Thursday 1 June 2017

Michael Wittmann | Timeline

Michael Wittmann (22 April 1914 – 8 August 1944) was a German Waffen-SS tank commander during the Second World War. He rose to the rank of SS-Hauptsturmführer (captain) and was a holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves. For decades, Wittmann was regarded as the greatest panzer ace with 138 enemy tanks destroyed, however the latest well-documented researches by historians, put him in 5th place, behind Kurt Knispel (168), Martin Schroif (161), Otto Carius (150) and Johannes Bolter (144). Even so, Wittmann was so respected as a leader that his battalion would never be the same feared force after his death.

April 22, 1914 - Vogelthal - Michael Wittmann is born
April 1(?), 1930 - Höhenberg, Neumarkt - Michael completes his 10 years of scholastic training
December 10, 1932 - Höhenberg, Neumarkt - Michael's father moves to Ingolstadt
August 1(?), 1933 - Ingolstadt - Michael moves together with his father and brother
February 1, 1934 - Benediktbeuren - Michael joins the Volunteer Labour force
August 1, 1934 - Benediktbeuren - Michael leaves the Volunteer Labour Force
August 2, 1934 - Weidenhüll, Velburg - Michael moves to Weidenhüll
October 30, 1934 - Freising, Munich - Wittmann starts serving in the 19th Infantry Regiment, 10th Company, of the german army
Wittmann in the army, 1935
November 1, 1934 - Weidenhüll, Velburg - Wittmann is promoted to Gefreiter
September 30, 1936 - Freising, Munich - End of his service in the 19th Infantry Regiment, 10th company
October 1, 1936 - Ingolstadt - Michael moves to Ingolstadt to find a job
October 17, 1936 - Reichertshofen - Michael finds a job as a railway construction worker
November 1, 1936 - Ingolstadt - Wittmann joins the Allgemeine-SS =(START)
April 3, 1937 - Ingolstadt - Wittmann leaves Ingolstadt for Berlin
April 5, 1937 - Berlin-Lichterfelde - Wittmann joins the 17th Company of the Leibstandarte
September 9, 1937 - Munich - Men of the 17th Company provide security for Mussolini's visit
November 7, 1937 - Munich - Wittmann and his comrades go to Munich to be sworn in
November 9, 1937 - Munich - Torchling swearing-in ceremony in front of the Feldherrnhalle. Wittmann is promoted to SS-staffel-sturmmann
December 17, 1937 - Berlin - After escorting the "Duce", Wittmann and comrades prepare themselves for Christmas and rest
March 12, 1938 - Germany-Austria border - Anschluss - Assimilation of Austria
April 1(?), 1938 - Berlin - Wittmann returns to Berlin
October 1(?), 1938 - Sudetenland - Leibstandarte is part of the XVI Armeekorps
April 20, 1939 - Berlin - Wittmann is promoted to SS-Unterscharführer
May 1(?), 1939 - Gross-Born (today POL) SW Szczecinek - Wittmann takes part in joint exercises at Gross-Born
August 20(?), 1939 - Namslau (E of Wroclaw) - In Namslau in preparation for the Invasion of Poland
September 1, 1939 - Gola (POL) - LSSAH - Polish Campaign. Leibstandarte reaches Gola, via Namslau
September 7, 1939 - Pabianice (POL) - SW Lódz(?) - Wittmann is given the job of taking of returning a damaged armoured car to Berlin
September 12(?), 1939 - Berlin-Lichterfelde - Wittmann arrives to Berlin-Lichterfelde
October 1, 1939 - Berlin-Lichterfelde - Transfered to the 5th.Panzerspähkompanie
April 25, 1940 - Juterbog (S of Potsdam) - transfer - SS-Sturmgeschutz Ausf A
