Meanwhile, the German high command was planning an attack on Villers-Bretonneux, hoping to capture the town and the hill to the north so that their artillery could dominate the important road and rail junction of Amiens, some 20 kilometres to the west. After several days of reconnaissance it was decided that the ground was suitable for tanks, and fifteen A7Vs were allocated to the assault. The ground was firm, gently sloping, and relatively free from shell craters, and the Allied defences were comparatively weak.