The Black Baron: Hitler's Secret Weapon | Greatest Tank Battles | War Stories

michael whitman is the most famous

tank

commander of the third reich he was the most decorated german

tank

ace of the war in the course of the largest tank battle in history he leads the attack that has just racked up death after death in normandy whitman stops single-handedly an allied advance a german tank was able to knock out so many british tanks in a matter of a few minutes whitman's final battle makes him a nazi legend it was almost suicidal for the germans to mount that attack even though 60 years have passed since whitman's death his legacy his mystique maintains the german military cemetery of lacombe normandy france 21,000 graves a monument to the death of the german army in normandy and the fall of adolf

hitler

's reviled third reich and yet among the rows of tombstones unadorned there is a grave of man who is always honored with fresh flowers his name michael whitman whitman is considered the best tank ace of all time he was the ace of aces many people say he was a very calm and pleasant man he was not the typical night scene that most of the tank commanders were not personally decorated by

hitler

, but most were not noted for the number of kills that whitman did.

Whitman's mentality was aggressive, motivated, disciplined, encapsulating the panzer arm of World War II in one person. whitman died here in the fields of normandy, but his legend began in the fields of bavaria born in 1914 on a farm south of nuremberg whitman was a country boy who lived a healthy life outdoors at the age of 19 whitman is drafted into the army for compulsory service like all young men in adolf hitler's germany in 1937 after completing his service, michael whitman, 23, enthusiastically volunteers for hitler's personal guard, the leipztendar ss adolf hitler, It's an elite unit, they were on parades, they were highly regimented, they would have been carefully selected personnel, they would have had certain height and fitness requirements.

At a certain glance, not only is he a volunteer, but apparently he is politically indoctrinated to want to be part of this unit. He swore by Adolf Hitler as Führer and Chancellor of German rights, loyalty and bravery. He promised you obedience until death, being the guard of honor. I'm sure he was very attractive for someone in his 20s with

black

uniforms and a smart appearance and all the elite quality about them. Michael Whitman embraces absolute loyalty to Adolf Hitler and his policy of persecution of the Jews and his program of conquest and expansion of the Third Reich, but in September 1939 Hitler invades Poland, triggering the Second World War, now for Whitman and his generation of young Nazis, the parades The fighting ends and begins due to his excellence as a driver, Whitman is given command of a reconnaissance vehicle in the early summer of 1941.

The Nazis are the masters of Europe, but for Adolf Hitler, the real prize is to the east, the vast Soviet Empire. spaces for the master race to conquer and colonize June 22, 1941 Hitler invades the Soviet Union code name Operation Barbarossa three million German soldiers led by 3,600 tanks launch into the Soviet Union against the Germans the Soviets mobilize 2.9 million men and 20,000 tanks despite their numerical superiority the Soviets are quickly overwhelmed by the speed and skill of the German panzers Michael Whitman's reconnaissance unit runs over the Soviet border with Leipztendart part of the main armored force Hitler's armored divisions were important due to the fact that they were the ones leading the advances the whole mentality of the tank force was always to keep moving whitman and the art broadcast live are now part of the the notorious waffen ss the lofan ss had some major divisions leicester was launched to be one of them that maintained its elite status throughout the war while the panzers traveled hundreds of kilometers through the Russian defenses millions of prisoners were taken the waffen ss have a reputation for committing atrocities on the eastern front more than 3 million will be shot dead or starved to death three weeks after the invasion the leibstandart is approaching the ukrainian capital kiev at the front is reconnaissance sergeant michael whitman july 12, 1941 the panzers advance over a mountainous and wooded area while near the city ​​of jitomir, 200 kilometers southwest of kyiv, the soviet counterattack dozens of soviet t-34 tanks attack live dives the t-34 has been a shock to the germans it weighs 26 tons the t-34 is heavily armored sloping sides at deflecting projectiles armed with a powerful 76.2 millimeter cannon is better than anything the Germans can deploy.

Whitman is ordered to recognize enemy forces in his sturmgeschertz3 or stoog. He tried to locate the Soviets. He saw two groups of Soviet T-34 tanks. six came from the northeast and another 12 from the east, which meant 18 T-34s against Whitman's single assault gun. He was no match. Whitman had to act quickly to even the odds. He ordered his driver to fire Stormget from the high ground. Whitman has been ordered not to attack enemy tanks as the heavier T-34s outgun his Sturm Geschurch. The three circumschutz are initially designed to be infantry support. They are not designed to attack other tanks built on the chassis of a Panzer 3.

