No, I am not talking about the Barossa Valley Bar & Grill although they have excellent wines and great food, but rather the B1 variety.
The French defense against the German Blitzkrieg usually gets told one way. However there were pockets of resistance where the French fought tough successful battles against the German invaders. One of the stand out battles occurred in the village of Stonne.
The French tank commander Captain Pierre Billotte, son of French General Gaston Billotte served in the 1st Compagnie of the 41st Tank Battalion, was equipped with a Char B1 heavy tank nicknamed “Eure”. Billotte was instrumental in retaking the village of Stonne, defended by elements of the German 8th Panzer Regiment. The village had already been the scene of fierce fighting before Billotte’s action, having changed hands numerous times due to its strategic location on the road to Sedan. On 16 May, while under heavy fire from German tanks, Billotte and his Char B1 Bis managed to break through the German defences and to destroy two German Panzer IV tanks, eleven Panzer III tanks and two enemy guns. Billotte’s Char B1-Bis tank received 140 hits from enemy tanks and guns, but none were able to penetrate the tank’s heavy armour.
Despite this great story I have chosen a different tank to model.
French heavy tank B1 n°481 “Vercingetorix” surrounded by German troops – 83 avenue de la gare, Noyers-sur-Cher, France, June 1940. This tank belonged to 46e BCC (Bataillon de Chars de Combats), 3rd company, based in Gien.
After a 300km trip from north of France, the tank was wrecked and abandoned.
The crew of the Tank number 481 “Vercingetorix”, 3rd Company, 46th Combat Tank Battalion, 4th Armored Division, France, May 1940 were as follows:
- Tank leader : Sous-Lieutenant Alexandre Vadon;
- Pilot : Sergent-chef Henri Hochart;
- Radio : Chasseur Roger Biedelez;
- Co-pilot : Chasseur Gilbert Lafabrie.
The “Char de Bataille” B1 was the main heavy tank used by the French Army during World War II. The original project was set up in the mid-1920s (many technical solutions adopted as the large tracks are derived from the First World War main tanks) but the delivery to the French Army started only in the mid-30s. Massive and robust, Char B1 was improved in “bis” version to increase its operational effectiveness. It was armed with the 47 mm gun, located in the small turret, and the 75 mm howitzer located in the hull. The tank was characterized by a strong armour able to provide a good protection. However the heavy weight negatively affected the speed (28 Km/h) and the on road and off road maneuverability . Even if it was a good tank for those times, the Char B1 bis was deployed to support the infantry Divisions and not in Tanks Divisions. Due to this it was impossible to compete against the German Panzer Divisions during the French Campaign on 1940.
The kit is an 1/56th scale Char B1 bis tank sold by Italeri and is the start of my 1940 French “Bolt Action” army.
As you would be aware from previous posts this has been on the painting table for nearly twelve months. It is good to have a bit more space and to have this one finished, At least I can now say I have started my French WW2 Bolt Action army!
Great looking tank Dave, the camo pattern looks spot on, and did like the accompanying history.
Thanks dave I always like trying to find the ‘back stories”.
Fantastic- love the finished tank.
As for the Char itself… almost an ideal example of what not to do in terms of crew ergonomics.
Cheers,
Pete.
Thanks Pete. The tank was effective but as you say had the carryover issues from the FT17 which was revolutionary at the time.
Lovely tank! Love the back story.
I do remember that the French had the best tanks at the start of WWII, in fact, even if the Germans had started the war in the west with the Panzer III, they would have been outclassed.
The Blitzkrieg was made possible because the German’s use of wireless radios far exceeded any other nation at that point in history – allowing recon units to call back locations and catching the French during refueling or or rearming.
Like everything in Life, timing is the critical element.
I agree. Wireless, modern tactics of fire and maneuver, and the use of Panzer brigades rather than allocation in penny packets was certainly the difference.
An interesting post Dave, I don’t claim to be a Tank man but I surprised I have no recollection of see one!
They are a great looking tank. Saw some in the Musée des Blindés tank museum in the Loire Valley of France, over twenty years ago. It was a great museum although Maree was “slightly” bored!
Oh mate that would have been great fun for you but I can understand Maree feeling a little underwhelmed Poor Jill has to suffer the same thing on our last trip around the UK visiting the various military museums. 😂😂😂
Now that is a nice model, Dave! 🙂 The camouflage has come out very well indeed and I know from experience how tricky French tank camouflage is to get right! The Osprey “Char B vs Pz IV” book from their Duel series is quite a good book and shows what Char Bs could achieve given the chance.
Thanks John. I will look that lone up. The paint camo didn’t turn out to be that difficult especially seeing I used a black permanent marker for the black outline which made it a lot easier.
Lovely model Dave, I love some of the older tank designs, and the Char is one of my fave’s. The camo looks spot on to me. Top work mate, best of luck with the rest of the force.
Cheers Roger.
Thanks Roger,
C‘est magnifique!
Merci Monsieur!
Looks great. I recall watching a documentary (possibly one of the parts of World At War?) that discussed how good those French tanks were compared to the German panzers of the time, but they were let down by a series of poor choices from higher-up, so many of their tanks never even saw action as a result…
What politicians and old fat generals interfering about how to conduct a war! Surely that would never happen!