Michael Wittmann

Michael Wittmann (Vogelthal, 22 April 1914 – Caen, 8 August 1944) was a famous officer of the Waffen-SS, he is considered one of the most legendary and combative tank commanders of the Second World War. He achieved his tactical masterpiece immediately after the Allied landings in Normandy on 13 June 1944, when in just an hour he destroyed 21 tanks and 28 other armored vehicles of the British 7th Armored Division in the village of Villers-Bocage.

Less than a month later, on August 8, during Operation Totalize, Wittmann died along with four other members of his crew, not before achieving the most victories in history for a tank crew, with the destruction of nearly 300 enemy vehicles. for a long time the remains of the mythical commander were not found, giving rise to a legend that lasted until 1983 when the mystery was revealed with the discovery of his remains.

Wittmann is still considered a legend in Germany today and is sometimes known as the “Black Baron”, a clear reference to the Red Baron Manfred Von Richtofen.