BLUF

This 1917 WW1 battle saw the first use of massed tanks (476) and utilised combined arms (artillery, infantry and tanks); although tanks broke through the German lines, the allies were unable to follow up this breakthrough—however, this battle was a precursor to more sophisticated combined arms tactics and ultimately allied victory in 1918.

Summary

This article from the Imperial War Museum makes the following points:
  • Over half of the tanks were out of action at day’s end.
  • An artillery barrage was used to create surprise.
  • Allies used tanks armed with machine guns together with tanks equipped with artillery-type guns.

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