On 24 April 1918 when three A7Vs (including chassis number 561, known as "Nixe") taking part in an attack with infantry incidentally met three Mark IVs (two Female machine gun-armed tanks and one Male with two 6-pounder guns) near Villers-Bretonneux. During the battle tanks on both sides were damaged. According to the lead tank commander, 2nd Lt Frank Mitchell, the Female Mk IVs fell back after being damaged by armour piercing bullets. They were unable to damage the A7Vs with their own machine guns. Mitchell then attacked the lead German tank, commanded by 2nd Lt Wilhelm Biltz,with the 6 pounders of his own tank and knocked it out. He hit it three times, and killed five of the crew when they bailed out. He then went on to rout some infantry with case shot. The two remaining A7Vs in turn withdrew. As Lt. Mitchell's tank withdrew from action, seven Whippet tanks also engaged the infantry. Four of these were knocked out in the battle, and it is unclear if any of them engaged the retreating German tanks. Lt. Mitchell's tank lost a track towards the end of the battle from a mortar shell and was abandoned. The damaged A7V was later recovered by German forces.

All 18 available A7Vs had been put into action that day with limited results; two toppled over into holes, some encountered engine or armament troubles. After a counterattack, three ended up in Allied hands. One was unusable and scrapped, one used for shell testing by the French, and the third taken by the Australians

There is no question that World War I was decided by the tank. But it was the first war in history in which technological and economic factors played an important role. The veritable revolution in the art of war began with the appearance on the battlefield of tanks and other motor vehicles. Thus the importance of an industrial technology and economic power on the outcome of a war was clear to see.

It is true that the tank was not "exploited" to the full in World War I despite Colonel Swinton and other early tank corps officers, who from the start had wanted them to be deployed in massed formation. But whatever may have been the shortcomings on the part of the Allies, the tank owed much of its remarkable success to its underestimation by the Germans. The German General Staff did however, but allow the development of anti-tank weapons.

1919 plans for tank construction drawn up by the belligerent powers:
Britain was to have increased its tank fleet by 2,000 to a total of 7,000. The French wanted to have 8,000- 10,000 in place instead of fewer than 3,000. The United States intended building 10,000. When the war ended Germany possessed only 45 tanks, including captures, but had planned to have a total of 800 the following year. Happily, the war was lost before that was possible.

The only project to be produced and fielded was the A7V, although only fifteen A7Vs were built. The majority of the roughly hundred or so tanks fielded by Germany were captured British and French vehicles. A7Vs were captured by the Allies, but they were not used, and most ended up being scrapped.

What people are Saying:

Please tell Richard that these tanks he has been designing are fantastic. Just beautiful work. I haven't had the chance to build any yet but I am really impressed with the job he is doing. Dan RM ( Delta 7 Studios) 1/11

I've also looked around at what some of the other modelers have displayed on your web site. I've seen some very impressive work. The JU 87 Stuka for instance has me drooling. I think there are modelers who enjoy a good challenge... Meanwhile, moving forward I'll think large. I suppose its easier to shrink things to make a smaller version later...

The larger format would probably be better for museum gift shops, as it will be more appealing to less hard core paper modelers...

Richard (the designer)

Thanks for this great model of the A7V "Wotan"*. I downloaded it today and i had to build it this day. The result can be seen in the pics. If you want to use one for Fiddlers Green, be my guest. Chip and Richard thanks for the WWI tanks. I shall start on the other ones soon. Cheers, Nico 1/11 *An A7V tank of World War I was named "Wotan", its replica is in the German Tank Museum at Munster. Google 'Woton'

Germany’s Panzerkampfwagen on the Western Front

The A7V was a heavy tank designed by the Germans for combat on the Western Front. While design construction and testing began in 1917, combat usage of the A7V did not begin until early 1918. British successes post-Cambrai in regards to armor pushing through German lines led to the development of the German T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle to stop British Whippets (light tanks) from capitalizing on their tactical gains.

In due time, the Germans focused on their own tank which could seize opportunities created by Stormtrooper units. Thus the A7V came to light: a heavy, fast tank which out ran the British Whippets and presented a frightening display of power to the trench-bound infantryman.

A7V..the Mobile Monster:
The Panzer program suffered many problems, cutbacks, and lack of faith during the design and development phases, yet, the weapon which was produced, thanks to traditional German technology and manufacturing skills was impressive.

The A7V itself was a physically tremendous tank which required a minimum of eighteen men to operate the machine and to crew its weapons systems. While the A7V had only 6mm of armor on its roof, the sides and front were well armored. The stern, however, carried 30mm of armor, allowing the tank to push through heavily fortified positions.

Weapons of the A7V:
The A7V German WWI Tank was armed with six 7.9mm Machine Gewehr ’08 and could carry up to 15,000 rounds of ammunition for these machine guns. The primary weapon for the A7V, however, was the L/26.3 caliber, 57mm Maxim-Nordfeldt quick firing gun. A skilled crew could fire off up to 25 rounds a minute. The 57mm had a range of about 5 miles. The A7V carried up to one hundred rounds for the quick firing gun with the shells varying from grape-shot to armor-piercing to high-explosive.

While the A7V Panzerkampfwagen was an impressive machine, Germany had neither the time nor the material to build and perfect enough of them to make a significant contribution to their war effort. The A7V did show, however, that the speed of the British Whippet could be combined with the armor and striking power of the British Mark V heavy tank to provide an awesome weapon.

Pre-production A7V:
Following the appearance of the first British tanks on the Western Front, the Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement- Verkehrswesen ("General War Department, 7th Branch, Transportation"), was formed in September 1916.

The project to design and build the first German tank was placed under the direction of Joseph Vollmer, a Reserve Captain and engineer. The new tank was to be a universal chassis which could be used as a base for both a tank and unarmored Oberlandwagen ("Over-land vehicle") cargo carriers. It was based on the Holt tractor (left), parts for which were obtained from Austria, where it was produced under licence. The first prototype was completed by Daimler-Benz and tested in April 1917.

A wooden mockup of a final A7V version was completed in May 1917. The first pre-production A7V was produced in September 1917, followed by the first production model in October 1917. The tank's name was derived from that of its parent organization, Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement, 7. Abteilung, Verkehrswesen. In German the tank was called Sturmpanzer-Kraftwagen (roughly "assault armored motor vehicle").

The tank had 20 mm of steel plate at the sides and 30 mm at the front; however the steel was not hardened armour plate, which reduced its effectiveness. It was thick enough to stop machine gun and rifle fire, but not larger calibers. This offered protection comparable to the thinner armour of other tanks of the period, which used hardened steel.

Thirty chassis were assigned for completion as Oberlandwagen supply carriers, but not all were completed before the end of the war. The design of the A7V featured on the Tank Badge of 1921, awarded to commemorate service in the German Panzer forces of 1918.