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The German Army ignored the potential of tanks - despite several design proposals dating back to 1912 - until the British attack at Flers in 1916. However, despite the obvious advantages such a vehicle brought to the battlefield, the High Command pushed tank development onto the back burner while they concentrated on the development of other countermeasures to Britain's new armored force.
However, in November 1916, the Verkehrstechnische Prüfungskommission was tasked to develop and produce an armored vehicle by Abteilung 7 Verkehrswesen, allgemeines Kriegsministerium, which is where the A7V derived its designation.Joseph Vollmer, and engineer working for the Verkehrstechnische Prüfungskommission, headed up the design team. He used as the basis for the new vehicle the American-designed Holt tractor chassis, and created a demonstration prototype with a wooden superstructure in April 1917. The vehicle was subsequently put into production, with the first ones seeing action at St. Quentin in Mach 1918.The A7V mounted a 57mm Maxim-Nordenfeldt gun and six 7.92mm machine guns: two in each side, and two in the rear. Ammunition stowage comprised 180 rounds for the 57mm gun and 15,000 rounds for the machine guns. The vehicle was powered by two Daimler Benz 100hp gasoline engines that were mounted back to back at the center of the vehicle, right under the commander and drivers (because of the complex transmission, two drivers were needed). The A7V could move at a top speed of 9 km/hr, and had a crusing range of 60 to 70 km on roads, and 30 to 35 km cross-country. Unfortunately, the 33-ton vehicle's design made for poor mobility, with very low ground clearance and an overhanging hull that tended to get stuck in anything other than flat terrain. The first tank to tank engagement occured on 24 April 1917, when roughly 15 German tanks encountered British Mk IV tanks at Villers-Bretonneux. The A7Vs managed to damage two female Mk IVs ("female" tanks mounted only machine guns, while "male" tanks mounted both machine guns and cannon), but were driven off by a male Mk IV.A7Vs again saw action in 1 June 1918 at Soissons and Reims; on 9 June at Montdidier and Noyon; on 15 July at the Marne; on 3 October at St. Etienne; and 11 October at Cambrai. The only surviving A7V is "Mephisto" (number 506), which was immobilized during the battle of Villers-Bretonneux after being hit by artillery fire. The crew blew up the vehicle, but it was later salvaged by Australian troops and taken back to Australia, where it can be found on display in Brisbane.The vehicle on display at the Panzermuseum ("Wotan") is a full-scale replica that is the only one of its kind in Europe. It was built from 1987 to 1990 under the auspices of a committee headed by Brigadiergeneral (ret.) R.M. Rothenberger, with generous assistance from German industrial firms. Drawings were provided by Prof. Dr.Ing. W. Funk of the Bundeswehr's University at Hamburg.
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