The puppet is an assault gun without a turret, which means. The driver has to turn the entire vehicle to aim its high-velocity 75-millimeter cannon. The Stormcast has a 24-degree movable cannon, you just have to look at the enemy from the front, not from the side. If you see the enemy, you must turn despite being there. Outnumbered and outmatched by the Russian tanks Whitman disobeys his orders and attacks the T-34s this personality that was coupled with the panzer attack creed that would have been the first thing he was looking for was an opportunity to be replaced as the T-34 advanced Towards the top of the hill, Whitman's only hope was to set up an ambush, it was a direct hit, a second T-34 emerged over the hill and caught fire, a third T-34 managed to fire. storm the t-34s were not as accurate we thought at least 10 hours more russian tanks advanced there were too many bitman heading for cover used the low profile assault guns to hide them in a small forest i like the sturmkischetz because of the low silhouette and that It gave me the feeling of being safer, but in front of so many T-34s there was nowhere to hide.

Whitman's driver turned the stool to aim his gun at the Russian gunfire, it would definitely have been a problem due to the inability to track a target through a turret you would have to maneuver the vehicle and again his gunner scored a direct hit with the t -34 the only weak part is between the turret and the body to get directly to the crack another t-34 tried to aim at the sin side armor in the bitland strom geschutz had to quickly turn and fire before the russians fired, You hit the tracks if you can when the tracks explode, of course just turn in a circle, this is a quick maneuver.

Whitman began to even the odds then three more enemy tanks attacked bitman opened fire only one of the soviet tanks escaped the formidable t-34 destroyed in just a few minutes whitman and his crew stopped the soviet armored attack for their actions whitman receives the second cross iron class impressed by his exploits whitman's commanders send him back to germany to train to become an ss officer whitman's career is on the rise autumn 1942 bad tultz germany michael whitman begins his training at waffen-ss school by heinrich himmler his goal is to form a new ss military elite the future leaders of hitler's nazi empire whitman graduates as a second lieutenant in the ss and will soon be training in germany's newest tank the tiger hitler's response to t Soviet -34 is the most formidable tank in the world with 100 millimeters wide frontal armor that is virtually impregnable.

Its 88 millimeter cannon can penetrate a T-34 at more than two kilometers. In February 1943, Whitman is called back to the Russian front as part of Leipzig's new Tiger Company, but by the summer the tide of battle is turning. Germany Soviet forces advance westward creating a huge bulge jutting out from German lines near the Russian city of Kursk, desperate to regain the initiative Adolf Hitler plans a Citadel counteroffensive operation It will be a two-front attack from the north and the south to cut the bulge that leaves half a million Soviet soldiers isolated and trapped for the citadel offensive the Germans have gathered 780,000 men and 2,500 tanks to confront the Germans the Soviets feel that almost 2 million men and more than 5,000 tanks leifstrand's art will be at the front of the southern attack with them at the head will be michael whitman now in command of a platoon of five tiger tanks on the eve of the battle whitman's commander reads aloud adolf hitler's message to the crews soldiers use it today in a major offensive whose outcome can decisively affect the outcome of the war my soldiers now finally have better tanks than the enemy the German homeland looks at them with art and confidence we simply thought that we were superior to the Russian tanks at least we were brainwashed to believe what helps to do you feel superior you know what propaganda does July 5, 1943 at dawn the tiger crews wait for their attack to begin the order came over the tanks' radios the panzers advanced As we advanced we encountered a relentless firestorm the Russians had prepared the line After a defense line with entrenched T-34s, because the T-34 was inferior to the Tiger, it needed to compensate for its deficiencies, one of the ways was have pre-excavated positions for vehicles that the incoming bullet would have to penetrate.

Several feet of land to reach the vehicle. The Tiger's powerful 88 millimeter cannon is capable of piercing through Russian defenses while Russian projectiles ricochet off the Tiger's armor past line after line of Russian defense. Whitman and the Tigers pushed towards their objective, but the Russians continued to launch wave after wave of advancing tanks, all of these were new targets for Whitman's gunner. Whitman's tank continued to move, firing as it turned, crushing one T-34 after another, taking out eight tanks and twelve anti-tank guns. The first day of battle has been a success for Whitman and his elite crew.

We call it some gesture to play together, you know, so that one interacts with the other in the right way. The loader, the gunner, the commander, the driver, the radio operator, it's a very close-knit union. group July 12, 1943 the Germans set out to assault the last line of Soviet defense before Whitman's commander is wounded and Whitman must assume command of the Leicester and Arts Tiger company just as the battle, of course, is about to take place. to reach its climax without the Germans knowing. The Russians are preparing a last desperate counterattack The Germans were about to burst into the open field and the Soviets were starting to panic They were going to throw everything they had available into the mix The Russians send 500 tanks west to attack the right flank German but Waffen-ss tanks turn east.

