What was Michael Wittmann's "officer" chain of command like?
score:2
My understanding is that there would have been differences between being a Wehrmacht Panzer Major and an SS Panzer Major. What would those differences be?
The Wehrmacht was the military of the nation of Germany, the German army was the Heer. The SS (Schutzstaffel) was the paramilitary wing of the Nazi Party, the Waffen-SS was its military wing. In theory, the Wehrmacht was under the control of the government of Germany while the SS was under the control of the Nazi Party. They had different ranks, recruitment, organizations, command structure, and supply. However, the lines between the Nazi Party and the nation of Germany increasingly blurred during WW2. They are all the military of the Nazi Empire.
Hitler made this clear in an August 17, 1938 decree. The SS was his, but he would loan it to the Wehrmacht.
Die SS-Verfügungstruppe ist weder ein Teil der Wehrmacht noch der Polizei. Sie ist eine stehende bewaffnete Truppe zu meiner ausschließlichen Verfügung. Im Kriegsfalle soll sie im Rahmen des Heeres eingesetzt werden oder im Bedarfsfalle im Inneren nach meinen Weisungen.
The SS available troops [SS-VT, predecessor to the Waffen-SS] are neither part of the Wehrmacht nor the police. She is a standing armed force at my [Hitler's] exclusive disposal. In the event of war it should be used within the framework of the army or, if necessary, internally according to my instructions.
In times of war, the Waffen-SS could and was often placed under the operational control of the Wehrmacht as was done in August 19, 1938 in preparation for war with Czechoslovakia.
Die Truppenteile der SS-Verfügungstruppe werden mit sofortiger Wirkung dem Oberkommando der Wehrmacht unterstellt.
With immediate effect, the units of the SS available troops [SS-VT] will be placed under the command of the Wehrmacht. The Commander-in-Chief of the Army regulates their use according to the instructions I [Hitler] have given.
And on April 22, 1940 all armed forces of the SS were merged into the Waffen-SS.
Auf Befehl des RfSS sind alle unter den Waffen stehenden Einheiten der SS in der Waffen-SS zusammengeschlossen.
On the orders of the RfSS [Reichfurher-SS], all SS units under arms are united in the Waffen-SS. The terms SS-Einsatzstruppe and SS-Totenkopfverbände are no longer to be used.
Waffen-SS units could be of non-German nationality. Italian, Russian, Hungarian, Croatian, even Dutch and French Waffen-SS divisions were raised.
If this seems redundant and wasteful, it is. Nazi Germany was designed to play various powerful groups against each other to keep Hitler in charge. The Waffen-SS gave Hitler a counter-balance against the Wehrmacht. They all ultimately answered to Hitler, and they had to rely on him to resolve their conflicts.
101st Heavy Tank Battalion
The Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101 (101st Heavy Tank Battalion) formed from the 13th Heavy Tank Company.
The 13th had 5 platoons of 5 Tiger Is each, plus a tank each for the company commander and HQ making 27 tanks. Platoons were lead by SS-Untersturmführers (SS-Junior Assault Leader) equivalent to a Wehrmacht Leutnant or Allied 2nd Lt. Michael Wittmann commanded 1st platoon. The lowest ranked tank commander would be an SS-Unterscharführer (SS-Junior squad leader) equivalent to a Unteroffizier or a US Sergeant.
After returning from the Eastern Front, the 13th was reorganized and reinforced into the 101st Heavy Tank Battalion of 3 tank companies of 3 platoons. Each platoon had 4 Tiger 1s. Each company HQ had 2 Tiger 1s. 14 tanks per company. Battalion HQ had 3. 45 Tiger 1s. On paper.
A heavy tank battalion would also have a staff company including engineer, recon, communications, and anti-aircraft platoons. A workshop company. And all the necessary vehicles: self-propelled anti-aircraft guns, half-tracks, recovery vehicles, motorcycles, staff cars, cranes, and lots of trucks. On paper.
Note that despite having 3 companies the 101st Heavy Tank Battalion had only twice the Tigers as the 13th Heavy Tank Company. Fewer platoons with fewer tanks. This thinning out of units to make formations seem more powerful was common practice in the late war German army.