May 10, 1940 - Zutphen (HOL), SE of Apeldoorn - Wittmann covers 75km in the first day of "Falb Geib"
May 14, 1940 - Delft - The Regiment reaches Delft
May 15, 1940 - Rotterdam - Wittmann enters Rotterdam, destroyed by the bombardment of May 14th
May 25, 1940 - Watten, Nord (FRA) - Watten is taken
June 19, 1940 - St.Pourçain (between Lyon and Chateauroux) - Reconnaissance of the road from Moulins to Gannat
July 16, 1940 - Paris-Clarmant - The Leibstandarte joins its sister-unit in France
July(?) 22(?), 1940 - Metz - Leibstandarte moves to Metz
December 26, 1940 - Metz - Hitler gives a speech to Leibstandarte-SS Division
February 1(?), 1941 - Romania - Transfer to Romania
March 1(?), 1941 - Bulgaria - Transfer to Bulgaria
April 4, 1941 - S of Medzidli-Kenali (Kremenica)(FYR)
April 8, 1941 - W of Kustendil | Ogosovska - Cross boundarie
April 10, 1941 - Vevi (GRE) - Village taken
April 14, 1941 - S of Lehovon Pass (GRE) - Sturmgeschutz III Ausf A - until middle 1941 
April 20, 1941 - Metsovon Pass, Pindus Mountains - The greek army surrenders to Dietrich
April 26, 1941 - Gulf of Patras - Gulf of Patras reached
May(?) 5(?), 1941 - Slawonski Brod, Croatia - The Leibstandarte is warmly welcomed by Slawonski Brod's ethnic german population
May 15(?), 1941 - Brünn-Wischau (Brno-Vyskov) area - Leibstandarte arrives in Bohemia-Moravia for reorganization and expansion
June 11, 1941 - Brünn-Wischau (Brno-Vyskov) area - Transfer to the East
June 30, 1941 - Uscilug (Ustyluh - UKR) - Crossing the Soviet border
July 12, 1941 - Vinnytsia - Wittmann is awarded the Iron Cross Second Class for knocking out 6 tanks in the previous days
July 15, 1941 - Uman - Battle of Uman
August 10, 1941 - Sasselje (E Nikolaev) | Nowyj Bug - Leibstandarte fights in this area until August 17th
August 19, 1941 - Kherson - Leibstandarte takes Kherson. Wittmann's total at 10 tanks destroyed + 1 gunboat
August 20, 1941 - Kherson - Wittmann is wounded in the face and back by shell fragments and receives the Wound Badge in Black
September 8, 1941 - Wittmann is awarded the Iron Cross First Class
September 27, 1941 - Perekop - Village taken
October 8, 1941 - Melitopol (near Sea of Azov) - Melitopol is taken. Wittmann is wounded in a thigh by shell fragments
October 17, 1941 - Taganrog - Taganrog is taken
November 9, 1941 - Wittmann is promoted to SS-Oberscharführer
November 17, 1941 - Rostov-on-Don - The Assault on Rostov-on-Don begins
November 21, 1941 - Rostov-on-Don - City Taken (for 7 days) - Wittmann is awarded the Tank Battle Badge
November 25(?), 1941 - Taganrog - Wittmann takes winter positions at Taganrog
June 4, 1942 - Bad Tölz (S of Munich) - Wittmann starts attending the Officer Candidate Course at the Junkerschule
August 1(?), 1942 - Bad Tölz (S of Munich) - Wittmann receives the Royal Bulgarian Soldiers Cross of the order of bravery, 2nd class, and a eastern front medal
September 5, 1942 - Weimar - Wittmann leaves Bad Tölz as panzer instructor and joins the SS Panzer Replacement Battalion
December 21, 1942 - Weimar - Wittmann is promoted to SS-Untersturmführer
December 24, 1942 - Fallingbostel - Joins 13th Kompanie da SS LSSAH - Pz III Ausf L/M
February 2, 1943 - Fallingbostel - The Tiger Company moves to Fallingbostel rail station. All tanks painted white, destined to the East
