In the morning on August 13th 1944, the 2nd company of the Schwere SS panzer abteilung ( 6 Tigers operational ) is assembled at hill 213 north-east of Villers-Bocage in a ravine south of the road Villers-Bocage -> Caen.
Not deployed, but marching in column, a detachment of the British 22nd Armoured brigade approaches hill 213 and stops there. Unnoticed this unit had made use of a gap between the 352nd Infanteriedivision and the Panzerlehrdivision.
Ahead of his company, which is not yet ready for action, Obersturmfûhrer Wittmann attacks the enemy ( A Sqn of 4th City of London Yeomanry and parts of the 1st battalion of the Rifle brigade ) using Tiger 222 ( Unterscharfûhrer Sowa's ) first he knocks out a Cromwell and a Firefly of A Sqn which already nearly reached hill 213. Afterwards, he advances parallel to the road towards Villers-Bocage. Passing by at a short distance he destroys the majority of the 1st Rifle Brigade ( 13 M3 halftracks, 3 Stuarts, 2 Sherman artillery observation tanks, the Daimler scout car of the intelligence officer and the M3 of the medical officer and more than one dozen Bren and Lloyd carriers ).
At the edge of the town he knocks out 3 of 4 Cromwells of the regimental headquater's platoon of the 4th CLY. Then he enters ( still alone! ) Villers-Bocage, pursued by the 4th Cromwell which intends to hit the Tiger in the rear. Inside the town Wittmann is stopped by tanks of B Sqn ( Including one Sherman Firefly ), turns around and rushes back the way he came On his way back he knocks out the Cromwell, whose 2 AP rounds, fired at a distance of 50 meters, fail to penetrate the Tiger.
After several hundred meters the tank breaks down from an AT gun hit damaging the left idler wheel. The crew bails out and leaves the tank, they sneak through to the command post of the Panzerlehrdivision at Orbois-Sermentot which starts the offensive action towards Villers-Bocage with 15 Panzer IV's.
The remaining Tigers of the 2nd company occupy positions east of Villers-Bocage ( south of the road ) and knock out 2 more Cromwells ( Unterscharfûhrer Sowa ) and 3 Shermans ( Obershcharfûhrer Brandt ). Approximately 230 British soldiers surrender and are taken prisoners.
The attack ( with 8 Tigers ) of the 1st company ( Hauptsturmfûhrer Môbius ) starts at 0800 hours also along N175 towards Villers-Bocage. 5 Cromwells standing farther north are damaged and abandoned by the crews. Several Pz IV's of the Panzerlehrdivision, positioned till this time at Parfouru-Sur Odon, join the attack.
2 Tigers and 1 Pz IV advance along the main road ( Rue Pasteur ). The rear Tiger 112 ( Oberscharfûhrer Ernst ) is knocked out by a Firefly of B Sqn through two corner windows. In a further thrust the Pz IV, after changing position, is knocked out by an AT gun. The leading Tiger 121 ( Obersturmfûhrer Lukasius ) is hit from the rear by a Firefly. Subsequently these tanks are set on fire by the British.
5 more Tigers thrust forward on the roads farther south. One Tiger is knocked out by an AT gun in the Rue Emile Samson. 2 more Tigers are immobilized by AT gunfire. Tiger 132 is in position on hill 213, 4 Tigers of the 1st company is in position south of Villers-Bocage, the 2nd company assembles again in the gorge parallel to N175. The 3rd company reaches Falaise. The casualties of the battalion on this day amount to 3 tank comanders and 7 more crew members. 3 Tigers of the 1st company are lost, whereas the British lost 26 tanks ( Shermans and Cromwells ), 14 M3's, and 8 Bren and 8 Lloyd carriers.
For this battle deciding action Wittmann is recommended for " Schwerter zum Ritterkreuz"