At Villers-Bocage, Wittman's 2nd company was below 50% strength. Of the 14 paper Tigers, he had just 5 or 6 operational. Under-strength units were very common in the German military. His company had barely 25% of the tanks of his old 13th Heavy Tank Company. Normally he would have 3 platoons of 4 Tigers, but with so few it is likely he reorganized them into a single unit under his command. Such ad-hoc kampfgruppe were common in the German military.
Wittmann's chain of command
Michael Wittmann, then an SS-Obersturmführer (SS-Senior assault leader, roughly a 1st Lieutenant), was given command of the 2nd company of the 101st. After Villers-Bocage he was promoted to Hauptsturmführer (head assault leader) of the Waffen-SS after, equivalent to a Wehrmacht Hauptmann or a US Army Captain. See Ranks and Insignia of the SS for comparisons. Hauptsturmführer is an appropriate rank for a company commander. Obersturmführer was a little low, possibly reflecting his previous post as a platoon leader.
As a Waffen-SS officer he was an officer of the SS and the Nazi Party, not the Wehrmacht. However, his superiors could be placed under Wehrmacht command.
The 101st was commanded by SS-Obersturmbannführer (SS-Senior assault unit leader) Heinz von Westernhagen, roughly equivalent to a Oberstleutnant or Lieutenant Colonel two ranks above Wittman. This is the appropriate rank for a battalion commander.
When von Westernhagen was wounded, Wittmann assumed command of the battalion.
Normally a battalion would be attached to a regiment and the regiment attached to a division, the division to an army, and so on. But the 101st was an independent battalion under the direct command of the I.SS-Panzerkorps (1st SS Tank Corps) to be used as the corps commander saw fit. It was the corps' reserve.
1st SS Tank Corps was commanded by SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer und Generaloberst der Waffen-SS (SS-Supreme group leader and colonel general of the Waffen-SS) Josef "Sepp" Dietrich equivalent to a Generaloberst or a 4-star US General. This is the highest commissioned rank in the SS. Normally a corps commander would be a rank lower, a Lieutenant General, but at the time a corps was the largest SS formation and the 1st SS Tank Corps was the most powerful. It would not be until the formation of the 6. Panzerarmee (6th SS Tank Army) for the Battle of the Bulge, also commanded by Dietrich.
Normally Dietrich would be subordinate only to Reichsführer-SS Heinrich Himmler who in turn answered only to Hitler. But at the time of Villers-Bocage the 1st SS Tank Corps was attached to Panzergruppe West (Panzer Group West) of the Heer (Wehrmacht army) commanded by General der Panzertruppe (Lt. General) Leo Freiherr Geyr von Schweppenburg. On June 10th he was wounded when his HQ was attacked and operational command was taken over by Sepp Dietrich.
Panzer Group West would normally be under the control of OBW (Oberbefehlshaber West / "High Commander in the West") Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt. OBW was under OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht / High Command of the Armed Forces (but only the Wehrmacht)) Generalfeldmarschall Kietel. OKW reported to Führer und Reichskanzler, Hitler. But at the time of the Normandy landings, Hitler had taken direct control of Panzer Group West. Not even OKW could direct them without Hitler's say so.
(Source: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Panzer-Group-West)
You may notice that while the Luftwaffe (Air Force) and Kriegsmarine (Navy) are subordinate to their respective high commands, OKL and OKM, the Heer (Army) units are not subordinate to OKH. They are subordinate to OKW, Wehrmacht High Command. You may also notice that neither OKW nor OBW (the supposed "High Commander in the West") control the Luftwaffe nor Kriegsmarine units in the West, they only control the Heer. In practice, OKH (directly commanded by Hitler) ran the Heer in the East, OKW ran the Heer in the West, and the OKL and OKM answered directly to Hitler. This fragmented and confused chain of command would hamper German strategic coordination.
After the invasion, Panzer Group West fought under Army Group B under Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshall / 5-star General) Erwin Rommel.
So at Villers-Bocage, Wittmann's chain of command was...