February 3, 1943 - Berlin - The Tiger Company passes through Berlin by railway
February 4, 1943 - Reich Border - The Tiger Company crosses the border of the Reich by railway
February 5, 1943 - Kaunas, Vilnius (Lithuania) - The Tiger Company reaches Kaunas and Vilnius by railway
February 6, 1943 - Minsk, Gomel - The Tiger Company reaches Gomel, via Minsk, by railway
February 7, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - The Tiger Company arrives in Kharkov. The cold is such that their coffees freeze in their hands
February 9, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - The Tiger tanks are finished being unloaded
February 10, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - Under heavy snow and bitter cold, the Leibstandarte is ordered to fall back
February 12, 1943 - Poltava - Wittmann withraws to Poltava with the last tanks of the train convoy
March 5, 1943 - 30km N of Krasnograd - The tiger company moves from Poltava to 30km North of Krasnograd
March 31, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - Wittmann answers technical questions about the Tiger during a visit to the Leibstandarte by Guderian 
April 1, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - Switch to Tiger I
April 20, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - Obersturmführer Schütz oversees training and provides most of the company instruction
April 29, 1943 - N of Kharkov - The Tiger Company moves north
May 5, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - The Tiger Company returns to Kharkov
May 30(?), 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - The Tiger Company is renamed 13th (Heavy) Company. The tanks receive a multi-color camouflage
June 18, 1943 - Kharkov, Ukraine - The Company holds another exercise
June 30, 1943 - N of Kharkov - The Company heads north
July 5, 1943 - S of Tomarovka to Bykovka road - Operation Citadel - Southern Sector - Wittmann destroys 8 T-34 + 7 AT (Anti-tank) guns
July 6, 1943 - Lutski - Advance NW towards bend of Psyol River
July 8, 1943 - Lutski - 2 T-34 + 2 SU-122 + 3 T-70 destroyed
July 9, 1943 - Teterevino - Day of rest and repairwork on the broken-down panzers
July 11, 1943 - W of Prokhorovka - Assault on Prokhorovka - with Schütz and Kling out of action, Wittmann takes command of the company
July 12, 1943 - Prokhorovka - 8 Tanks + 3 AT guns + 1 Gun battery destroyed
July 17, 1943 - W of Belgorod - End of operation (30 tanks + 28 AT guns + 2 artillery batteries destroyed). The Company moves west
July 18, 1943 - Belgorod - Hoth takes the Company off the front - 60km made to Belgorod
July 19, 1943 - Belgorod | N of Stalino - The Tigers are loaded in trains and transported to an area north of Stalino
July 21, 1943 - Slavyansk - The Company arrives in Slavyansk
July 23, 1943 - In an open field, Wittmann assembles the men and hands out decorations
July 25, 1943 - Artemovsk - The Division reaches Artemovsk. Orders to prepare for rail transport - destiny unknown
July 29, 1943 - Golovka - After leaving the tanks with the "Totenkopf" Division, the men are taken to Golovka by truck, and then board a train
July 30, 1943 - Nuremberg-Munich Area - As the pfeil-train reaches the Nuremberg-Munich area, the men think their destination is Innsbruck
August 1, 1943 - Innsbruck, Austria - The fastest german train takes the Company men to Innsbruck in a trip without stops
