You fought in the West against the English and French, what was your experience?

Ernst: The SS-VT was on the north wing of the attack, we walked into Holland uninvited, but the Dutch did make it clear they sided with the Allies, so they were de facto an enemy. They mainly put up symbolic fights and gave up easily, lucky for us. We did not see heavy fighting until Belgium and France, by then the Allies knew they fell into a trap, so they tried to break out, but failed. We pushed them into the Dunkirk pocket, and then were ordered to stop; the Führer had his reasons, which many of us believe was to show he wanted to offer peace to a beaten foe. By now we had lots of confidence in our leaders and weapons. Our Panzers broke the enemy open, but they had better armor than we did; only the Panzer IV could take them on, and the 88mm came into fame after Artois. We guarded many English and French prisoners and would spend hours talking to them when we could. No one could understand why it came to war again, as they seemed like brothers. The civilians were fleeing from the battles, and we had to deal with feeding them, and helping them, which slowed us down sometimes, and made officers angry. I remember our surgeon had to help deliver a baby with the sounds of battle close by. We enjoyed the weather immensely, getting suntans when we could. Some men were very active in persuing French girls, who flirted nonstop. Orders had to be issued on relationship rules, and not pursuing married women, especially wives of prisoners-of-war.

How did you come to the Panzer arm of the Waffen-SS?

Ernst: My Division 'Reich' was active on the Eastern Front, and I had been wounded which put me in the hospital with a fellow from a Panzer Regiment. We talked a lot and I would write my then girlfriend Charlotte about this branch, which had black uniforms, she thought I would look handsome in it. Therefore, I had to look handsome for her, so I set my mind on the Panzer arm. I had been promoted to an NCO and was assigned to help train new Dutch recruits who were joining our fight against Jewish Bolshevism. While it was very rewarding to work with these comrades, the Panzers still called out to me. I always live by the phrase that 'Every soldier has a duty to his fatherland and its people, even if that duty means death.' Therefore, even though the Panzer arm was dangerous and rife with chances to be killed, I jumped when offered a spot in Panzer school. Das Reich was expanding and getting better Panzers. I was a wounded combat veteran with the Iron Cross, so I fit right into this branch. Our instructors were Panzer veterans with a lot of combat experience to pass on. We trained mainly on the Panzer II and Panzer III, and focused on tank-on-tank tactics, staying organized, and communicating. We learned each role on a Panzer, so anyone could fill in for a wounded comrade. By the time training was finished the situation on the Eastern Front was in the balance. I was assigned to a Panzer III long-barrel, just in time to retake Kharkov. I remember it was very cold, and thankfully the Panzer engine offered us some heat. This is where the first successes came, knocking out anti-tank guns, strong points, and armored vehicles. We did have to go against the T-34, which could easily knock us out, but we had better tactics and defeated units much larger than us. I was very happy when I had the chance to become a commander on a Panther, which took me back to school again. I was able to spend a lot of time with Charlotte and do some traveling, which still went on in wartime.

You fought in Normandy and won the Knight's Cross. Can you describe what the battle was like, and how you won the award?

Ernst: I was still with the 2. Panzer Regiment of Das Reich, and after heavy action in Russia, we were sent to France to refit and stand battle ready to defeat the invasion we knew was coming. The weather was great, so we had a lot of time to train and sightsee, Charlotte came to visit often, and we began to talk about marriage in the summer. A French girl who sewed for us was not happy to hear of this, I told her we can still be friends, but she needed more and took a comrade as her new infatuation. When the invasion was announced, our Panzer regiment was ordered to move north which was a nightmare. Trains were attacked, even passenger ones. Bombers and resistance cells blew bridges with Allied agents working with them. My division had trouble with these people, which caused much hatred due to the reprisals. We arrived in Normandy too late to turn the tide; the Allies already had a numerical superiority over us and controlled the air. We had to move mostly at night. We learned to camouflage everything, and I mean everything. The Jabos [American fighter-bombers] hit anything they thought looked German. German strategy was to hold a very strong defensive line and blunt any Allied attacks. We did this well for 2 months, but slowly gave ground, and had a hard time retaking it. Our Panthers could knock out any Allied tank; the problem was they had what seemed like an unlimited supply to draw from. The Panther still had a few teething troubles that were very aggravating.

I learned to hide in ambush, knock the lead tank out and if possible, the last vehicle, to seal them in. They always called in air support whenever we held them up, which was not as effective as they claim, but it did disrupt us, and allow enemy escapes. During the fights in Normandy, we fought very hard, and the Allies learned to respect soldiers of the SS, however because of our prowess, it also caused overreaction and crimes to be committed against surrendering SS soldiers. We fought like lions, and the Allies wanted revenge for fallen friends. Some claim orders were given by a few units to not take SS prisoners, which in turn, SS units facing them had to follow suit in order to stop it. I never saw this, and we treated our prisoners as we would want to be treated. There were a couple times my Panzer was cut off and we had to navigate back to our lines sometimes on foot. I would see enemy soldiers, but dare not engage them, as they were doing their business with no weapons. As to the incident that brought me the Knight's Cross, I was with a detached formation that was a mix of SS and Wehrmacht that had been beaten back in an offensive. I was alone and scouting roads to villages, when I happened to stop by a large group of trees that gave excellent cover. I heard shooting in the distance, and ordered some men to go forward to scout, they came back yelling it was the Amis [slang for Americans] coming.

I could hear engines, so I ordered to prepare for action and turned the turret toward the bend in the road, soon they appeared. We opened fire on the lead tank knocking it out, then soon after another rounded the corner. This was an advanced guard for an attack on a nearby village. We had been well-supplied, so I had the ability to hold them up to allow for reinforcements, or so I hoped. As usual, they stopped and called in air attacks that damaged us, but they also could not move, and were afraid to advance. When they tried, again we knocked out a truck or armored car, I cannot remember. We held them in our crosshairs as long as we could, repairing the damage, and then withdrawing for fear of being surprised. This action allowed for new defenses and evacuations, we were greeted as heroes, but this action was just our duty and taking advantage of cover. Recently a Frenchman who studies Panzers came to speak to me and said the Allies claim this never happened. I do not understand why, war is confusing, losses are easy to miss, and numbers do not always add up in the fog of war. I saw Sherman tanks that we knocked out but if not, they were still tanks and we held up an advance. There is no way I could be mistaken about that, and my crew saw the same thing I did. I have learned that just because the Allies say something happened, does not make it true.

I was put up for the award and presented with it later on, but let me tell you, the best part was getting a long leave to wed my fiancé. I had been looking forward to this for a long time, she even teased me by having a girlfriend take pictures of her in undergarments she bought in France for the honeymoon. You have a pretty girl, so you understand. English soldiers stole these and letters she wrote to me when I was captured. These men were not the same enemy I met in France in 1940, these men were drunk on propaganda and hate, and I saw them beat many soldiers, some just young boys.