The 107th Panzerbrigade, stationed in Helmond, was attacking west, toward Nuenen, with some fifty tanks – “more than we had ever seen at one time,” Winters recalled. Sergeant Martin saw a German tank almost hidden in a fence row about 100 meters away. A British tank was coming up. Martin ran back to it, climbed aboard, and told the commander there was an enemy tank just below and to the right. The tank continued to move forward. Martin cautioned the commander that if he continued his forward movement the German tank would soon see him.
”I caunt see him, old boy,” the commander replied, “and if I caunt see him, I caunt very well shoot at him.”
”You’ll see him damn soon,” Martin shouted as he jumped down and moved away.
The German tank fired. The shell penetrated the British tank’s armor. Flame erupted. The crew came flying out of the hatch. The gunner pulled himself out last; he had lost his legs. The tank, now a flaming inferno, continued to move forward on its own, forcing Bull Randleman to move in the direction of the enemy to avoid it. A second British tank came forward. It too got blasted. Altogether four of the British tanks were knocked out by the German 88s.
Source:
Ambrose, Stephen Edward. “Hell’s Highway.” Band of Brothers: E Company, 506th Regiment, 101st Airborne from Normandy to Hitler's Eagle's Nest. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2004. 127-28. Print.
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