August 6, 1943 - Innsbruck, Austria - The Company departs to Italy, via Brenner Pass
August 8, 1943 - Reggio Emilia, Northern Italy - The Company arrives to the Po River Plain
August 10, 1943 - Reggio Emilia - New Tiger Tanks begin arriving to Reggio Emilia railway station, until August 13th
August 14, 1943 - Reggio Emilia - The Company is divided and rebaptized as the 101st SS Battalion
September 8, 1943 - Reggio Emilia - Orders to go to high state of readiness, as Italy surrenders to the Allies
September 23, 1943 - Correggio, NE of Reggio Emilia - The Battalion is transfered to Correggio
October 10, 1943 - Pontecurone, SW of Voghera - The Battalion is transfered to Pontecurone
October 27, 1943 - Voghera Train Station - Leibstandarte Division departs to Russia through railway
October 28, 1943 - Treviso - Leibstandarte Division reaches Treviso
October 30, 1943 - Vienna - Leibstandarte Division reaches Vienna
November 1, 1943 - Lvov - Leibstandarte Division reaches Lvov
November 2, 1943 - Ternopol - Leibstandarte Division reaches Ternopol
November 5, 1943 - Krivoy Rog - Leibstandarte Division arrives to Krivoy Rog
November 15, 1943 - Zhitomir-Kiev Road - The Battalion is placed under command of  2nd-SS PanzerGrenadier Regiment
November 19, 1943 - S of Mosorovka - The Battalion assembles South of the village
November 20, 1943 - Brusilov - Assault on Brusilov
November 24, 1943 - K.Starizkaja - The Battalion advances to K. Starizkaja
November 26, 1943 - K.Starizkaja - Advancing to Northwest
December 5, 1943 - Kamenka-Fedorowka - N of Zhitomir - Jochen Peiper takes command of the Panzer Regiment
December 6, 1943 - Andreyev (Zhitomir-Korosten highway) - Peiper takes Andreyev, blocking the Zhitomir-Korosten Highway - Wittmann destroys 3 T-34 + 1 AT gun
December 9, 1943 - Meshiritschka, NE of Radomyshl - Meshiritschka taken - Wittmann is surprised by 20 soviet tanks but is able to destroy 6 of them
December 11, 1943 - Veprin-Vyrva Area, NE of Radomyshl - due south of the rail line to Kiev
January 5, 1944 - Bol.Korowinzy - After 3 days of maintenance and shortage of fuel, the Battalion moves to attack Bol. Korowinzy
January 8, 1944 - Sherepki - Wittmann and Peiper hold a soviet attack to the german line of defence - Wittmann destroys 4 T-34s (60 total)
January 9, 1944 - Petrikovsky | Smela | Bespetschna - The Battalion withraws further South - Wittmann destroys another 6 tanks (66 total)
January 12, 1944 - Ulanov - Wittmann destroys another 3 tanks, damages 2 (69 total)
January 13, 1944 - Chesnovka - Wittmann destroys 16 T-34 and 3 Assault guns!!!! (88 total)
January 14, 1944 - Chesnovka - Wittmann is awarded the Knight's Cross. Destroys several tanks in the same day
Knight's Cross day for gunner "Bobby" Woll
A close knit-team - From left to right - Werner
Irrgang, Balthasar Woll, Michael Wittmann,
Sepp Rößner and Eugen Schmidt
January 16, 1944 - Krasnopol - Wittmann's gunner, Balthasar Woll, is awarded the Knight's Cross
January 19, 1944 - Khmelnik - The Battalion is moved to Khmelnik Area
January 25, 1944 - W of Kalinovka-Uman Railway line - Leibstandarte joins the fight - Wittmann destroys several tanks
January 29, 1944 - Lipovets Station - On the 28th and 29th, Wittmann destroys several tanks for a total of 117!!!
