Leutnant Wilhelm Biltz saw the three British tanks lumbering towards him and instantly knew he was about to do make history. He was going to engage enemy tanks with his tank. His A7V tank stood astride the main railway line to Amiens. The other two tanks in his command flanked him on either side. His tank, named Nixe, sported a 57mm main gun and six Maxim machine guns. He had 17 men crammed inside the humongous "land battleship," all of them perspiring in the heat. As the English Mk IV tanks slowly crawled into view, Biltz gave the order: "Fire!"
History's first tank versus tank battle was the only one of its kind during the First World War. Germany didn't have many tanks. They only made one variant during the war, the A7V. Germany produced 20 A7V tanks, which didn't feature much in German battle plans. Despite hard lessons learned against British and French tanks, the German high command remained trapped in a pre-1914 mindset. They believed the foot soldier and the artillery bombardment would carry the war. Operation Michael, Germany's last offensive of the Great War, proved how wrong they were.
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