The Secret German Tank that the Nazis Couldn't Control

During World War 2, the Wehrmacht sent messages over the radio singling out a few men out of the millions serving, and it was the highest honor any soldier of any rank could receive. Throughout the entire conflict, only one non-commissioned officer of the German tank arm was named in the Wehrmacht Radio communique: Kurt Knispel.

Although he was the best Panzer ace, with a reported 168 tank kills, he never received the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross despite being recommended four times.

Knispel had a knack for breaking the rules, sported long hair and a beard, and had a particular disdain for abusive SS officers, which earned him more than a few enemies within the ranks.

Even so, he is widely considered the most successful tank ace of World War 2. And yet, the affable rulebreaker is also the most forgotten Panzer ace of them all…

- As images and footage of actual events are not always available, Dark Docs sometimes utilizes similar historical images and footage for dramatic effect. I do my best to keep it as visually accurate as possible. All content on Dark Docs is researched, produced, and presented in historical context for educational purposes. We are history enthusiasts and are not always experts in some areas, so please don't hesitate to reach out to us with corrections, additional information, or new ideas. -

[OFFF]

Damn... The world needs a movie on *Knispel.* A man who performs his duty as a soldier and is honorable.

[marcoosvald]

Dude had STONES to go against the SS and live to talk about it. Until his demise that is. Awesome story. He should be remembered.

[weirdshibainu]

That generation of men on both sides were no joke.

[guythatpaysforyourhandouts]

Just the fact he made it long enough to go from a Panzer IV, Tiger and King Tiger says alot. Not many lived long enough to get even close to that.

[joelex]

Kurt Knispel had 20/10 vision and perfect depth perception. What that means is that his vision was twice as good as a normal person but if he said that a tank was 732 meters away then you knew that it was 732 meters away. He had problems with authority but he was also known to steal from other units whenever the opportunity presented itself. His effectiveness as a tank commander was the only thing that kept him out of prison.

[taylorbrain]

He was not one of the most successful tankers in history. He was THE most successful tanker in the history of armored warfare, not even just WWII.

[jebbroham]

My great uncle was a panzergrenadier in 2nd SS Panzer, and he was exactly the same in regard to the mistreatment of Soviet prisoners and Jews during his time on the Eastern Front. He was spared from disciplinary action by his superiors due to the level of heroism he showed during battles such as the Battle for Moscow, the 3rd Battle of Kharkov and and the subsequent Battle of Kursk. Upon his unit's transfer to the Western Front to face the Normandy landings he was severely wounded in France in July 1944 and then transferred back to Germany where he remained in a Munich Hospital until the end of the war. He was discharged from the hospital in May 1945, was briefly incarcerated by the Americans, and then released. I have his war diary, which I'm still mulling over what to do with. It details practically every day of the war in the East and West from his time in the division from 1941 to 1944.

[svart_kors]

What an amazing story. I'd never heard of him until now, so thank you very much for this great recounting!

[kevinstrade]

This deserves a movie!! He did his duty and kept his integrity.

[aggromando]

He deserves recognition as a highly skilled and honorable warrior. As a man at the pinnacle of his abilities. Regardless of what side he was on.

[FishingWithSails]

One of the crazier things about Knispel is he often gave a lot of credit to other tank crews for kills and many historians believe he had a actual kill count of over 300. He also had very unique eyesight, allowing him to precisely judge the distance of a target without the use of a rangefinder, which helped him make extremely accurate shots with almost any tank cannon he used. Another cool fact is while he was a tank commander, he also stayed as the gunner as well. It is shown time and time again that he was an honorable soldier who did his duty and didn't tolerate mistreatment of unarmed POWs and captives.

[Violentic]

Knispel isnt unknown in Germany, we talked a lot of his tactics in the Bundeswehr.

[haviiithelegogunner]

Knispel is not forgotten in the German military community. His version of the so called „Zielansprache“ is taught to tank crews in the Bundeswehr up to today.

[jwoody]

The man was true German, not a Nazi, simply fighting for Germany. He should be honored as simply a patriot.

[enscroggs]

Long hair, beard, an eccentric tank ace? It’s Oddball!!

[lazerbehm]

Always nice hearing this man get his credit!!! He's an Unsung hero!

[ONKI_LAMA]

Thank you for making a beautifully made and unbiased video about this legend.

[battleshipfleet]

Thank you for covering my favorite Tank Ace from WWII. Absolutely honorable man, victim of the times and yet was still an absolute Inspirational role model of a decent man and solider.

[anthonycrumb]

Kurt Knispel always reminds me of Oddball in Kelly's Heroes- I don' t suppose one was a model for the other ?.
Thanks for a long overdue video on this remarkable tanker & soldier. Sadly Kurt never survived the war so no memoirs like Otto Carius' 'Tigers in the Mud'. RIP Kurt.

[Indyjeeplover]

You have the best voice over of any YouTube channel. It’s nice that the videos are held to about ten minutes rather than blathering on and on. Extremely professional. Thx