How 12 Shermans Became German

[dexter]

It’s the 17th of January 1945 on the outskirts of the French town of Herrlisheim.

Obersturmführer Erwin Bachmann is in a sidecar when he spots two Panther tanks right on the edge of the town. Taking command he goes on to engage with 14 Shermans tanks. 2 Panthers versus 14 Shermans! With perfect timing and planning, he directs the Panthers to block the Shermans causing 12 to surrender. When the dust settled Bachmann’s actions with just 2 Panthers resulted in the capture of 60 American tank crew members, the release of 20 German POWs, and the capture of 12 completely intact Sherman tanks. Obersturmführer Erwin Bachmann would be awarded the Knight’s Cross for his leadership, and the tank crews would be awarded the Iron Cross for their performance. The captured Shermans would go on to serve for the German army, being used in anger against the Allies in the dying months of the war.

Corrections: 09:53 Erwin Bachmann volunteered in the Waffen-SS in August 1939 and served in the SS-regiment Germania, then SS-division Viking, then SS-division Frundsberg. We removed SS insignia from the uniform as we often do due to monetization issues on platforms such as Facebook. Some viewers raised the issue that we didn’t point out the fact that Bachmann was SS and per the Nuremberg trials a war criminal. We agree with their assessment, and we should have mentioned these details in the script. 10:53 We realize these were photos of Sherman fireflies but we couldn't find images that we could obtain rights for American Shermans in German colors.

 

[LegionnairE]

Waffen-SS were very well trained, highly professional soldiers.

Still, the best tank ace of the war came out of wehrmacht

Michael Wittmann
R.I.P. Legend​