German A7V heavy tank captured at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918

[hw97karbine]

View: https://rumble.com/v6qxtr0

German A7V heavy tank 542 "Elfriede" captured at the Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in April 1918 is put through its paces after being restored to running order circa May 1918

Three detachments (Abteilungen) of tanks were assigned to an attack in April 1918 at Villers-Bretonneux at the head of the four German divisions spread over a 6.4-kilometre (4 mi) front. Two tanks broke down en route, but the 13 that saw action achieved some success, and the British recorded that their lines were broken by the tanks.

The first and second tank-against-tank combat in history took place on 24 April 1918 when three A7Vs (including chassis number 561, known as Nixe) taking part in an attack with infantry incidentally met three British Mark IVs (two female machine gun-armed tanks and one male with two 6-pounder guns) near Villers-Bretonneux. During the battle, tanks on both sides were damaged. According to the British lead tank commander, Second Lieutenant Frank Mitchell, the female Mk IVs fell back after being damaged by armour-piercing bullets. They were unable to damage the A7Vs with their own machine guns. Mitchell then attacked the lead German tank, commanded by Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Biltz, with the 6-pounders of his own tank and knocked it out. He hit it three times, and killed five of the crew when they bailed out. He stated that he then went on to rout some infantry with case shot. The two remaining A7Vs in turn withdrew. As Mitchell's tank withdrew from action, seven British Whippet tanks also engaged the German infantry. Three of these were knocked out in the battle, and it is unclear if any of them engaged the retreating German tanks but they did carry out an attack on two German battalions in the open to the rear causing them to break and flee. Mitchell's tank lost a track towards the end of the battle due to damage from an exploding mortar shell and was abandoned. The damaged A7V limped back to the German lines, but eventually broke down. It was later destroyed by a German demolition squad, to prevent its capture and reuse by the Allies. During the same day however, another tank-against-tank fight took place where an A7V engaged a group of Whippet tanks and destroyed one of them.

A counterattack later re-established the Allied line, by which time three A7Vs were out of action in No Man's Land or behind German lines. Nixe was badly damaged, and a German team destroyed it with explosive charges during the night of the 24th. Elfriede had overturned; it was righted and recovered from No Man's Land three weeks later by French troops and British tanks, and handed over to the French for examination. Mephisto lay stuck in a crater behind German lines for almost three months. After the area was taken by Australian troops, in July, the tank was towed to the rear by British tanks and, eventually, transported to Australia.

 

[SaparotRob]

Isn't that the new Russian assault vehicle they're using near Pokrovst?

 

[hw97karbine]

Isn't that the new Russian assault vehicle they're using near Pokrovst?

It really does seem like over a century later, armored warfare has returned to its roots

 

[Gnomey]

Good one!

 

[GTX]

This is "Mephisto" isn't it. Is currently on display in Brisbane Australia:

Mephisto - Queensland stories | Queensland Museum

Recovered by Australian troops during the First World War, the A7V Sturmpanzerwagen known as Mephisto has become an iconic part of Queensland’s heritage.

www.museum.qld.gov.au

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

The Iron Cross on the side adds two or three inches of armor protection. FACT.