The Villers-Bocade Battles

[PanzerBob]

Thank you kindly LAH

here is Villers after the Allies bombed it out, a "bit" it looks like, don't ya think? LOL



Cheers, anyone else here with some pics on these battles, or info related to it? You can almost make out some of the destroyed tanks right near the upper middle center of the town still to.

Tom

Looks like someone forgot to put up the yellow tape preserveing the site for Zone CSI. This is one aspect I was not aware of!!!

Bob out

[TRDG]

COOL, I "caught" a Zoner here with something new, and PanzerBob of all people!!!

OK, I think I will start out with the first battle and post what I know of the the Wittmann Tiger ride, then anyone can chime in and correct me or add their own info compared to what I have posted.

Cheers, I start this up fairly soon I think!!

Tom

[Hagen]

"Submission for the awarding of the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knights Cross

Generalkommando I.SS-Panzerkorps

SS-Obersturmführer Wittmann recieved orders on June 12th to secure the left flank of the Korps near Villers-Bocage. It was to be expected that the English tank forces that had broken through would advance to the south and southeast.

Wittmann arrived at the exact time as ordered with six PanzerVI's.

During the night of June 12 to 13 1944, extremely heavy artillery fire forced Wittmanns company to change positions three times. In the early morning hours the company stood at Point 213 north of Villers-Bocage with five Panzer VI's ready for action.

At 8 A.M. a sentry reported to SS-Obersturmführer Wittmann that a strong column of enemy tanks was marching on the road Caen, Villers-Bocage.

Wittmann, sitting in cover 200 meters south of the road with his Tiger, recognized an English tank unit followed by an English armored personnel carrier battalion.

The situation required the fastest possible action. Wittmann did not have time to issue orders to his men in the distant positions. Instead, he pushed immediately, firing on the move, with his Panzer into the English column. This quick action initially broke up the enemy column. Wittmann destroyed four Sherman tanks from eighty meters, then moved his Tiger into and parallel to the column, and drove along the column at ten to thirty meters, firing in the direction of the march. He was able, in a very short time period, to knock out fifteen heavy enemy tanks. Another six tanks were hit, and their crews forced to bail out. The accompanying battalion in armored cars was almost completely destroyed.

The other four Panzers of the Wittmann company, following behind, took some 230 prisoners. Wittmann pushed ahead, while well in front of his company, into the town of Villers-Bocage. In the center of town his Panzer was immobilized by heavy enemy Pak. Despite this, he destroyed all vehicles within reach and routed the enemy unit. Thereafter, Wittmann and his crew bailed out and made their way on foot some fifteen kilometers to the north to the Panzer-Lehr Division. There he reported to the Ia, turned around with fifteen Panzer IV's of the Panzer-Lehr Division, and pushed again towards Villers-Bocage. he was able to reach the 1 Company, deployed along the main road to Villers-Bocage, in his schwimmwagen, which had since been brought forward again, Based on his knowledge of the battle and situation, he used the company to attack the enemy who was still in the town with tanks and Pak's.

By his determined actions with his Panzer, Wittmann single-handedly destroyed the enemy, the English 22 Armored Brigade, which was already well to the rear of our own front. His immediate decision, carried out with great personal valor, averted a critical danger to the whole of the front of the I. SS-Panzerkorps. At that time, the Korps did not have any other reserves available.

With the count of today, Wittmann has achieved a total number of victories over 138 enemy tanks and 132 enemy Pak's with his Panzer."

This is how Sepp Dietrich wrote up Wittmanns action at Villers-Bocage for the awarding of the Swords to the Oak Leaves.

My source for this is from the book "Armor Battles of the Waffen-SS" by Will Fey. Will Fey was himself a Tiger commander in Heavy Panzer Battalion 101 and a winner of the Knights Cross.

[redcoat]

"Submission for the awarding of the Oak Leaves with Swords to the Knights Cross

.He was able, in a very short time period, to knock out fifteen heavy enemy tanks. Another six tanks were hit, and their crews forced to bail out. The accompanying battalion in armored cars was almost completely destroyed.

.

The maximum number of tanks Wittmann could have destroyed was 10, 3 Stuarts, 5 Cromwells, 1 Sherman OP, 1 Cromwell OP ( both OP tanks had no main gun)

[LAH 1 SS]

Redcoat just curious what resource are you quoting from thanks mate (personal reasons). Hagen you are correct when quoting Feys report but Agte further states that 4 shermans were destroyed before the fifteen heavy armoured tank's. There is much conjecture in regards to the actual number of vehicles destroyed by Wittmann (due to the varying resources and lack of witnesses alive). The tank ace himself will be the only one who knows for certain how many were disabled in VB

[PanzerBob]

Another thing rings true in General Dietrich's submission and that is the time honoured tradition of trumping up reasons to get someone an award or promoted. I doubt very much at the time this was written there was any thought on how it would effect the historical record years later.

Those who have served have seen this many times and may have written a few themselves.

Bob out

[TRDG]

Thanks guys for picking this up, my readings have something a bit different and I'll post it Monday maybe depending on my game time on my day off.

Cheers, and please remember that we can debate the numbers stuff, but lets do this in the spirit of The Zone, as I'm sure we do anyways. Just in case we get some newer members here starting a "ruckus" that we don't need, to fully investigate this very interesting battle to get all of the "different facts" that we can. Thanks!!

Tom

[redcoat]

Redcoat just curious what resource are you quoting from thanks mate (personal reasons).

Here's a couple to be going on with,
Battle of Villers-Bocage - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

panzerace.net | villers bocage

The tank ace himself will be the only one who knows for certain how many were disabled in VB

Seeing the British retained possession of the battlefield after the morning attack, the British would have a far better idea than Wittmann himself would

[LAH 1 SS]

Thanks for that redcoat have seen and used those two references before.

That's a fair assumption but surely a tank comander (especially one as good as Witmann) would know or have some idea of what he has destroyed during the battle, as the route he took through VB would have been easily retraced by Wittmann especially if it was just after the battle. VB was in german hands through the battle on the dates of 13, 14, 15 and possibly 16 june 44 (the 15th and 16 saw the british carpet bomb VB) before the british recaptured VB (stated by Agte in his book) as there is photographic evidence to prove this (previous photos posted most of which can be seen in the Bundesarchive), so im thinking that it would have been recorded by the germans as well as the british. As to the accuracy of these figures on both sides that is still an open question

[LAH 1 SS]

This was taken from the wikipedia article

"German propaganda was offered an opportunity to exploit the battle, as the British had lost contact with the forces on Point 213 and had withdrawn from Villers-Bocage they could not establish what losses they had inflicted or what had happened on the ridgeline".

Granted this is only one veiw but it is further supporting evidence of the lack of British knowledge in regards to the actaul numbers lost at VB cant be confirmed and also proves the germans were in VB directly after the battle.