In 1940, this small but well armoured tank was pretty much all that stood between the German Blitzkrieg and a battered British Army that was retreating to the coast.

Slow, small, and armed only with a machine gun, the A11 Infantry Tank (Matilda I) would achieve great things in its only significant battlefield action – effectively saving the British Expeditionary Force from annihilation.

At Arras on 21st May 1940, Matilda Is and IIs of 4th and 7th Royal Tank Regiment counterattacked the rapidly advancing 7th Panzer Division. In doing so, they successfully halted the German advance and unnerving Hitler so much that he issued an order forbidding further advances - thus giving the British and French chance to organize the Dunkirk evacuation.

In this video, David Willey covers the history of this diminutive and often ridiculed little tank which altered the course of history by saving an entire army.

This video features archive footage courtesy of British Pathé.

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