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The Matilda Mark II (A12), originally known simply as The Infantry Tank Mark II, was a British infantry tank of the Second World War. It was a marked improvement over its predecessor, the Matilda I (A11), boasting a 2 pounder gun, thicker armour, and numerous other technological improvements. However, its massive weight, nearly twice that of its predecessor, made it slow and cumbersome.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]
When war broke out in September, 1939, only two Matilda's were in service with the British Army. Nonetheless, a small number of Matilda's did take part in the Battle of France where their thick armour proved a rude shock to the advancing German troops. Those tanks were later abandoned in the Dunkirk evacuation.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]
Production of the Matilda continued and the tanks were sent to the newly established front of North East Africa. It was there, against a poorly equipped Italian force, that it earned its nickname 'Queen of the Desert'. Its incredibly tough armour proved too thick for the Italian tanks and guns and helped drive the axis forces across the Libyan desert.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]
With the arrival of the Afrika Korps, The Matildas luck began to change. It proved vulnerable to the Germans new anti-tank guns, and it was ill suited to the mobile warfare that was taking place. For a time, it still proved a match for enemy tanks; however, as newer and more powerful Axis models arrived on the battlefield, it slowly became less and less effective.[NEWLINE][NEWLINE]
Its successor, the Valentine tank, began to arrive in late 1941, replacing the increasingly obsolete Matilda. What remained of the Matilda force in Africa was largely destroyed in the summer of 1942, during Operation Crusader, where they helped win Britain's first ground victory against German forces. However, it continued to be used in other theatres, largely in the pacific, where they proved more than a match for Japanese forces and became the only British tank to remain in service throughout the war.
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