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Title
 First Tank On Tank
Description
A soldier reported to 2nd Lieutenant Franck Mitchell, commander of Mark IV tank Al (4086) that enemy tanks were about. Mitchell opened a loophole and saw the A7V tank "Nixe" (561) approaching half a kilometre away. As neither Mitchell nor …
Publisher
Date
1918-04-24
Scenario#
26
Scenario Description
A soldier reported to 2nd Lieutenant Franck Mitchell, commander of Mark IV tank Al (4086) that enemy tanks were about. Mitchell opened a loophole and saw the A7V tank "Nixe" (561) approaching half a kilometre away. As neither Mitchell nor most of his fellow tankers had been briefed on what enemy armour looked like, let alone its capabilities, British propaganda's touting of the near invincibility of their own tanks undoubtedly weighed on his mind as he ordered to move. Apparently unseen by the oncoming German vehicle, the starboard gunner, Sgt. JR. McKenzie, tired a sighting shot at the armoured target, which burst well behind "Nixe". A follow up round landed just to the right, but neither prompted a response. Before a third round could be fired, Leutnant Wilhelm Eugene Biltz, Nixe's commander, ordered his crew to reverse to a better position from which to engage. Behind the German tank, assault infantry continued to advance as they, and their Blitish contemporaries, watched the unfolding drama of history's first tank-on-tank engagement.
Location
Villers-Bretonneux, France
Battle Narrative
The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 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.
Narrative Source
Combatants
German
British

Geolocation