How 1 TIGER Destroyed 29 VEHICLES in 15 MINUTES

In the space of 15 minutes, Michael Wittmann took a single Tiger tank and stopped a major British advance, destroying 10 tanks, 10 halftracks, 8 Bren carriers, 1 scout car and a six-pounder anti-tank gun in the process.

An eye-catching achievement… But was this a victory handed on a plate?

John Delaney outlines Wittmann’s audacious and decisive action at Villers Bocage against the British Desert Rats, examining its military significance.

It’s become the stuff of legend. It was a gift to Nazi propagandists, who wasted no time in championing the achievements of their “tank ace”. For the British, it was an embarrassing blow to military prestige.

Wittmann got lucky. But luck runs out eventually…

00:00 | Introduction
00:42 | Arrival into Villers-Bocage
03:08 | Wittmann's Rampage Begins
04:51 | Rampaging Through the Village
11:56 | Wittmann's Luck Runs Out
14:09 | Was Wittmann Really a Tank Ace?
16:54 | Conclusion

This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.

◈ Created by The Tank Museum

#tankmuseum #tankactions #johndelaney #michaelwittmann #tigertank

[gavinwilliams]

Thanks for the film. My Great Uncle Rennie FitzHugh was one of the casualties on the day. His body was never found and he is commamerated at the Bauxeux Cemetery. Gone but not forgotten.

[jaymacpherson]

One of the best presentations by The Tank Museum.

[Karras]

Now see here, the crews did not stop for tea. They stopped for a vital planning meeting that happened to include tea. 😁

[explorersport]

Best description of the battle I have ever seen/heard/read. Well done.

[TTTT-oceb]

A Canadian Sherman tanker in Normandy put it this way; "No matter how well you are trained, without luck you won't survive."

[arl-]

Never forgotten, Cheers to "Rex" Ingram, M3 Stuart commander who faced the Tiger with all he got, bravest soul in Villers-Bocage

[antoniocarlosrodriguesalva]

"He was lucky..."
"He benefited from the disorganization of his enemies..."
"Despite the destruction and confusion caused, it was not decisive for the outcome of the battle..."

But...All battles boil down to collections of events of this nature.
Having courage, cunning, observing an opportunity and jumping at it...
That defines war!
Wittmann was a true warrior, in the full essence of his definition!

[SynapseDriven]

Imagine being in a Stuart and finding yourself facing a Tiger, that Ingram was a badass.

[lkchild]

While Lazerpig’s videos are fun, Dan Taylor of the Kent & Sharpshooters Yeomanry museum is the man who’s done the recent research in this battle - his book is eye opening.

[ThatCasper]

I love this format of video. The historic film clips, coupled witht the actual vehicles in question, while narrating the events. really helps being everything to life. Thank you, gentlemen!

[sakarisaikku]

Exceptionally done narrative of a small fragment ofWW2 history! It's one of those truly surprising tank encounters of WW2 that indeed deserve a minute to minute telling of just what happened. Witmann's charge is really one thing that stands out from the tank battles of Normandy. Cheers to the Tank Museum to do this kind of history video! Thanks for the supporters of the Tank Museum that have given the chance to make such awesome recreation of a tiny part of the history of WW2. Hopefully you continue with this kind of historical work further!

[BBC]

Say what you want about the Tiger. It being expensive and complicated to build and it's a maintenance nightmare but there's no doubt that when it was operated by a professional crew it was an extremely effective beast.

[thorns]

Now, there is a huge difference between being lucky to find an opportunity to grab, and getting lucky and succeed when making a mistake.

I do not think Wittmann made a mistake, his actions that day were, as you say yourself, still remarkable. That propaganda runs away with it is just business as usual in war.

[ABadGamble]

Both sides showed great courage. Seems like the ace Tiger would have survived this aggressive push if only he had destroyed the second AT.

Excellent presentation from the Tank Museum, thanks guys!

[depleteduraniumcowboy]

What a harrowing story. I haven't heard about this engagement. What a great job y'all have done in telling it.

[theemporersnewclothes]

Many tanks for the informative content

[TheWilso]

I'm a recent subscriber and content of these videos including tank chats has opened a massive element of mechanised warfare I didnt know much of or understand.. also the horror and tragedy for many tank crews... example is the old footage of the battle of cologne... powerful stuff...
Thanks guys for the great videos

[randolphstead]

Otto Carius and another panzer commander went on a similar rampage in one of the three small Baltic countries and wiped out 60 Soviet tanks; big ones, the JS2 and such. It would be nice to see a similar analysis.

I have to say, this was a very informative video. Well done!

[nickthenoodle]

I seem to remember 1 British officer saying V-B was 3 battles. We lost the 1st, the 2nd was drawn, and the 3rd was won. It's the last one that counts.

[frup]

Hiya, Pat Dyas' granddaughter here. Excellent video. Just wanted to add that the Firefly that made Wittman turn around and therefore face Pat (Dyas) frontwards - not the vulnerable rear - was being operated soley by his lifelong friend and the butt of many friendly jokes, Bob Moore. His crew had fled and left him alone in the stationary tank to take the shot - a very modest man and an unsung hero! He was later Bestman at John Cloudsley Thompson's wedding

After Pat's two direct hits from the Cromwell's gun pinged off the Tiger as it's turret turned, Wittman's single return shell went clean through Pat's driver's head (a "lovely ginger headed Scott" - he told us) and Pat was blown out of the tank. As it burned he realised that no one knew there were Tigers attacking them, so he got back into the burning tank to get to the radio and report the situation to the rest. While he was outside the burning tank on the radio he was under Spandau fire and the bullets kicked up flakes of metal from his tank into his eyes. He found his way behind the wall of the Farm next to the tank (left in the picture) and hid inside a pigsty, blinded for a couple of hours while the Germans eventually withdrew, any film footage of his tank on fire was taken by the germans during the next hour or so as propaganda while he was 50ft away in the sty before they withdrew (sadly we only found the footage after he died, but my father went to the exact place with him on the 50th DDay Anniversary and was shown the foundations of the sty). After a few hours a young french girl came to the sty and (famously in the family) said "venez avec moi!" - she took him to the British Command post. He tried to report but one look at his eyes and he was ordered to medics. The first doctor to see him told him "its your lucky day, I'm an eye surgeon from Moorfields" and produced an enormous magnet - all of the shrapnel pinged straight back out of his eyes. The Surgeon told him if he hadn't been there, he would have been blind for sure - he had 20/20 vision for the rest of his life