The German A7V in WWI
Germany’s Panzerkampfwagen on the Western Front
Sep 15, 2008 Nicholas Efstathiou
In 1917 at the Battle of Cambrai, the British Army showed the power of armor in the field. The General Headquarters of the German Army, however, did not attempt to begin a serious and disciplined armored program until after Cambrai. One of the products of this program was the A7V Panzerkampfwagen, which made its battlefield debut on March 21, 1918. While these initial A7Vs did perform particularly well, they represented the determination of the men involved in the fledgling Panzer program.
The A7V Panzerkampfwagen
The A7V was a heavy tank designed by the Germans for combat on the Western Front. While design construction and testing began in 1917, combat usage of the A7V did not begin until early 1918. British successes post-Cambrai in regards to armor pushing through German lines led to the development of the German T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle to stop British Whippets (light tanks) from capitalizing on their tactical gains.
This, in turn, also led the Germans to focus on their own tank which could seize opportunities created by Stormtrooper units. Thus the A7V came to light: a heavy, fast tank which out ran the British Whippets and presented a frightening display of power to the trench-bound infantryman.
Statistics of the A7V
Steven J. Zaloga, in his excellent work, German Panzers, 1914-1918, provides a detailed list of the A7V Panzerkampfwagen’s specifications. Understanding that the Panzer program overall suffered severe problems, cutbacks, and lack of faith during the design and development phases, the weapon which was produced is even more impressive.
The A7V itself was a physically tremendous tank which required a minimum of eighteen men to operate the machine and to crew its weapons systems. While the A7V had only 6mm of armor on its roof, the sides were well armored at 15mm, as was the aft. The stern, however, carried 30mm of armor, allowing the tank to push through heavily fortified positions.
The A7V moved rapidly at 10mph and could travel up to 70km via road, or 35km across terrain with the fuel it carried. The A7V was 7.35m in length, 3.06m in width, and 3.35m high. The A7V also had a ground clearance of only 0.2m, and cross trenches up to 2m. The tank weighed roughly 33 tons and was powered by to Daimler 165-204, 100hp, four cylinder engines.
Weapons of the A7V
The A7V was armed with six 7.9mm Maschine Gewehr ’08 and could carry up to 15,000 rounds of ammunition for these machineguns. The primary weapon for the A7V, however, was the L/26.3 caliber, 57mm Maxim-Nordfeldt (1888) quick firing gun. A skilled crew could fire off up to 25 rounds a minute. The 57mm had a range of 6.4km and a muzzle velocity of 487m/s. The A7V carried up to one hundred rounds for the quick firing gun with the shells varying from grape-shot to armor-piercing to high-explosive.
While the A7V Panzerkampfwagen was an impressive machine, Germany had neither the time nor the material to build and perfect enough of them to make a significant contribution to their war effort. The A7V did show, however, that the speed of the British Whippet could be combined with the armor and striking power of the British Mark V heavy tank to create a powerful weapon.
Sources
Gray, Randal. Kaiserschlacht 1918: The Final German Offensive. London: Osprey, 1998.
Zaloga, Steven J. German Panzers, 1914-1918. London: Osprey, 2006.
German A7V
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British Whippet
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