- 2nd Company, SS-Hauptsturmführer Michael Wittmann
- 101st Heavy Tank Battalion, SS-Obersturmbannführer von Westerhagen
- 1st SS Tank Corps, SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Sepp Dietrich
- Tank Group West, General der Panzertruppe Schweppenburg (SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer Sepp Dietrich temporarily in command)
- Army Group B, Generalfeldmarschall Erwin Rommel
- OBW, Generalfeldmarschall von Rundstedt
- OKW, Generalfeldmarschall Kietel
- Führer und Reichskanzler, Hitler
Upvote:0
No big difference between Heer and Waffen SS heavy tank battalions
First of all, you must understand that Waffen SS was part of Deutsche Wehrmacht, i.e. German armed forces. This is important for various reasons, not at least legalistic i.e. members of Waffen SS were "legal" combatants in a sense they represented armed forces of their state (Third Reich) and were not Francs-tireurs. Germans payed a lot of attention to these details, especially since they considered various guerilla groups during WW2 as illegal combatants and often shoot them summarily when captured some of them. What Waffen SS was not is being part of Deutsches Heer (German Army) , although operationally and strategically Waffen SS units were placed under control of higher Heer commands, as was the case with unit in question (Schwere SS-Panzerabteilung 101). Note that same principle (theoretically not part of the Heer, practically under their command) happened to Deutscher Volkssturm Wehrmacht. To avoid being "illegal combatants" they were also part of the Wehrmacht.
In any case, most of the German heavy tanks (i.e. Tigers I or II) in WW2 were not part of panzer divisions. Instead, they were grouped into heavy tank batallions. These battalions (10 or 11 Heer, 3 or 4 Waffen SS ) were intended to be self-sustained elite units that would be attached directly to Corps or even Army level command. In rare occurrences they could be temporarily attached to a division, but usually would be sent to most critical parts of front, to be used either offensively or defensively (latter being almost a rule later in the war) . This was also a case with Wittman's 101st SS, as it was subordinated to I SS Panzer Corps but jointly with them was part of 5th Panzer Army (at that time known as Panzer Group West).
In theory, Waffen-SS and Heer not only had different ranks and uniforms, they also had different esprit de corps, even training and general discipline. For example, in Waffen SS superiors were addressed just with rank without usual "Herr" as in Wehrmacht. Nevertheless, in practice during the war, many such formalities were abandoned for the sake of efficiency. During the war, especially in later parts, Germans rarely had full authorized complement of equipment actually present in an unit. Combat groups (Kampfgruppe), ad-hoc formations formed on battlefield, were usual modus operandi. This was the case in time of Wittmann's death. Per regulations, he as a company commander would take orders from his battalion commander ( Heinz von Westernhagen ). But at the time von Westernhagen was on convalescence leave, and what was left of the battalion was under direct command of Wittmann. Therefore, at the time of his death he would receive orders directly from corps HQ. Since Wittmann actually had fewer operational tanks then one full company, this looks a bit silly (corps issuing commands to two platoons of tanks), but that was German situation in later parts of the war.
What would have changed if Wittmann served in Heer heavy tank battalion ? Well, practically nothing. As said before, these too were attached directly to corps or even army level commands. They too suffered lack of equipment, especially if serving for prolonged times at certain "hot" part of the front. And they too often employed ad hoc Kampfgruppe formations to command remnants of their forces .
More post
- 📝 Was the high consumption of (red) wine in Ancient Rome preventive of scurvy?
- 📝 What was the age distribution in the Bronze Age? How do I find out?
- 📝 Symbol on utility pole in photograph from 1906
- 📝 Why did Virginia let Kentucky become a separate state?
- 📝 Did the Founding Fathers believe that states had the right to secede?
- 📝 What was the size of the Chola Empire's navy under Raja Raja Chola I?
- 📝 What was the "Group Movement'? (circa 1942)
- 📝 Why were Hoplite shields circular?
- 📝 Is Costa Rica's refusal to maintain a standing army unique?
- 📝 Why did European writers and artists continue to depict the Moors as being black skinned, even though they were mostly Berbers and Arabs
- 📝 How did philosophical and scientific knowledge in Christian Europe in 1085 compare to the body of knowledge contained in the library of Toledo?
