Group.

Luck is always on the cards...but he knew his job and more to the point so did his gunner. Not so lucky very shortly later...

Excellent presentation.

Great video! Informative and gripping

Some say the Cromwell's crewmember is still taking a leak.

I have the Film in which Ekins tells his story in the destruction of Wittmanns Tiger during his last fight. And though being a brilliant Tank gunner, Ekins strangely became taken away for other jobs! Sadly I didn't manage to visit Wittmann's grave in the German, La Campe Cemetery, during my one visit to Normandy, many years ago.

Very interesting and great comments. Also a good and captivating presentation. Many thanks.

Loved playing the "Company of Heroes" mission about this battle!

Excellent account, although I would appreciate some further details of the four Tigers that remained at the very beginning of the action?

Maybe Wittmann decided to stop, not because of the firefly but because ammo was low or expended, How many shells did he fire ?? ... 33? 35?

Luck favors the strong. What a warrior! It was indeed a showcase of his talent and experience, 'cause it wasnt the first time for sure.

❤ Hello & thank you for these beautiful stories I’m in Las Vegas Nevada 🇺🇸

As an Englishman born a few days after these events I am angry watching it. It was clearly a mega-shambles. Poor planning, poor training, poor equipment. At one critical point I commented to myself that "I bet they got out for a cup of tea". And they did. However, I do recognise it is easy for me to criticise: what do I know? I am not trained in these matters. I was prompted to do some online research. From Wikipedia I got a fuller picture which, although it did not diminish Wittmann's achievement, showed a more balanced perspective.

Divided forces in the face of the enemy - a classic recipe for disaster.

He was decisive and quick-thinking, like Rommel. Everyone that made it through a battle in WWII was lucky.

Amazing story telling

00:08 Owittmann Kenobi had the high ground and the Brits could do nothing about it.

Wittman's "luck" reminds me of a golfing legend who said "The more I practice, the luckier I get". It's all very well talking about "luck", but - in any walk of life we care to consider - the most courageous and most technically talented are always the most "lucky". Luck must be earned by hard work, commitment and sacrifice.. and even if it lands in one's lap out of the blue, only those who've invested in their technical skills and emotional development over many years will have the insight and experience to recognise it when it lands and make the most of it - Wittman was one such individual.

Thanks!

Good video, the visuals with the map help better understand the event (even if some things don't quite add up, they are just semantics). The conclusion and portion about the aftermath of the initial battle did feel short, I also think the impact of Wittmann's actions could have been better clarified/emphasized.

One thing I don't understand. What were the other Tigers doing this whole time? Why not use them?

Obviously he get lucky... but in war luck is part of strategy, looking at what's happened British simply got ambushed and surprised, Wittman put himself in a good situation and took advantage from that, the superiority of armor and gun made the rest... but there's still people who make comparisons between Sherman and tigers tank because of this episode... obviously they have no idea on what are they taking about.

What an amazing story. Well told!

There is no luck. Wittman has a sharp eye for tactics, a courageous spirit & a preternatural battlefield awareness IQ. It also helped that he had a cohesive & talented crew highlighted by his exceptional gunner Bobby Woll. The Germans had the best tank optics & sights made by Zeiss which gave them a decided edge, but the tankers of WW2 didn’t enjoy the digital tech that modern tankers now have. There were no laser range finders, thermal sights, a crosswind sensor or ballistic computer to aid them in target acquisition, targeting & shooting. They relied mainly on skill & experience. They had to estimate range & learn to calculate the best firing solutions manually. It’s a shame that Michael Wittman & renegade panzer ace Kurt Knispel both died in WW2, the latter of which died like 2 weeks before war’s end. We luckily got great memoirs from Colonel Hans Von Luck & panzer ace Otto Carius. I read both of them & they’re great reads. It would have been fascinating to see what Wittman & Knispel left for posterity. I don’t know if this is true or some fanciful lore but apparently the commander for Desert Storm Norman Scwarzkopf had Rommel’s book with him during his planning of the war. It’s a different time with more advanced weaponry now, but one can still get nuggets of wisdom from the generals of the past.

Never heard of this guy before. What a remarkable soldier.

