STURMPANZERWAGEN A7V
An A7V named ‘Wotan’ in active service in 1918
“SPECIFICATIONS WERE ISSUED FOR A MONOLITHIC, HEAVILY ARMED AND ARMOURED BEAST THAT COULD SWEEP ASIDE ALLIED TANKS”
The appearance of British tanks on the World War I battlefield of the Somme in 1916 came as a shock to the German military establishment. Although tank development had been of interest prior to the outbreak of war – as early as 1911 in fact – other priorities had shunted the development of armoured fighting vehicles to low importance prior to the rude awakening.
The only operational German tank of World War I was the product of a hurried development program that began with the formation within the War Ministry of the Allgemeines Kriegsdepartement Abteilung 7 Verkehrswesen – which translates as General War Department