- 📝 Travelling from England to China in 1810
- 📝 Was Col. John K. Waters (Gen. Patton's son-in-law) wounded in the buttocks or the stomach during Patton's raid on Oflag XIII-B near Hammelburg?
- 📝 What is the earliest historical record of Hungarian words?
- 📝 In the Revolutionary War, why did General Howe attack Philadelphia, instead of continuing his march to join General Burgoyne?
- 📝 Is there any evidence to support the claim that Richard Burton told John Speke he would return home via Jerusalem after their Nile Quest?
- 📝 How well can cavalry fight infantry?
- 📝 Are there any cases of rewarding an enemy commander for sparing a city from looting?
- 📝 Caesar's comments on Celts(?)
- 📝 Why did quill pens persist until the early 19th century despite the capacity to make metal dip pens?
- 📝 Why did the Romans incorporate and rename the Greek pantheon?
- 📝 Is there a different view by political-scientist in history that printing more bill is different from adding few more zeros in a bill
- 📝 How Did the Mongol Empire Get So Big?
- 📝 Is it true that Nazi Germany replaced prices ending in .99 by round prices and called this "Aryan pricing"?
- 📝 How did the Swedish army deal with prisoners of war in the Thirty Years War?
- 📝 Did international laws on wars of conquest change in 1945?
- 📝 Is biblical Joseph story historically valid?
- 📝 To what extent was Niccolo Machiavelli's views representative of the views in Italy's renaissance?
- 📝 How high was the morale of non-Soviet Warsaw Pact states' armies and governments in the '80s?
- 📝 What caused Yugoslavia to switch sides early in World War II?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What was Michael Wittmann's "officer" chain of command like?
- 📝 What was the typical peasant's diet like in Europe during the High Middle Ages?
- 📝 What was Hitler like in private?
- 📝 What was life like for an adult Victorian chimney sweep?
- 📝 What was it like for a coastal village to experience a Viking raid in around the tenth century?
- 📝 What was Libya's form of direct democracy (Jamahiria) like in practice?
- 📝 What was it like to have type 1 diabetes in the early 20th century?
- 📝 Are there any ideas as to what the English landscape was like before the arrival of the Angles?
- 📝 What was it like for German Jews after WWII?
- 📝 What was the primary motivation for a historical figure like Xenophon to create an extensive collection of written material?
- 📝 What was the border regime between Poland and Czechoslovakia like during the 1970s and 1980s?
- 📝 What it was like to travel on a Viking ship?
- 📝 What was the Hospitaller gonfalon like in the 12th and 13th centuries?
- 📝 What was middle class family life like in post-civil war Georgia?
- 📝 What was Income Disparity like in the Middle Ages of Europe?
- 📝 In general, what was the level of technology like in central Africa, just before the scramble for Africa?
- 📝 What rank was second in command on a U-boat?
- 📝 What was housing like in early Medieval Scotland?
- 📝 What was Hunanese cuisine like before chili peppers were imported to China?
- 📝 What was life like in Korbach, Hesse, Germany during the 1700s?
- 📝 What was life like for Australian convicts in the last few decades of transportation?
- 📝 What was it like to be in first class on the R.M.S. Titanic?
- 📝 What was the Soviet reaction to the revelations about secret US programs like Projects ARTICHOKE, MKULTRA, MOCKINGBIRD, etc., revealed in the 1970s?
- 📝 What was entering Grand Central Station like in 1943, especially interior?
- 📝 What was Shakespeare's motive to make Richard III seem like a villain?
- 📝 Did Adolf Hitler ever address the fact that his own appearance was almost an exact opposite of what he considered the ideal Aryan appearance?
- 📝 Was murdering a slave illegal in American slavery, and if so, what punishments were given for it?
- 📝 What was the historical context of the 2nd amendment to the US Constitution?
- 📝 During the breakup of the Soviet Union, on what basis was citizenship granted or withheld for each of the fifteen new republics?
- 📝 What led some people to (correctly) believe that there was no land under the ice cap at the North Pole?