The whole project was therefore re-investigated by the Regional Governor’s office which has spent almost 6 months re-looking into the affair from a legal perspective. Photo Bundesarchiv, Bild 101I-721-0398-17A / Wagner / CC-BY-SA 3.0/Ī senior lawyer for Yvelines Council Mr Kauffmann stated “all decisions of the County Council pass the control of legality of the prefecture”… and Mr Bedier and DRAC (French Department of Cultural Affiairs) publicly agreed to be bound by the Prefet’s final decision. Panzerkampfwagen VI somewhere in the Northern France. This brought about a stand-off between the group and the Council, which meant Council Chief Bedier asked that the argument be settled once and for all again by the Regional Governor Mr Morvan. His actions on 8 July are just one example of the countless ferocious armor battles in the east, and a testament to the survivability and hitting power of one of the deadliest tanks of WWII.Regional Chairman Pierre Bedier and his council unanimously confirmed this decision in June 2017 at a public meeting and the matter became legal 2 months later. However, a re-enactment group and a local amateur historian subsequently questioned the process. Unlike Wittmann, Staudegger would survive the war and pass away quietly in 1995. For this action, he was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, as the first ever Tiger crewman to receive this award. Staudegger and his crew had not only destroyed 22 Russian tanks but had played an invaluable role in halting the Russian attack. Over the course of the battle his tank was hit by Russian 76mm gunfire an astounding 67 times and yet was able to continue the fight and deliver its occupants to safety. A German soldier inspects a knocked out T-34 during the Battle of Kursk. But the Russian armored attack had been defeated. Finally, as they continued to take damage and risked losing their mobility, Staudegger’s Tiger fell back. Despite their lack of penetrating power, these large caliber shells were still able to inflict catastrophic battle damage on the enemy, and this was evident by the destruction of a further five Russian tanks. However, he and his crew continued to engage the Russians with high-explosive ammunition. As more and more Russian tanks emerged from behind the embankment, they were destroyed one by one, until Staudegger and his crew had destroyed 17 altogether.Īt this point, Staudegger’s tank had run out of armour-piercing shells.
Staudegger’s driver Stahlmacher maneuvered the tank quickly to face the new threat. However, at that moment two more Russian tanks emerged from behind an embankment and started to fire. In short order, his gunner, Heinz Buchner, destroyed the three visible Russian tanks. He arrived just as the leading Russian tanks were overrunning the German infantry. While Schamp guarded his flank, Staudegger rolled out of the town where he was stationed and drove to the front lines. By Naval History & Heritage Command – CC BY 2.0 Silver German Iron Cross Medal, First Class. Despite damage to the tanks’ tracks and running gear the crews’ were able to complete some quick repairs so to at least make the Tigers mobile, and they decided to try and defeat the impending armored assault. The only exceptions were two damaged Tigers commanded by Franz Staudegger and Rolf Schamp. They struck them at a time when the majority of the division’s tanks were fighting further west and were unavailable to assist in halting the attack. Three days after this incident, the Russian 10th Tank Corps launched an attack on the German 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte. For the destruction of two tanks in close combat, he was awarded the Iron Cross First Class. He ran over to it and as the crew opened their hatches to see what was going on he tossed a second-hand grenade into this tank and destroyed it. At this point, he noticed another Russian tank right behind the first one. Thinking quickly he threw a hand grenade into the open hatch, destroying the tank. When he dismounted his Tiger to tell him to move out of the way, he realized it was actually a Russian T-34 tank. En-route, he encountered a tank along the road with its commander standing in the turret smoking a cigarette. After a day of heavy fighting, Staudegger moved to rejoin his unit by night. His story begins on the first day of the battle of Kursk, July 5th.