These huge tank forces are about to collide near the small town of Prokhorovka. Second Lieutenant Whitman and his crew receive orders to high ground in the distance, what looked like a cloud of dust was suddenly rising. Hundreds of Soviet tanks appeared on top of a hill heading directly toward Whitman. We were shocked. The Soviets were not on the defensive, they were attacking just 1,600 meters from Whitman. More than a hundred Soviet tanks charge towards him over the gently undulating land. From the pass we had several hills, but it was predominantly open terrain, so the tiger tank could attack at long range with a well-aimed shot.

A tiger can knock out a T-34 at a distance of two kilometers from Russian tanks. We have to get much closer before his

weapon

s can have any effect on the tigers and road freaks. The T-34s race towards us trying to close the deadly gap. They appeared again now, just 800 meters away, the tigers opened fire. tanks in a relatively small area, something like a shooting gallery from a tiger's perspective, a commander's perspective, the t-34s were still not close enough to penetrate the tigers' armor, so they had to continue advancing directly through our bombardment, they reached 700 meters and got closer. and closer the tiger guns were spitting fire but there were too many of them they couldn't stop them all the russians crashed into the ss formation yesterday at point blank range the german tanks are vulnerable whitman's tigers go into action whitman's gunner fires on the move again and again One of the reasons Whitman was so successful as a tiger commander was hisability to fire while advancing with the vehicle, that way they could reach the target, but they fired at the target more quickly.

That technique was not normal, in fact, it was German. The regulations emphasized that tanks should not fire when moving, it's basically a waste of ammunition, but Whitman and his crew have mastered the difficult technique using it to their advantage. From Whitman's perspective, prokarovka would have been just chaos, he would have fired. at short distance. Whitman's tank takes two hits but continues to fight against the metric of being a panzer dry panzer the battle lasts for hours the Russians suffer terrible losses but manage to stop the German advance the review is considered one of the largest tank

battles

in history Due to the numbers of tanks and other armored vehicles involved in a relatively small area our Tiger company had a series of excellent successes throughout the cursed battle citadel we destroyed 151 enemy tanks despite the success of the tiger units the fierce Russian defenses stopped the offensive from hitler the germans lost the decisive tank battle on the eastern front from now on michael whitman will fight for his survival and that of nazi germany in his third winter on the eastern front the german army is in full retreat the russians have pushed them 500 kilometers from Kursk back Michael Whitman's Tiger unit in Ukraine is fighting a series of desperate rearguard actions that Tiger units would have been sent from one sector of the front to the other to try to plug the gaps they had opened the Soviet armed forces and attempted to mitigate them so that German forces could continue their retreat westward rapid Russian advance abandons Soviet supply line stretched dangerously, making supply convoys a vital necessity December 6, 1943 Whitman and his unit, now designated the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, are prepared to attack a Soviet supply convoy near the town of Brussels, but between the convoy and the Tigers are batteries of anti-Russian missiles. tank guns the soviet 76.2 millimeter divisional gun is a tank killer that can pierce the side armor of a tiger at a distance of almost 1,000 meters and destroy its tracks to kill these anti-tank batteries whitman's tactic is to play a game dangerous using himself and his tank as bait, Whitman headed to high ground, he was tempting the Russian gunners to shoot him, they took the bait, but now the gunners had revealed their positions under heavy fire, Whitman quickly retreated and Our tigers ran towards the anti-tank guns from their hiding place. points charging straight at them before the Russians could turn their guns Whitman's tactic has worked the anti-tank batteries are now a smoking mess but his tiger reveals just how dangerous Whitman's game can be we counted a total of 28 hits on the tiger some Some were smaller, of course, but there were also some large enough to easily stick your fist into with the anti-tank batteries removed.

Whitman runs to the supply road, takes cover to watch the road, and sees a convoy, although it is greatly outnumbered, Whitman decides. attacking on his own Whitman would have been trying to make the best of a bad situation, he would have been increasingly reckless due to the need to attack enemy targets like a wolf attacking its prey, he quickly knocks out the lead tank and the rear tank, leaving the convoy trapped on the road at his mercy whitman attacked the enemy with furious bursts of gunfire he placed his brand of fire on the road destroying long lines of soviet vehicles into scrap metal this caused mass confusion among the soviets the daring lone wolf attack Whitman's has worked brilliantly the Russian The convoy has been destroyed over the next few weeks.

