Tank heroes of WW2

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Part II

[Jimbuna]

The Aces: Michael Wittmann

[Aktungbby]

Überlooked but not out gunned: Kurt Knispel was the gunner of a Panzer IV under Lt. Hellman at the time of Operation Barbarossa, where he participated in the initial assault as part of Panzergruppe 3, LVII Army Corps (later LVII Panzer Corps), commanded by General Adolf-Friedrich Kuntzen. Knispel saw action from Yarzevo to the gates of Stalingrad, in the north around the Leningrad-Tikhvin area and also in the Caucasus under Eberhard von Mackensen.

Knispel returned to Putlos at the end of January 1943 and became familiar with the new Tiger I tanks. At this time, Knispel was credited with 12 kills.

From Putlos, a group of men was sent to the 500th Panzer Battalion at Paderborn. This group was led by Oberfeldwebel Fedensack and it was to become the 1st Company of the 503rd Heavy Panzer Battalion which fought at Kursk as flank cover to 7th Panzer Division (Armee Abteilung Kempf). Knispel saw further action during the relief attack on the Korsun-Cherkassy Pocket, Vinnitsa, Jampol, and Kamenets-Podolsk. Transferred from the east, the company was re-equipped with Tiger IIs and fought around Caen and in the retreat from Normandy. From there, the unit was transferred back to the Eastern Front and saw action around Mezőtúr, Törökszentmiklós, Cegléd, Kecskemét and the Gran bridgehead, Gyula, Nitra, Bab Castle (In one action, Knispel reported 24 enemy hits on his Tiger II), Laa and finally Wostitz, where he was killed in action.


With 168 confirmed (possibly as high as 195) kills, Knispel was by far the most successful tanker of the Second World War and is even credited with knocking out a T-34 at 3,000 m (1.86 mi.). He fought in virtually every type of German tank as loader, gunner and commander. He was awarded the Iron Cross, First Class, after destroying his fiftieth enemy tank and the Tank Assault Badge in Gold after more than 100 tank battles. When Knispel had destroyed 126 enemy tanks (with another 20 unconfirmed kills), he was awarded the German Cross in Gold. He became the only non-commissioned officer of the German tank arm to be named in a Wehrmacht communique. As commander of a Tiger I and then a Tiger II, Knispel destroyed another 42 enemy tanks.

Though he was recommended for it four times, Knispel never received the coveted Knight's Cross, a standard award for most other World War II German tank aces. Unlike some other commanders, Knispel was not consumed by the pursuit of decorations and did not suffer from a "sore throat", Heer slang for those who lusted after the Knight's Cross. When there were conflicting claims for a destroyed enemy tank, Knispel always stepped back, always willing to credit success to someone else.