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The story of two men destined to face each other on the battlefields of Normandy is told in this programme. Michael Wittmann was a knight of the Nazi empire, a natural and accomplished soldier and highly decorated. Like Wittmann, Trooper Joe Ekins, a shoemaker from Northamptonshire, was a volunteer for military service but there the similarities ended. Joe was a reluctant soldier in a county yeomanry armoured regiment, while Wittmann served in the Waffen SS s elite Tiger Battalion. Panzer ace Wittmann had 138 tank kills to his name, including an impressive score against 7th Armoured Division at Villers Bocage early in the Normandy Campaign but by August 1944 the Allied breakout was gaining momentum and I SS Panzer Corps were struggling to contain the British and Canadians as they fought towards Falaise. In the fields south of Caen Wittmann s Tiger and Joe Ekins s Sherman Firefly were pitted against each other but how was the Panzer Ace finally knocked out? Joe Ekins, Veteran of the Battle of Normandy and the North West European Campaign, Joe Ekins fought with the Northamptonshire Yeomanry and during Operation Totalise, the British and Canadian breakout from the Normandy Beachhead, he was a gunner in a Sherman Firefly. This was the only Allied tank that could knock out the much feared, mighty German Tiger tank at anything other than the closest of ranges. During the desperate battle he knocked out three Tigers and a Panzer Mark IV. At the end of the war, preferring the anonymity of being a shoemaker in civi-street, Joe attempted to keep a low profile but over the years his achievement of knocking out the vaunted German SS panzer ace Michael Wittmann, denied him obscurity. Stung by some wilful misrepresentation of facts and his views Joe has for the first time told his story for this DVD in full and in detail.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
For serious students of the history of armoured conflict in Normandy , this DVD is really worthwhile. The presenters are manifestly expert , the location scenes are carefully selected to be relevant , the interviews are fascinating. Ten out of ten for content. The production itself is in the worthy amateur category and is clunky - five out of ten. Overall , given my personal interests , I think the DVD is a "must buy".
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Well, This documentary is obviousely reasonably well made and reasonably well researched. And yet I can't help feeling slightly disappointed. No computer animations, no interesting action scenes, little movie footage, very few new details or facts. The authors are experts and the story itself is told well, but that's it. Quite uninspiring and superficial. Most facts can be read in books and the shots of the scenery do little to bring the story alive.
All in all not worth the price.
All in all not worth the price.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Not an in-depth investigation into either Wittmann or Ekins, but a reasonable documentary about both of them and the lead up to thier encounter in Normandy. A saving grace is that it is not bogged down with how fantastic Tiger tanks or the SS were. It is made very clear that the Sherman Firefly was a great weapon, indeed Ekins and his mates destroying three [very expensive] Tigers in 12 minutes with their cheap n' chearful Sherman is the crux of the story. the highlight for me is Ekins; a self-depricating ex-shoemaker, happy to say he can't remember or wouldn't know something. As the DVD points out, Ekins the reluctant soldier is a fascinating contrast to Wittmann the Nazi SS fanatic. Also the contrast between the supposedly professional SS Tigers charging across open ground with no reconnaisance being bested by highly proficient British armour well placed and with a better weapon. Lots of location shots help to understand this final action. Recommended.
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