He becomes enraged and shoots down 61 enemy tanks. His death total soon reaches 117. He paints the death toll on the barrel of his tank on January 16, 1944. Whitman receives the Knight's Cross, the second highest in Nazi Germany. military honor then, just a few weeks later, his knight's cross is enhanced with oak leaves and he is promoted to first lieutenant on February 2, 1944. Whitman is recalled to the Führer's Eastern Front headquarters to receive his new decoration of hands of Adolf Hitler himself. I think one of the reasons Whitman was decorated to the degree that he was was that he was part of the Leicester Dharta SS Adolf Hitler division and that is Hitler's name in the unit.

Whitman is now ordered to return to Germany, where his exploits have already made him famous, but the country he finds upon his return is in ruins as a result of Allied bombing. The sight of such senseless destruction of our cities is enough to make one bleed. the heart the Anglo-Americans have taught us to hate you will see this hatred transformed into energy we want one thing to put them in front of our

weapon

s we only have one slogan and that is revenge the war effort was definitely against Germany and they were looking for ways to maintain public morality visited the factory henschel where the tiger was manufactured and made a speech to the workers there, I think Whitman was used as propaganda for the Nazi party, but I don't think it was totally unintentional on his part.

I think he was just another way to contribute to the war effort. The Reich intentionally made him a celebrity during his triumphal tour of Germany Whitman marries 19-year-old Hildegard Burmester, the couple is offered a special wedding gift Adolf Hitler's mining camp I went to Pittman's wedding a case tank in Germany was so important before he could organize a honeymoon for his young bride Whitman receives a new assignment so his wife accompanies him with his tiger battalion to Castle Elberth in Normandy, France. Michael Whitman will soon have his chance to take revenge on Germany's enemies on June 6, 1944.

Allied forces land in Normandy. Hitler orders his panzer forces to advance. the allies return to sea for michael whitman and his tigers the allied beachhead is more than 200 kilometers away linton began on 6 june with 45 tiger tanks, which is a complete compliment to the 101st tank battalion SS heavy vehicles, but it took Whitman five harrowing days to bring his second company to the Normandy battlefield under relentless Allied fighter-bomber attacks that decimated his forces and a week later they were reduced to about six serviceable vehicles. . Whitman and the 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion are positioned on the left and are the most crucial. sector of the front facing the British and Canadians, the Germans would have concentrated their armored units around the British and Canadian sector because if that sector had fallen, that would have been the shortest route to Germany, so they had to hold it with their units stronger.

The allies are preparing to escape from the beachhead. His plan is to send the British 7th Armored Division towards the key town of Khan through the town of Villarres Bokage on June 13, 1944, taking shelter from Allied bombers, Whitman places his surviving Tigers under the cover of trees near Villar. bokage the british 22nd armored brigade was moving through the city the british tank column is only 200 meters from whitman's position the british don't know that whitman is there but they are about to find out then a man entered the command post and said super storm The tanks are passing I don't think they're German.

He had no idea that the enemy could suddenly appear. Whitman saw that there was an opportunity because the British armored vehicles were in a nice, orderly line approaching his position. I went out and saw English. and the american tanks passing at a distance of between 150 and 200 meters i have never been as impressed by the strength of the enemy as those tanks passing by whitman faces 138 tanks and armored vehicles, while he only has six tanks, The decision to attack was very difficult, but I knew it had to be this way and I decided to attack the enemy.

Whitman's split-second decision will become legendary. I didn't have time to gather my company. I left with a tank. I drove up to the column. I surprised the As much as I was surprised, I first took down two tanks on the right of the column and then one on the left, as they were so close to each other that there was no room to maneuver, then I turned to the left and attacked. The armored personnel carriers in the middle of the armored regiment never left the road, they were so surprised that they fled, but not with their vehicles, but rather they jumped out and I shot at the battalion's vehicles as it passed.

I drove to the rear. of the column on the same road knocking out all the tanks that were coming towards me the enemy was in total confusion I was able to eliminate tanks and armored personnel carriers then I drove directly towards the city of Villers Bokash the city has already been occupied by British armor Whitman continues his one-handed attack claiming a total of 21 allied tanks destroyed I reached approximately the center of the city where I was hit by an anti-tank gun my tank was disabled I shot that and destroyed everything around me I was able to reach it and then I abandoned the tank.

Whitman's deadly attack lasted just 15 minutes, but it devastated an entire enemy regiment by single-handedly defeating the British column, prevented the Allies from taking the area around Khan for two months, and added to the mystique of Whitman's abilities. Whitman as a panzer commander German newscasters make the most of the Allied setback at Bokkau by Villar Whitman is the most famous tank officer in the German army, but the next day the stress of battle shows on his face Whitman is celebrated for his amazing feat from the first commander of the ss panzer corps, sepp dietrich, who recommends him for another decoration in july.

