Final Actions on the Eastern Front
Wittmann and some units of the 1st SS Panzer Division were involved in combat by fall of 1943, with Wittmann claiming the destruction of another 43 Soviet armored vehicles during the German fall counteroffensive. The situation of the German troops on the Eastern Front continued to deteriorate. Soviet numbers continued to increase, supported by production of equipment in the United States, and the decline of German production made them unable to replace losses.
To counter the effects of the losses on the Eastern Front the German propaganda machine kicked into high gear. Wittmann and other German soldiers and airmen were lauded on German radio reports, in magazines and newspapers, and in newsreels in theaters. These reports took the place of real news about the increasingly dire situation.
By January 1944 60,000 German troops were nearly surrounded by Soviets in an area which became known as the Korsun Pocket. In heavy fighting the Soviets attempted to crush the entrapped German troops and thus destroy the German lines, giving the Soviets a breakthrough. 1st Panzer SS participated in German counterattacks to relieve the encircled troops.
The relief attacks were doomed from the start, as the winter weather and the deterioration of German equipment ensured the Soviets of numerical superiority in men, fighting vehicles, support vehicles, and supplies. Wittmann participated in the German relief attempts, but the 1st Panzer again took heavy casualties and was forced to withdraw as part of the overall Soviet victory.
As the battle raged in January 1944, Wittmann was awarded the Knight’s Cross, an award usually reserved to Field Grade officers, and his award and the number of tanks he had destroyed during the German actions was broadcast to the German people. By then his number of enemy tanks destroyed stood at 119, with reports differing dependent on the source. The remnants of the LSSAH were withdrawn to Belgium to refit yet again.