The First Tank Duel
The grumbling steel behemoth comes to a halt as you peer across the battlefield and spy three other metallic beasts appear out of the fog. A shell screams overhead and your crew begins to take evasive maneuvers, the concussive blast of the cannon throws you off while the rough ground beneath jostles you up and down. A constant stream of fire is directed at the three behemoths but to no avail, they just keep coming.
British Mark IV tank. Public Domain.
The Mark IV Landship
The British Mark IV tank was introduced in 1917 and was an improvement over previous models with greater balance and reliability. It came in two variants; a male that was armed with two 6 pounder naval guns and three machine guns, and a female that was armed with five machine guns and was used to protect the male against enemy infantry. It weighed roughly 28 tons and had steel armor plating that ranged from 8 to 12 millimeters thick. It was powered by a 105 horsepower Daimler engine and had a top speed of a little over three miles per hour. It was operated by a crew of eight but it could function with fewer. Though the Mark IV was an improvement over its predecessors it still had reliability issues, experiencing frequent engine troubles that could completely disable the tank.
A refurbished Mark IV male tank. Courtesy of David Hull on Flickr.
The A7V
The German A7V was also developed in 1917 after the Germans saw how effective the British tanks were during the Battle of the Somme in 1916. The tank was rectangular in shape and had steel armor that ranged from 6 to 20 millimeters thick, and for armament it had one 57 millimeter cannon and six machine guns. It was a bit beefier than the Mark IV weighing in at 32 tons, but it was powered by two Daimler 100 horsepower engines that gave it a max speed of five miles per hour. It was manned by a crew of 18.
A restored A7V tank. Courtesy of David Hull on Flickr.
Though the A7V had thicker armor, a more powerful armament, and was faster than the Mark IV it had a few detrimental drawbacks. It could not operate on uneven terrain near as well as the Mark IV could and its use was mostly confined to flat terrain, something that was not too common on the Western Front. Part of this was due to the tank being top heavy, it was not rare for these tanks to tip over on even the slightest of inclines. Similarly to the Mark IV, it also experienced frequent breakdowns of the engines.
An A7V tank that tipped over surrounded by French soldiers after the Battle of Villars-Bretonneux. Courtesy of The Daily Telegraph.
The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux
On March 2, 1918 Germany launched its Spring Offensive against the allies. They made quick progress pushing the British back and much of the fighting began to center around the French town of Amiens. Amiens was important due to its train stations that helped supply the British Army, if the Germans could capture or destroy it then their offensive would have a much better chance at crushing the British forces. However in order to take Amiens they would first have to take the town of Villers-Bretonneux.
At 4:45 A.M. on April 24 the Germans bombarded the British positions around Villers with high explosive and mustard gas shells. Immediately after the barrage they attacked with the help of 13 A7V tanks, it was the first time they were used in combat. The smoke and gas from the shells paired with the morning fog caused visibility to drop to just 30 meters, and much confusion ensued within the British ranks. The German tanks quickly overwhelmed the trenches with their machine guns and the allied lines broke, forcing them to retreat further back into the town. This left a three mile gap in their defences that German forces began to pour through.
Artist depiction of soldiers exposed to mustard gas. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
In order to stem the tide of the attack the No. 1 Section, A Company, First Tank Battalion was sent in. This consisted of two female and one male Mark IV tanks commanded by Leftennant Frank Mitchell. The three Mark IVs were sent forward to the village of Cachy, which sat just outside of Villers-Bretonneux. The male Mark IV was already at a disadvantage because two of its members had been injured in the earlier gas attack. As they approached the front lines Leftennant Mitchell was given worse news as British infantry stopped to inform him that German tanks had been seen in the area. Nevertheless they persisted in an attempt to prevent the taking of the town.
A British Mark IV male tank. Courtesy of Wikimedia.
The Showdown
As the three British tanks approached the village three A7Vs appeared out of the fog perched atop a small ridge. Two of the German tanks held back but the third, nicknamed Nixe and commanded by Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Biltz, continued his advance. At roughly 300 yards they began firing at one another but Mitchell’s gunner was not able to hit any of his shots due to the jarring evasive movements of the tank. After firing 25 rounds without registering a hit Mitchell decided to stop his tank and allow the gunner to have a clear shot. Upon seeing Mitchells tank stop the three A7Vs assumed it had been hit and directed their fire at the two female Mark IVs. The female tanks' machine guns had little to no effect on the heavily armored A7Vs and they were both hit by the German guns, smashing open holes in their armor and exposing them to small arms fire. They quickly retreated leaving Mitchell and his crew to fight the three others alone.
Second Lieutenant Wilhelm Biltz. Public Domain.
Mitchell’s gunner, Sergeant John McKenzie, was now able to accurately fire at the enemy tanks. The first shot went high and fell behind Nixe. The next shot was a direct hit on the right side of the tank, killing one gunner outright and fatally wounding two others. The tank began to smoke and Nixe’s crew feared that a fire would erupt at any moment causing their stores of grenades and ammunition to explode. The crew quickly abandoned the A7V and upon seeing this Mitchell’s crew began focusing on the other two tanks. Despite their numerical advantage the other A7Vs decided to retreat, thus ending the first tank versus tank engagement.
Artist depiction of British shells falling around Nixe. Courtesy of Radomski on DeviantArt.
Mitchell would continue to try and hold off the German advance but their forces were regrouping and preparing for another assault. German artillery opened up once again and disabled one of the Mark IVs tracks, leaving it a sitting duck. As the men inside the tank waited to be overrun by German infantry Mitchell witnessed a sight that he would describe later as bringing joy to his heart. Just in the nick of time seven British Whippet tanks speeding across the battlefield at eight miles per hour came in to attack the German infantry, mowing down the enemy troops with their machine guns. Mitchell and his men were able to escape, most surviving the war.
A restored British Whippet tank. Courtesy of the Daily Mail.
A Change in Warfare
When the tank was originally developed it was meant to go against infantry and was never meant to go against other armored vehicles, that is why the first tanks were only armed with machine guns. As time progressed military planners realized that tanks needed more firepower to take down hardened targets such as bunkers and machine gun nests. However they still were not meant to go up against other tanks and the allies likely did not expect to face German tanks with their own. The British guns in particular were not meant for armor piercing and it was lucky that Sergeant McKenzie was able to score a direct hit on the A7V or else it is likely the battle would have ended much differently. After this tank battle and a few others during the Great War military minds began to change and they quickly realized that tank on tank combat would be occurring and could happen on a large scale. Even though this battle was not the sole reason for the change in military thinking it certainly spurned the idea and jump started the revolution that was to come in tank technology.
Pictured above is what was left of Nixe. The Germans were not able to recover her after the battle so to prevent her from falling into enemy hands German engineers blew her up. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.
Personal Thoughts
The tank duel at Villers-Bretonneux is often overlooked due to the size and importance of the battle itself. I thought it was interesting however and is a good place to pinpoint when thoughts in armored warfare began to change. On top of that it is just an interesting story that shows how crazy the battlefields of World War One really were.
Sources
Cover Photo courtesy of Radomski on DeviantArt
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a20076916/first-tank-on-tank-battle-wwi-villers-bretonneux/
https://www.forces.net/services/army/first-time-tanks-came-face-face-battle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gSjZmX179I&feature=youtu.be
http://www.awmlondon.gov.au/battles/villers-bretonneux
https://www.aspistrategist.org.au/remembering-villers-bretonneux-april-1918/
https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/how-britain-invented-the-tank-in-the-first-world-war