Whitman is once again personally decorated by Hitler, this time adding two swords to his oak-leaf night cross. Whitman was the most decorated tank commander not only because of his experience. on the battlefield but also for the propaganda value that could be shown through it and thus Michael Whitman reaches the peak of his fame in Normandy and it is in Normandy where his destiny and his myth will be sealed on August 8, 1944, two months later villarres bokage michael whitman is now captain and acting commander of his battalion, but as whitman's career soars, hitler's army in normandy heads toward destruction now the allies launch a decisive code-named operation that totals British and Canadian armor storms along the filleted road that tears 14 kilometers through German lines towards the village of Sento.

As 300 Allied tanks approach Sinto, the 12th SS Panzer Division is ordered to Preventing his advance with the remnants of the heavily outnumbered division, Captain Michael Whitman with a small group of Tiger tanks, Division leader Colonel Kurt Mayer now orders an immediate counterattack. Whitman's objectives were ready behind the hedge. east of sintok we had to risk the attack to buy time it was almost suicidal for the germans to mount that attack but this was their system if they were attacked they would hit back immediately whitman is in reserve but he insists on leading the attack michael told me that i should be on the attack myself because the other officers can barely cope with the situation kurt mayer knows the situation is desperate i shook michael whitman's hand michael left his boyish laugh and got on his tiger and then michael whitman takes off to the attack only eight German tanks advancing against 300 allied tanks I don't think Whitman is exactly a fatalist I don't think he simply thought he was going to die maybe this is the best place to do it Whitman and his crew probably didn't think that much about their own safety personnel as well as in the general war effort.

What Whitman doesn't know is that there is hidden danger waiting for him on either side of him. The British tanks of the Northamptonshire Yeomanry rest in the woods to the right of him. The Sherbrook Rifles' Canadian tanks are hidden behind a wall to your left. We drove Michael to the right of the road and I to the left of the road about 800 meters. A few meters to Michael's right was a small forest that looked suspicious. British tanks hidden in the woods watch Whitman. There were four, certainly four tigers that fell on what would have been our side of the main road.

The Canadians from the Sherbrookes were as far away as I was. You can actually see it much closer, but they were on the other side of the main road. The Canadian tanks are hidden from Whitman's view behind a long castle wall. We snuck right next to a brick wall and got into reasonable cover. We just hit the wall enough so you can see. You could get your gun, you could move it aroundenough. I could see to the right the first German tanks came out of Synthol immediately. I remember the wireless network was activated. Can I see them.

I can see them too. This goal is approaching in front of you. us about 1200 yards away my tongue commander said we would wait until they got to about 800 yards we drove about one to a mile and now we always start to feel a little itchy the allies not only have the element of surprise they have . A new tank the Sherman Firefly The Firefly Up armed with a powerful 17-pounder cannon is capable of penetrating 130 millimeters of steel, enough for even the thickest armor of a tiger. For the first time we realized that we now had a tank that was equal to Whitman's tigers are now in the kill zone with my eyes I could see the tank closest to the road about two 200 yards away, I guess the commander of the tongue said advanced driver and we took out a cover while we took out a cover, it says aim at the I shot the rear target, we started taking heavy fire and then I got a radio message from Michael.

Oh, he looks around, looks at the second tank. I fired a shot at the second tank. The charger recharges again when ready. Three of the four tigers are now down. Whitman's tank advances only from a short distance. The Canadians now open fire on Whitman's tank. I think he walked past me. Other people in my squad were shooting. Now Whitman's tiger is hit when I get to 300 meters. Michael's tiger flames suddenly burst out of the tank. I can remember a tremendous explosion and seeing the turret fall to the ground on August 8, 1944. Michael Whitman fought his final battle.

If his last thoughts as he walked down the road were simply Valhalla. Here I come with some sort of a death wish I should have known there was no way they were going to win August 25th a few days after Whitman's death the German army in Normandy is defeated many of Hitler's soldiers remain in Normandy buried in Lacombe German Military Cemetery Grim tombstones recall the unexpected end of the Nazi empire, yet Michael Whitman is still famous. I think there is a myth about michael whitman's combat experiences. People see him as if he were a Nazi, but that's not the reason they admire his combat skills.

I think if you're on the receiving end. You will have a different perspective on that. He accepted Hitler's doctrines enough to get on his tank and invade other people's countries, country after country, to kill men, women and children. He might have been a hero to the Germans, but not to me. Even though 60 years have passed since Whitman's death, his legacy, his mystique, remains to this day, I swear to you, Adolf Führer and Chancellor of the German raid, obedience until death.