In 1940, the German Panzers that had previously cut swathes through the Belgian, French and British Armour ranks got a rude shock at Arras where they met a fierce counterattack spearheaded by the Matilda tanks of the BEF. Too their horror, their tank guns and anti-tank guns were ineffective against the heavily armoured infantry tank and only the intervention of the heavy 88mm AA guns in the AT role stopped the penetration.
This was repeated in North Africa where the Matilda spearheaded the assaults on the Italian fortified towns in support of the infantry seemingly impervious to all shot and shell. The Matilda was crowned “Queen of the Battlefield” but her reign was cut short by the arrival in North Africa of the German Afrika Korps wit their many 88 mm guns.