Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux

1918 CE.

Shown on the map at 49.867°, 2.521°.

The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (also Actions of Villers-Bretonneux, after the First Battles of the Somme, 1918) took place from 24 to 27 April 1918, during the German spring offensive to the east of Amiens. It is notable for being the first occasion on which tanks fought against each other; it was the biggest and most successful tank action of the German army in the First World War. In his memoirs Frank Mitchell claims that he encountered three German A7V tanks while attacking with three British Mark IV tanks. However, according to research by Ralf Raths, director of the Deutsches Panzermuseum (German tank museum), this account cannot be accurate. The A7Vs were not moving together, as confirmed by both German and British combat reports. Mitchell and his three Mark IVs encountered the A7V “Nixe”. Nixe took out the two female Mark IVs and was then taken out by Mitchell's male Mark IV. Mitchell then attempted to attack the A7V "Siegfried," but it was too far away.

Text from the Wikipedia article Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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