Combat history A7V

1 combat history

1.1 st. quentin canal
1.2 villers-bretonneux
1.3 other actions
1.4 assessment

combat history

a7v tank @ roye on 21 march 1918



german sturmwagen cleans out french village. based on original drawing professor anton hoffmann.


st. quentin canal

the a7v first used in combat on 21 march 1918. 5 tanks of abteilung under command of hauptmann greiff deployed north of st. quentin canal. 3 of a7vs suffered mechanical failures before entered combat; remaining pair helped stop minor british breakthrough in area, otherwise saw little combat day.

villers-bretonneux


a7v tank (mephisto) after recovery battlefield

the first tank against tank combat in history took place on 24 april 1918 when 3 a7vs (including chassis number 561, known nixe ) taking part in attack infantry incidentally met 3 mark ivs (two female machine gun-armed tanks , 1 male 2 6-pounder guns) near villers-bretonneux. during battle, tanks on both sides damaged. according lead tank commander, second lieutenant frank mitchell, female mk ivs fell after being damaged armour-piercing bullets. unable damage a7vs own machine guns. mitchell attacked lead german tank, commanded second lieutenant wilhelm biltz, 6-pounders of own tank , knocked out. hit 3 times, , killed 5 of crew when bailed out. went on rout infantry case shot. 2 remaining a7vs in turn withdrew. mitchell s tank withdrew action, 7 whippet tanks engaged infantry. 4 of these knocked out in battle, , unclear if of them engaged retreating german tanks. mitchell s tank lost track towards end of battle mortar shell , abandoned. damaged a7v limped german lines, broke down.

three detachments (abteilungen) of 5 tanks each @ villers-bretonneux @ head of 4 german divisions committed on 4-mile front. 1 tank refused start, 14 saw action achieved success, , british recorded lines broken tanks.

however, counter attack re-established allied line, time 3 a7vs out of action in no man s land or behind german lines. nixe badly damaged, , german team destroyed explosive charges during night of 24th. elfriede had overturned; righted , recovered no man s land 3 weeks later french troops , british tanks, , handed on french examination. mephisto lay stuck in crater behind german lines 3 months. after area taken australian troops, in july, tank towed rear and, eventually, transported australia.

other actions

in may, a7vs used limited success in attack on french near soissons, during third battle of aisne.

on 15 july, @ reims (during second battle of marne), germans put 8 a7vs , 20 captured mk ivs against french lines. although 10 of mk ivs lost in action, no a7vs lost.

the final use in world war of a7vs in small successful action on 11 october 1918, near iwuy.

assessment

the a7v not considered success, , other designs planned germany. end of war meant none of other tanks in development, or planned ones, finished (such oberschlesien , 120-ton k-wagen).

the extremely limited production of 20 made minor contribution, , of tanks (about 50 in total) fielded in action germany in world war captured british mark iv tanks (beutepanzer). in contrast, french had produced on 3,600 of light renault ft, numerous tank of world war i, , british on 2,500 of heavy mark v* tanks.