"Got lucky" my a***. He had a better machine, was highly skilled and confident. Compare that with his foe. (I won't get a heart)

Even though none of the vehicles that were destroyed posed a huge threat to the Tiger, their destruction was still a major blow tactically and for morale. Those Cromwells, Stuarts and carriers were meant to carry the infantry across the tough terrain of the hedgerows. Wittmann's rampage succeeded in eliminating hostile transport and recon vehicles that would have been invaluable to the allied troops trying to press ahead. While he did indeed get lucky that he caught the vehicles and their crews at rest, the raw efficiency of he and his crew to cause as much chaos as they did in such a short span does speak to their training and tenacity in combat.

So this video is almost the same length as the whole event? That's crazy!

Essentially, he lost the duel with the Infantry carriers. He destroyed the carriers, but didn't get the troops. Those troops then immobilised his Tiger.

Also Balthazar Woll, MVP!

I mean how do you determine what a panzer ace is? first of all, it is obviously a group effort since the commander does not shoot, drive etc. Second of all, you can have more knowledge, skill and willpower than any other tank commander, if your enemy sees you first and can penetrate your armor you are a dead man. For me it is about seeing and taking opportunities, the ability to improvise and the professionalism not to let personal feelings influnce your decisions. Be careful, calculated and level headed, but take a risk if it is worth it. For me Wittmann did all that.

Who was it who said "I would rather be lucky than good."? Being both is obviously what you want, and just as the cliche says, you make your own luck.

I don't understand how is it "smart" to rush into a town with no infantry support and loose Tigers. In the picture at 14:06 you can see two Tigers destroyed. What is the second Tiger? Also there are pictures of some PZIVs in the streets of Villers Bocage, even right next to one of the destroyed Tigers. Are they from previous battles or part of the "ambush"?

Still butthurt after all these years. Priceless.

There is a major area of contention in accounts of the battle. Pat Dyas says he met WIttmann (2 kp SS 101) 'head-on' after the latter drove into Villers, was engaged by the Firefly then retreated out of Villers to come face-to-face with Dyas. Wittmann's own radio broadcast of the same day clearly states he was knocked out 'in the centre of Villers' and we even have film and photos of a single 2 kp Tiger knocked out 'in the centre of Villers'. If you believe the Dyas version then Wittmann is wrong. A lot of people (want to) believe Dyas so they speculate that Wittman was in ANOTHER undocumented and unphotographed Tiger (which they say is 231) and it was this Tiger that retreated out of Villers, met Dyas, knocked him out and then drove on to be in turn knocked out by the 6 pdr gun. All of the claims Wittmann was in 231 are based on the sole account by Dyas as in 'it is a version that would fit in with what Dyas claims.' This then raises the issue of where did the sole 2 kp Tiger seen knocked out in Villers (exactly where Wittmann says he was knocked out)come from and for this the Dyas supporters have no answer so they ignore it. A far more credible answer is that Dyas did not 'wait to get a replacement driver' but instead drove right after Wittmann as he went INTO Villers. Wittmann simply rotated his turret and knocked-out Dyas and continued into the town and was hit by The Firefly. Wittmann then turned and ran but was hit again (most likely by the Firefly) and disabled. Wittmann then abandoned his Tiger in the centre of Villers Bocage. If we discard the Dyas 'head-on' claim then everything hangs together pretty well.

The "Black Baron" saw the group travelling and fresh off the "Train" without the rest of his platoon of 4 other Tiger 1's was fully armed and Balls Out went after them! Blind sided as the British Company were, Michaels gunner and loader were like a symphony of 88mm Gun Fire! He did not stop to fire! He trained his crew to fire on the move! This is a huge beast trolling through winding streets in a town! Aces to the driver of the Barons Tank!

Wittman moment

Definitely a brown trouser moment when that Tiger appeared

The element of surprise…

Oh, it was caught on film, that is amazing for WWII Combat.

Of course he’ll try to say Wittmann’s achievements are exaggerated a bit, he’s British. It’s obvious they got caught with their pants down though. Literally. One crew gunner taking a wiz still hasent come back. And before that a tea party that cost a row of half tracks and other vehicles . Tanks come on. He knew what he was doing. And whether by accident or not. He took all those vehicles and tanks out. Opposing sides always have different stories. Oh I didn’t see this huge pile of logs behind me. Come on. Don’t put yourself in a vulnerable position to begin with. The Victors write the history books.