This Date in History: January 9

 

On Tuesday, January 9, 1945, official executioner Master Sergeant John C. Woods hanged U.S. Army Private First Class John David Cooper at Lerouville, Meuse, France for the crime of rape.  (The Fifth Field: The Story of the 96 American Soldiers Sentenced to Death and Executed in Europe and North Africa in World War II)

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Considered by many to be the greatest German tank commander in World War II, Michael Wittmann was born on April 22, 1944 in the village of Vogelthal in the Oberpfalz region of Bavaria to Johann and Ulrike Wittmann.  During the Kursk Offensive, SS-Untersturmführer Wittmann commanded the Third Platoon and Tiger 1331.  On the first day of the offensive, he was reported to have destroyed eight enemy tanks.  His tank was also immobilized by enemy anti-tank mines.  The tank also experienced mechanical problems on July 9.  On July 11 he became the acting commander of the 13th (Heavy) Company, when Heinz Kling was wounded.  At least one source credits Wittmann for destroying twenty-eight enemy tanks during the offensive, while others place the total at thirty-five.  Near the village of Sherepki on January 9, 1944, SS-Untersturmführer Wittmann destroyed ten enemy armored vehicles, which brought his total – according to the official Wehrmacht communiqués – to sixty-six enemy tanks destroyed during the war.  (Waffen-SS Tiger Crews at Kursk: The Men of SS Panzer Regiments 1, 2 & 3 in Operation Citadel, July 5-15, 1943)

 

As a result, Michael Wittmann was recommended for the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross