Editing Matilda II (section)

==Combat history==
===Battle of France 1940===
The Matilda was first used in combat by the [[7th Royal Tank Regiment]] in [[Battle of France|France in 1940]]. Only 23 of the unit's tanks were Matilda IIs; the rest of the British infantry tanks in France were the smaller machine-gun armed [[Matilda I (tank)|A11 Matilda]].{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|p=10}} Its 2-pounder gun was comparable to other tank guns in the 37 to 45&nbsp;mm range. Due to the thickness of its armour, it was largely, but not completely, impervious to the guns of the [[Tanks in the German Army|German tanks]] and anti-tank guns in France.{{sfnp|Sebag-Montefiore|2006|pp=149, 153}} The Germans found the 88&nbsp;mm anti-aircraft guns were the only effective counter-measure. In the [[Battle of Arras (1940)|counter-attack at Arras]] of 21 May 1940, 18<ref name=":0" /> British Matilda IIs (and Matilda Is) were able to briefly disrupt German progress, but, being unsupported, they sustained heavy losses (30 tanks lost) after breaking through to the rear area of [[7th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht)|7th Panzer Division]]. A gun line of artillery and later [[88mm flak gun]]s, personally organised by the divisional commander General [[Erwin Rommel]] was needed to repel the attack.<ref>''Panzer Commander - The Memoirs of Hans Von Luck'', pp. 33</ref> All vehicles surviving the battles around [[Battle of Dunkirk|Dunkirk]] were abandoned when the [[British Expeditionary Force (World War II)|British Expeditionary Force]] evacuated.

===North Africa 1940 to 1942===
[[Image:Matilda Compass.jpg|thumb|A Matilda advancing through [[Egypt]] as part of [[Operation Compass]]]]

Up to early 1942, in the [[North Africa campaign|war in North Africa]], the Matilda proved highly effective against Italian and German tanks, although vulnerable to the larger calibre and medium calibre anti-tank guns.

In late 1940, during [[Operation Compass]], Matildas of the British [[7th Armoured Division (United Kingdom)|7th Armoured Division]] wreaked havoc among the Italian forces in [[Egypt]]. The Italians were equipped with [[L3/35|L3 tankettes]] and [[M11/39|M11/39 medium tanks]], neither of which had any chance against the Matildas. Italian gunners were to discover that the Matildas were impervious to a wide assortment of artillery. Matildas continued to confound the Italians as the British pushed them out of Egypt and entered [[Libya]] to take [[Bardia]] and [[Tobruk]]. Even as late as November 1941, German infantry combat reports show the impotence of ill-equipped infantry against the Matilda.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rommelsriposte.com/2008/10/12/defending-position-19/ |title=Defending Position 19 |work= The Crusader Project|date=12 October 2008 }}{{self-published source|date=October 2014}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=October 2014}}

Ultimately, in the rapid manoeuvre warfare often practised in the open desert of North Africa, the Matilda's low speed and unreliable steering mechanism became major problems. Another snag was the lack of a high-explosive shell (the appropriate shell existed but was not issued).{{citation needed|date=December 2020}} When the German ''[[Afrika Korps]]'' arrived in [[North Africa]], the [[8.8 cm FlaK 18/36/37/41|88 mm anti-aircraft gun]] was again pressed into service against the Matilda, causing heavy losses during [[Operation Battleaxe]], when sixty-four Matildas were lost. The arrival of the more powerful [[5 cm Pak 38]] and [[7.5 cm Pak 40]] anti-tank guns also provided a means for the German infantry to engage Matilda tanks at combat ranges. Nevertheless, during [[Operation Crusader]] Matilda tanks of 1st and 32nd Army Tank Brigades were instrumental in the break-out from Tobruk and the capture of the Axis fortress of Bardia.{{sfnp|Orpen|1971|p={{page needed|date=October 2014}}}} The operation was decided by the [[infantry tank]]s, after the failure of the [[cruiser tank]]s of the 7th Armoured Division to overcome the Axis tank forces in the open desert.{{sfnp|Murphy|1961|loc=Chapter 14 and 15|p={{page needed|date=July 2019}}}}

[[Image:E 003743 E.jpg|thumb|left|A captured Matilda put into use by the German forces, is recaptured and its crew taken prisoner by New Zealand troops, 3 December 1941 during the battle to open the corridor to Tobruk, Operation Crusader.]]

As the German army received new tanks with more powerful guns, as well as more powerful anti-tank guns and ammunition, the Matilda proved less and less effective. Firing tests conducted by the ''Afrika Korps'' showed that the Matilda had become vulnerable to a number of German weapons at ordinary combat ranges.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rommelsriposte.com/2010/04/27/german-firing-trials-against-the-matilda-ii/ |title=German Firing Trials against the Matilda II |work=The Crusader Project|date=27 April 2010 }}{{self-published source|date=October 2014}}</ref>{{Self-published inline|date=October 2014}} Due to the small size of the turret and the need to balance the gun in it, up-gunning the Matilda, without developing a larger turret, was impractical. There was at least one instance of the turret from the [[Cavalier tank|A24/A27 cruiser tank]] series being fitted to a Matilda, complete with 6-pounder gun. As the size of the Matilda's turret ring was 54&nbsp;inches (1.37 m) vs. the 57&nbsp;inches of the A27, it was possible that a larger turret ring had been superimposed on the hull. The Churchill Mark III also had a 54-inch turret ring but was armed with a 6-pounder and that might have offered an alternative route.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|p=14}} It was also somewhat expensive to produce. Vickers proposed an alternative, the [[Valentine tank]], which had the same gun and a similar level of armour protection but on a faster and cheaper chassis derived from that of their [[Cruiser Mk II|"heavy cruiser" Cruiser Mk II]]. With the arrival of the Valentine in autumn 1941, the Matilda was phased out by the British Army through attrition, with lost vehicles no longer being replaced. By the time of the [[Second Battle of El Alamein]] (October 1942), few Matildas were in service, with many having been lost during Operation Crusader and then the Gazala battles in early summer of 1942. Around twenty-five took part in the battle as mine-clearing '''Matilda Scorpion''' [[mine flail]] tanks.

===Minor campaigns===
In early 1941, a small number of Matildas were used during the [[East African Campaign (World War II)|East Africa Campaign]] at the [[Battle of Keren]]. However, the mountainous terrain of East Africa did not allow the tanks of B Squadron [[4th Royal Tank Regiment]] to be as effective as the tanks of the 7th Royal Tank Regiment had been in Egypt and Libya.

A few Matildas of the 7th RTR were present during the [[Battle of Crete]] and all of them were lost.<ref>{{cite web |first=Paul |last=Handel |title=Matilda Tanks at Retimo on the Island of Crete |publisher=Australian Army |url=http://www.army.gov.au/ahu/docs/Matilda_Tanks_at_Retimo.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=19 May 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090519023920/http://www.army.gov.au/ahu/docs/Matilda_Tanks_at_Retimo.pdf}}</ref>

===Australian use in the Pacific theatre===
[[File:Australian armed forces in Papua New Guinea (9939654945907636).jpg|thumb|right|Engineers observe an Australian Matilda II crossing one of their bridges during the [[New Guinea Campaign]].]]
[[File:Matilda II Tarakan (089970).jpg|thumb|An Australian, howitzer-equipped Matilda of the [[2/9th Armoured Regiment (Australia)|2/9th Armoured Regiment]] in combat at the [[Battle of Tarakan (1945)|Battle of Tarakan]] (May 1945)]]

A total of 409 Matilda IIs were supplied by Britain to the Australian army between 1942 and 1944,{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=33}} and a further 33 close-support Matildas were transferred from New Zealand to the Australian army in 1944, as New Zealand made the decision to use only close-support Valentine tanks in the Pacific theatre, to minimise supply problems.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=24}} The [[Australian 4th Armoured Brigade]] used them against [[Empire of Japan|Japanese]] forces in the [[South West Pacific Area]], first in the [[Huon Peninsula campaign]] in October 1943. Matilda II tanks remained in action until the last day of the war in the Wewak, [[Bougainville campaign (1943–45)|Bougainville]] and [[Borneo campaign (1945)|Borneo]] campaigns, which made the Matilda the only British tank to remain in service throughout the war.{{sfnp|Bean|Fowler|2002|pp=147–148}}

The tanks were often employed in dense jungle with limited visibility, and could be subject to point-blank fire from hidden Japanese heavy artillery pieces. The Matilda's heavy armour (enhanced by the crews with spare track links) proved to be reasonably effective protection against this.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} In this fighting, the close-support version of the Matilda, armed with an [[Ordnance QF 3-inch howitzer]], was preferred by the Australians as it was more effective against Japanese bunkers.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} Local modifications to the tanks included improving the waterproofing, and adding an outside infantry telephone so supporting troops could more easily communicate with the tank crew.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=34}} Guards were fitted to the suspension to stop it from being tangled with jungle undergrowth, and metal panels fitted to make it harder for Japanese soldiers to attach adhesive demolition charges to the hull.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=33}}

The '''Matilda Frog''', an Australian-modified version of the tank that replaced the gun with a [[flamethrower]] saw some successful use against the Japanese on Borneo. Another Australian version, the '''Matilda Hedgehog''', which could fire seven {{convert|65|lb|kg|adj=on}} mortar shells, was successfully tested but was developed too late to see combat service.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=42}}

Matilda IIs remained in service with the [[Australian Army Reserve|Australian Citizen Military Forces]] until about 1955.{{sfnp|Fletcher|1994|page=35}}

===Soviet use===
The Red Army received 918 of the 1,084 Matildas sent to the USSR.{{sfnp|Bean|Fowler|2002|pp=147–148}} The Soviet Matildas saw action as early as the [[Battle of Moscow]] and became fairly common during 1942. Unsurprisingly, the tank was found to be too slow and unreliable. Crews often complained that snow and dirt were accumulating behind the "skirt" panels, clogging the suspension. The heavy armour on the Matilda was comparable to that of the Red Army's [[Kliment Voroshilov tank|KV-1 heavy tanks]], but the Matilda had nowhere near the firepower of the KV. Most Soviet Matildas were expended during 1942 but a few served on as late as 1944. The Soviets modified the tanks with the addition of sections of steel welded to the tracks to give better grip.{{sfnp|Hill|2007}}

===Captured use===
[[Image:Bundesarchiv Bild 146-1971-044-66, Afrika-Feldzug, erbeuteter Panzer.jpg|thumb|Captured Matilda tank, summer 1942]]
Following Operation Battleaxe a dozen Matildas left behind the Axis lines were repaired and put into service by the Germans.{{sfnp|Tucker-Jones|2007|p={{Page needed|date=August 2010}}}} Several vehicles were transported to [[Kummersdorf]] where they were evaluated, including trials by live fire. The German designation was ''Infanterie Panzerkampfwagen Mk.II 748(e)'' translating roughly as "Infantry Tank Mk.II Number 748 (English)". The Matildas were well-regarded by their German users{{sfnp|Tucker-Jones|2007|p=47}} although their use in battle caused confusion to both sides, despite extra-prominent German markings.{{sfnp|Tucker-Jones|2007|p={{Page needed|date=August 2010}}}} [[Czechs|Czech]] historian {{ill|Ivo Pejčoch|cz}} writes that the [[Kingdom of Romania|Romanians]] had also captured some Soviet Matildas,{{sfnp|Pejčoch|Pejs|2005|p=330}} but no other source mentions this, so it may be a confusion.

===Egyptian use===
Egypt used Matildas against [[Israel]] during [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]].<ref>{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social and Military History|page=520|first1=Spencer C |last1=Tucker |first2=Priscilla Mary |last2=Roberts |year=2008}}</ref>