He was born just before the start of World War I, on April 22, 1914, the son of a farmer. Thanks to the skilled machine of Nazi Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels, Michael Wittmann was a national hero in wartime Germany. Michael Wittmann’s 139 Kills as a Panzer Ace Though Meyer could not have known it, he had just given the orders that would send the famous Wittmann to his death. However, the force Meyer was most likely depending upon to tilt the balance in his favor were the heavy Tiger tanks of the 2nd Company, SS Heavy Tank Battalion 101, under the command of Hauptsturmführer (Captain) Michael Wittmann, a panzer ace with many tank kills to the credit of himself and his crew. With them were about 500 infantrymen from I Battalion, SS Regiment 25. There were about 20 tanks from SS Panzer Regiment 12, most of which were Panzer IV models. They had only a half hour to prepare.Īll the troops in the immediate area were under Waldmuller’s command. It was a desperate move, but if it worked the British timetable would be disrupted, allowing time for other German units to arrive and man prepared defensive positions farther to the rear. Meyer quickly issued orders for all the Hitler Youth forces in the area to counterattack north at 12:30 pm. His troops were too weak to defend, so he decided they would attack instead. If they succeeded the German defenses for this entire region might collapse. Meyer knew there was little behind him to stop this wave of destruction from advancing all the way to Falaise. Tanks, halftracks, and Bren carriers were spread before them like an enormous pride of lions, predators ready to close in for the kill. In the distance the spearheads of two British armored divisions were assembling to resume the Allied attack. There they found a barn and climbed to its top carrying their binoculars. They drove to a gently sloping rise in the terrain near the village of Gaumesnil. Soon after, Meyer met with Sturmbahnführer (Major) Hans Waldmuller, a member of his unit. Making a brave display, his urging succeeded and the men around him were restored to order. Alone, he exhorted to his men to stop running and rally to him. Taking up his carbine, the SS officer sprang from the staff car and waded into the midst of the fleeing men. The scene was one of utter chaos, something Meyer immediately set out to change. Scores of German infantrymen were moving southward, retreating in disarray. As the two men proceeded north, a dismaying sight greeted them. A British attack was underway, and Meyer commanded the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitler Youth, directly in the enemy’s path. During the late morning of August 8, 1944, the day famed tank commander Michael Wittmann would meet his end in combat, German SS-Oberführer (Colonel) Kurt “Panzer” Meyer sat in his staff car as his driver made his way toward the town of Cintheaux, France, near the front lines.
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