Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 1918
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 25 April 1918 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 1918 | Wikidata P585 (point in time) |
| Era | World War I era (1914–1918) | derived from year |
| Location | France | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Europe | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | Western Front, World War I | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 49.8675, 2.5208 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
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. Before a battle could ensue, Mitchell's tank was taken out by German artillery.
A counter-attack by two Australian brigades and a British brigade during the night of 24 April partly surrounded Villers-Bretonneux and on 25 April the town was recaptured.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux (revision 1376222416), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
Nearby battles
- First Battle of Villers-Bretonneux 1918 · 0 km
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