January 30, 1944 - Lipovets Station - Wittmann is awarded the Knight's Cross with Oak Leaves and promoted to SS-Obersturmführer
January 31, 1944 - S of Mosorovka - 1,000 soviet soldiers surrender in the forests south of Mosorovka
February 1, 1944 - Monastyrishche (NW of Uman') - The Tanks start being loaded on tranport trains
February 2, 1944 - Rastenburg (Wolfschanze) - Wittmann receives the Oak Leaves from Hitler. The Führer notices that he is missing a front tooth and sends him to the dentist
February 6(?), 1944 - Ebstorf, near Lüneburg - After the ceremony, Wittmann drives to Ebstorf, the home of his future wife, Hildegard Burmester
February 15, 1944 - Ingolstadt - Reception in the City of Ingolstadt. Meets his father
February 19, 1944 - Vogelthal - Wittmann returns to his birthplace where he is receives a warm welcome from the residents
February 20(?), 1944 - Berlin - Wittmann drives to Berlin for a few days
March 1, 1944 - Lüneburg - Michael Wittmann marries Hildegard Burmester
March 2, 1944 - Proskurov - Part of the Leibstandarte begins moving to Mons, Belgium, by railway (Wittmann is in Germany)
April 1, 1944 - Brussels - Dietrich and Michael Wittmann witness a SS-Sturmbrigade "Wallonie" unit parade
April 8, 1944 - Fallingbostel - Wittmann visits the 2nd SS Panzerjunker Special training Course
April 16, 1944 - Kassel - Wittmann speaks to the staff at Henschel Works, where the Tiger was built.He passed on to the workers the thanks and appreciation felt by the frontline soldiers for their outstanding work
April 21, 1944 - Brussels - Wittmann and wife drive to the Battalion in Belgium
April 22, 1944 - Mons Train Station (BEL) - At Mons train Station, Wittmann surprises his comrades coming from Ukraine with hot food
April 23, 1944 - Gournay-en-Bray (between Rouen and Beauvais) - Wittmann and wife drive to France to find acceptable quarters for the battalion
May 10, 1944 - Gournay-en-Bray - Battalion-sized exercises with the Tigers until May 17th
June 1, 1944 - Gournay-en-Bray - All 45 Tigers are coated with Zimmerit, to prevent the enemy from affixing magnetic hollow charges
June 6, 1944 - Gournay-en-Bray - Dietrich issues orders to move to the Allied Invasion Area
June 7, 1944 - Morgny | Versailles - The Battalion reaches Morgny on its way to Normandy. Attacked by fighter-bombers. Finding the bridge over the Seine destroyed, they take the N14 road to Versailles and rest
June 8, 1944 - Paris - Drive through Paris
June 9, 1944 - Dreux - The Battalion is heavily attacked by fighter-bombers
June 10, 1944 - Argentan - The battalion arrives in Argentan
June 11, 1944 - Falaise - The battalion is again attacked by fighter-bombers between Argentan and Falaise
June 12, 1944 - Évrecy | Villers-Bocage - Caen Road - Wittmann Arrives to Battle area
June 13, 1944 - Villers-Bocage - Wittmann is surprised by an entire british regiment passing 200m from his tank and is forced to act alone. Wittmann destroys 21 british tanks and a superior number of armoured vehicles, first out of the village, then in urban combat. His first tank is knocked out and he switches to another and returns to fight
June 21, 1944 - Villers-Bocage(?) - Wittmann is promoted to SS-Hauptsturmführer
Wittmann's knocked-out "007" Tiger I
June 22, 1944 - Grimbocq Forest - Hitler sends a telegram awarding Wittmann the Swords for his Knight's Cross with Oakleaves
June 25, 1944 - Berchstesgaden - Hitler's Eagle's Nest - Receives the Swords to his Knight's Cross with Oakleaves (total - 138 tanks and 132 AT guns destroyed)
June(?) 27(?), 1944 - Ebstorf, near Lüneburg - On leave
July 7, 1944 - Ebstorf - Michael Wittmann says goodbye to his loved ones and departs to Normandy
July 10, 1944 - Grimbosq Forest - Wittmann arrives to the Battalion and reassumes command of the 101th SS Battalion
July 11, 1944 - near Baron - Attack on Baron
July 13, 1944 - W of Bretteville-sur-Laize (W of Cintheaux) - Taking shelter in the forest
August 1, 1944 - Cintheaux Area - Letter to his parents
August 8, 1944 - St.Aignan de Cramesnil, France - Michael Wittmann's Tiger is hit. As the turret explodes, all five inside are killed (Caen-Cintheaux road) =(END)
Michael Wittmann's and "second crew" grave in France

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