At approximately 1230 hours on 8 August 1944, seven Tigers of 101 SS Heavy Tank Battalion attacked north along Route Nationale 158, writes military historian Lt. Col. Brian Reid (retd.) Little did anyone know that the coming engagement would lead to one of the Second World War’s greatest mysteries.
WHO KILLED MICHAEL WITTMANN?
A Great Mystery of the Second World War Solved?
The attack, part of the 12th SS Panzer Division counterattack intended to block an Allied offensive until reinforcements could arrive, was a disaster; the Germans lost five Tigers, including one commanded by SS-Hauptsturmfuhrer Michael Wittmann, the acting battalion commander, who was killed in action sometime between 1230 and 1252 hours.
At the time of his death, Wittmann was the top-scoring German tank ace, credited with the destruction of 143 Allied armoured vehicles. In recent years, Wittmann has become a bit of a cult figure and the subject of more than one book, as well as several websites and documentaries. Part of his posthumous notoriety had its roots in the circumstances of his death, as there was nothing to indicate who had killed him. The location of his grave remained a mystery until his remains and those of his crew we…
