World of Tanks. History of French Tanks

Steel shield of beautiful France Throughout its history, France has played an essential role in the development of military technology in Europe, working hard to keep up with its competitors. In fact, the French had a chance to become the first nation to begin tank manufacturing. At the start of the 20th century, French Captain Levavasseur drew up a design to create an armored self-propelled gun. However, this project was eventually rejected after five years of testing. However, at the start of World War I it was starting to become clear that some form of armored warfare was needed, as armies began to barricade themselves within hundreds of kilometers of trenches and barbed wire. Massed artillery and machine guns mowed down soldiers, not allowing them to advance more than a couple hundred meters at best. Assault infantry lacked the firepower to suppress these types of attacks, so the world powers began to work toward finding a solution for this type of warfare. The Germans invested heavily in long-ranged artillery, while the British and French designed ways to move their field-guns closer to the enemy. One of those who helped with designs was Colonel Jean Baptiste Estienne, who would later come to be known as the "Father of the Tank." Inspired by the testing of the American "Holt" tractor, and according to the book On Armor, Estienne declared: “The victory in this war will belong to the belligerent which is the first to put a canon on a vehicle capable of moving over all kinds of terrain”. To help with this project, and after much perseverance, Estienne was able enlist the support of General Joseph Joffre. And in early February of 1916, the first French prototypes known as "Schneider" were ready for testing. Soon after the Schneider began testing, it was placed in friendly competition with the larger "Saint Chamond" tank design. Following the example of the British, these top secret projects were dubbed "Artillery Tractors." Unfortunately, these vehicles continued to suffer from poor aiming angles and an inability to successfully traverse trenches. Louis Renault endeavored to solve these drawbacks and, after overcoming numerous bureaucratic delays, was commissioned by Estienne in January of 1917 to proceed with his light tank design. Thus the legendary Renault FT was born, creating the classic design of the tank with a driver's compartment in the front, battle compartment in the middle, and an engine compartment in the rear. In addition, it was the first tank produced with a 360-degree traversing turret. Now the tank's hull didn't have to turn in the direction of enemies to fire at them. There were only two members in the crew, while other tanks had 7 or 8, so it complemented the so-called “assault artillery” crew really well. The first massive use of light tanks was on July 18th of 1918. Nearly 350 tanks (245 of them Renault FTs) participated in the Battle of Soissons. They broke through the front lines and pushed deep into enemy territory. Germany remembered this, and other similar battles, very well. No wonder some of its military leaders have argued that the culprit behind these losses was an illness they nicknamed "tankphobia." But these victories gave the French a false sense of military superiority. They were confident in their creation, so they refused to change anything in their design. In addition, the amount of tanks manufactured was significantly reduced. Generals were only interested in fortifying their defenses along the Maginot Line on the border with Germany, not armored warfare. It wasn't until the increased danger from Nazi Germany that the French were forced into developing new armored vehicles. In the late 1930s, the French army started to receive their new tanks. However, there were no changes in military tactics. Advocates of rapid tank warfare such as Charles de Gaulle were cast aside in favor of investing in defensive tactics like trench warfare. By the start of World War I, France could not complete its fortifications and armaments. And even though there were nearly a thousand FTs still in service, the brunt of the fighting fell to newer vehicles in 1940. The R35, a close-support tank, was one such vehicle. Its maximum speed didn't reach over 20 km/h, and the caliber of its gun was only 37 millimeters. The Germans, in the summer of 1940, examined many R35s and realized that these armored vehicles were not match for their Blitzkrieg. Captured tanks were converted into fixed-gun emplacements, tank destroyers, or sold off. In short, the R35s were used for just about everything except its intended purpose. The Hotchkiss H35 was not that much better, but its engine was much better than the R35. At the start of the war it met with some success, and France had planned to produce around 500 such vehicles per month. However, the defeat of the French at the start of the war put an end to these ambitious Allied plans. In addition, the Wehrmacht were disappointed with the H35 design and used it only for guarding their captured territories. The necessity to have a shooter, a gunner, and a loader at the same time annoyed German commanders, as it distracted them from concentrating on priority targets. Despite these criticisms, the Hotchkiss was still be used in 1945. A third tank, the SOMUA S35, was a French cavalry tank. Its speed averaged 40 km/h and its 47 mm gun allowed it to fight both infantry and armored vehicles. The SOMUA made its mark in different parts of the world. It fared well against the German Panzerkampfwagen III and was used by the Wehrmacht in Crimea, Karelia, and Normandy. It was a dependable vehicle, even though it wasn't the easiest to maintain and remained active in service until the end of World War II. The French produced heavy tanks as well, such as the B1 bis, which fought until the end of the war. It was practically invulnerable for early TD weapons, but it surprised Germans not with its armor, but its armament. In addition to the 47mm gun on its turret, there was also a 75mm gun in the hull. However, if one wanted to use this gun, they had to slant their armor and met the enemy face-to-face. That's why the Wehrmacht placed a flamethrower instead of a gun on some of their captured tanks. Interestingly, each of the French B1 bis were given their own name, a tradition that had existed since the World War I. Also, some of these tanks were actually recaptured as trophies at the end of the war and were placed back in the ranks of the French army. Ultimately, French tanks along the Western Front were not very impressive. That's not the tanks fault; that blame lands at the feet of their commanders. They divided their cuirassier divisions and half-trained soldiers into separate companies and platoons. This was done in order to fill holes along their defensive line in the summer of 1940. So when the generals of the Wehrmacht flanked the legendary Maginot Line, no one really knew what to do. The loss of communication, conflicting orders, and supply problems only helped to aggravate the situation. The few successes, like the attack lead by Pierre Billotte in the Battle of Stonne, or the counterattack of the 4th Cuirassier division lead by de Gaulle near Abbeville, didn't play a role. Germany had clearly demonstrated the power of an armored spearhead attack. The pride of the French didn't accept the Nazi occupation of their country, and began developing a new tank in secret. This wasn’t an easy task. Some of their engineers died on the front, while others fled the country. Then there were those like Louis Renault who shamed themselves by working with the invaders. After the liberation of Paris, France returned to the world stage and got back into the development of new tank designs. That's when the ARL 44 appeared, which included several old and outdated technical features. It did have an innovative design and included some new technology, such as a new compensator that reduced recoil, a feature that had never been used on French tanks. The ARL 44 never took part in the war; the first versions of the vehicle never arrived until well after Germany had surrendered. Overall it was as a successful means of propaganda and France began to regain confidence in its engineers. These engineers delivered on their expectations and created the revolutionary AMX-13 light tank in 1952. Its turret was swept to the rear of the hull and had an autoloader installed which allowed it to make several shots with minimal intervals between them. Crewman then had to leave the battlefield and reload their vehicle in a safe place. Its awesome firepower per unit compensated for this drawback, allowing this vehicle to fight against tanks from other nations on the same level. The AMX-13 was produced for 35 years and was delivered to dozens of countries. Nearly half of the 7,700 vehicles produced were exported around the world. The French started to experiment even further, coming up with new designs for armored vehicles. Of these designs, the Lorraine 40t, the M4, and the AMX-50 were nothing more than prototypes and experiments. The appearance of the AMX 30 battle tank forced the French to rearm their army again… but this is another story. When France was faced with the German aggression from World War I it was able to stand against it. The appearance of tanks turned the tide of battle in favor of the allies, but the French relaxed after the victory and let their guard down. They tried to search for a solution to their problems at the last minute in World War II, but it was too late. After the war, France became one of the biggest manufacturers and exporters of armored vehicles in the world. Its designers and engineers earned the respect of other nations, helping to move the rest of the world forward in tank construction