The Sturmpanzerwagen A7V was an enormous vehicle, hurriedly designed following the appearance of British tanks in 1916. Ground clearance was only 40mm (1.57 inches) and the length of the track on the ground was too short for a vehicle of its size. The result was an unstable vehicle with poor cross-country performance.

Despite its obvious flaws, 100 A7Vs were nevertheless ordered in December 1917. The German war machine was already stretched beyond its capacity at tis point in the war and only about 20 were ever produced. Their shortcomings over rough ground were manifested in March 1918 when they first saw action, and they often lagged behind the infantry they were originally designed to support. Variants included the Uberlandwagen, an open-topped, unarmored supply version, and the A7V/U with 'all-around' tracks. During the inter-war period, they were used by the Polish Army for several years until they were eventually retired prior to World War II.

Pictured here is a 1:72 scale replica of a German Sturmpanzerwagen A7V infantry support tank painted in field grey. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 4-inches
Width: 1-3/4-inches

Release Date: September 2020

Historical Account: "Turning Back the Tide" - Three detachments (Abteilungen) of tanks were assigned to an attack at Villers-Bretonneux at the head of the four German divisions spread over a 6.4-kilometre (4 mi) front. Two tanks broke down en route, but the 13 that saw action achieved some success, and the British recorded that their lines were broken by the tanks.

A counter attack later re-established the Allied line, by which time three A7Vs were out of action in No Man's Land or behind German lines. Nixe was badly damaged, and a German team destroyed it with explosive charges during the night of the 24th. Elfriede had overturned; it was righted and recovered from No Man's Land three weeks later by French troops and British tanks, and handed over to the French for examination. Mephisto lay stuck in a crater behind German lines for almost three months. After the area was taken by Australian troops, in July, the tank was towed to the rear by British tanks and, eventually, transported to Australia.

The first tank-against-tank combat in history took place on April 24th, 1918, when three A7Vs (including chassis number 561, known as Nixe) taking part in an attack with infantry incidentally met three British 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 British lead tank commander, Second Lieutenant Frank Mitchell, the female Mk IVs fell back after being damaged by armor-piercing bullets. They were unable to damage the A7Vs with their own machine guns. Mitchell then attacked the lead German tank, commanded by Second Lieutenant 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 stated that he then went on to rout some infantry with case shot. The two remaining A7Vs in turn withdrew. As Mitchell's tank withdrew from action, seven British Whippet tanks also engaged the German infantry. Four of these were knocked out in the battle, and it is unclear if any of them engaged the retreating German tanks. Mitchell's tank lost a track towards the end of the battle due to damage from an exploding mortar shell and was abandoned. The damaged A7V limped back to the German lines, but eventually broke down. It was later destroyed by a German demolition squad, to prevent it being captured and re-used by the Allies.