The Battle of Villers-Bretonneux - The first tank battle in history

Human warfare notched another grim milestone on this day in 1918. For the first time ever, tanks met on the field of battle - opposing squadrons of German and British vehicles clashing near the village of Villers-Bretonneux in northern France, in a battle you can now recreate on the tabletop with this free downloadable scenario PDF.

The Second Battle of Villers-Bretonneux itself might otherwise have been a footnote - another senseless engagement in the Spring Offensive, a last spurt of German hostilities before the Great War ground to an overdue end. Nevertheless, more than 15,000 Allied troops were recorded as casualties, alongside roughly 10,000 Germans. 

When the dust had settled on 27th April, the village remained in Allied hands - a useful hub near the crucial French city of Amiens. Alongside various captured British tanks, the Imperial German Army deployed 13 of its mighty new A7Vs - more than half of the total ever constructed - while the Brits fielded three Mark IV tanks and seven Medium Mark A Whippets. 

Cyklop advances near the ruined church of Villers Bretonneux.

The Germans lost two A7Vs that day, those named Nixe and Mephisto. The latter has the honour of being the last of this huge, cumbersome tank patterns left in existence; it was captured by Australian forces involved in the battle, who brought it all the way back with them. It now lives at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane.

The key combat was between the three British Mark IVs and three of the A7Vs. Our scenario PDF goes into more detail, but the Germans managed to punch huge holes in the two British ‘female’ tanks, which only mounted heavy machine guns and couldn’t pierce the heavy German armour. The final Mark IV, under the command of Lieutenant Frank Mitchell, albeit with just four of the usual complement of eight crew, led the Germans on a dance across the field. Neither side could land a hit until Mitchell ordered his tank to a halt, whereupon his gunner landed three direct hits on Nixe, toppling it over and forcing the crew to bail out. Efforts were made to recover it, but the engine proved too damaged and it was subsequently scuttled to prevent capture. The British Whippets, which could move at a surprisingly sprightly 8mph, arrived soon after, causing havoc among the German infantry with a mixture of machine gun fire and collisions. Three would be destroyed before the battle came to an end.

To commemorate this battle, we’re releasing a free PDF download containing a more detailed history of the day, in-depth information for tread-heads, and some special rules. There are also three linked scenarios: one simulating the initial clash, one in which the Whippets run amok, and a final German attempt at recovering Nixe. 

The PDF is available to download right now - and you can buy detailed miniatures for all the tanks involved in the battle - including the hulking A7V, the iconic Mark IV (with male and female options, and the pacey Whippet - from our webstore, both as STLs and physical miniatures - and if you order them this weekend, you get 10% off your order to commemorate the milestone in modern warfare.