The Battle of Villers-Bretonneux in northern France took place during the last year of World War I.
This day in 1918 marks the anniversary of the first tank battle in world history. Even though the first tanks of World War I appeared on the battlefield in 1916, they always fought against other branches of the army rather than enemy tanks. This was the first tank-against-tank battle, which involved the British Mark IVs and the German A7Vs.
The first tank battle took place near Villiers-Brettoneux in northern France. It is a village some 15 km from Amiens, in the French province of Picardy. The Germans attacked the Allied lines with 13 A7V tanks (there were 14 tanks according to some reports, but it seems one was inoperable).
The British tanks proved somewhat more successful and forced their opponents to retreat. The British, Australian and French infantry and artillery performed likewise, sealing the Germans’ defeat.
