Tanks (WW 2) - France: Illustrated History Books & Guides

Captured French Tanks Under the German Flag

This book gives an account of the French model tanks used by Germany during WWII.

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Division Leclerc : The Leclerc Column and Free French 2nd Armored Division, 1940-1946 (Osprey)

'General Leclerc' was the nom de guerre adopted by the Gaullist officer Philippe de Hautcloque, to protect his family in occupied France. He became France's foremost fighting commander, and his armored division (the '2e DB') its most famous formation.
Starting as a small scratch force of mostly African troops organised and led by Leclerc in French Equatorial Africa, it achieved early success raiding Italian and German positions in co-operation with Britain's Long Range Desert Group.

Following the Allied victory in North Africa it was expanded and reorganised as a US Army-style armoured division, with American tanks and other armoured vehicles. Shipped to the UK, in spring 1944, it was assigned to Patton's US Third Army, landing in time for the Normandy breakout and being given the honour of liberating Paris in August 1944.
Combining a thorough analysis of their combat and organisation with detailed colour plates of their uniforms and equipment, this is the fascinating story of Free France's most effective fighting force.

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French Tanks of World War II (1) - Infantry and Battle Tanks (Osprey)

The first of two volumes covering the French armor of World War II, this title looks at the infantry and battle tanks that faced the onslaught of the German Blitzkrieg in 1940.
Many of the French tanks were intended as replacements for the World War I-era Renault FT, and various modernization efforts throughout the inter-war years had given rise to a number of new infantry tanks, including the Renault R35 and R40, FCM 36, and the Hotchkiss H35 and H39.
Alongside these developments was a separate family of battle tanks, starting with the Renault D1, D2, and, finally, the best-known French tank of the campaign - the Char B1 bis.

"French Tanks of World War II (1)" offers a background to the design and development of these tank types, and an evaluation of their performance in the Battle of France.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Operational History - Conclusion and Analysis.

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French Tanks of World War II (2) - Cavalry Tanks and AFVs (Osprey)

A sequel to French Tanks of World War II (1), this title focuses primarily on France's cavalry armored vehicles, including the light reconnaissance tanks such as the AMR and AMC families, the famous Somua S.35 cavalry tanks and the extensive array of armored half-track and armored cars used by the French cavalry.

Contents: Introduction - Design and Development - Operational History - Conclusion and Analysis.

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Hotchkiss H35 & H39 : Through A German Lens (Camera On)

This photo-album in the "Camera On" series contains over 90 photographs of the French cavalry tank developed prior to WWII. The Hotchkiss H35 or Char léger modèle 1935 H was a slow but well-armoured light infantry support tank but was rejected by the infantry and instead adopted by the cavalry.
From 1938 an improved version was produced with a stronger engine, the Char léger modèle 1935 H modifié 39, which from 1940 was also fitted with more powerful 37 mm gun.

Over 500 Hotchkiss tanks were captured and used by the Germans as Panzerkampfwagen 35H 734(f) or Panzerkampfwagen 39H 735(f), most of them for occupation and assigned to police units or second line logistic support troops.

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Panzer III vs Somua S 35 - Belgium 1940 (Osprey)

The armour clashes in May 1940 were the biggest the world had yet seen, as the sweeping German advances of that period came to epitomize Blitzkrieg. The Wehrmacht's Panzer III was well matched by the French Somua S35 tanks, the two representing very different design philosophies and yet both ranking among the best in the world at the time.
Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour artwork, this work draws upon the latest research to provide a definitive analysis of the clash between these two high-quality, cutting-edge tank designs. It describes one of the key duels at the heart of a new type of warfare, in the epic battles at the outset of Hitler's conquest of France and the Low Countries.

Contents: Introduction - Chronology - Design and Development - Technical Specifications - The Combatants - The Strategic Situation - Combat - Statistics and Analysis - Conclusion - Further Reading - Index.

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Panzer IV vs Char B1 Bis - France 1940 (Osprey)

The Battle of France in 1940 involved the first large-scale tank-against-tank battles in history. The massive clashes at Stonne, Hannant, and Gembloux involved hundreds of tanks on both sides, yet have faded from memory due to the enourmity of the French defeat.

This book examines two of the premier opposing tanks of the Wehrmacht and the French Army, the German PzKpfw IV and the French Char B1 bis. With a complete history of the design, development, and deployment of these armoured fighting vehicles, the story of these great battles is once again brought to life.

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Renault R35 & R40 through a German lens (Camera On)

The Renault R35, an abbreviation of Char léger Modèle 1935 R or R35, was a French light infantry tank of the Second World War. Designed from 1933 and produced from 1936, the tank was intended as an infantry support light tank. To this end it was relatively well-armoured but slow and lacking a good antitank-capacity, fitted with a short 37 mm gun.

At the outbreak of the war, the antitank-role was more emphasized leading to the development and eventual production from April 1940 of a subtype with a more powerful longer gun, the Renault R40. Due to the defeat of France the R35/40 remained the most numerous French tank of the war. About 1680 vehicles having been produced by June 1940.

In this volume the author provides a detailed impression of these vehicles through original photographs, taken during the war by German soldiers.

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1940: Les Blindes Francais

This book presents the French armored vehicles in the battle of May-June 1940. First of all, there are the combat tanks with presentations of the equipment (FT 17, D1, D2, R35, H35, FCM, H39, B1, FCM2 C) but also of the units (the DCR, BCC and CACC).
The second part presents the "cavalry", its equipment (AMD 50, AMD 178, AMR 33, AMC 35, H35 and H39, AMC SOMUA), its organization (DLM, DLC, GRDI), during the Phoney War then its reorganization in June before the final defeat.

This extensively illustrated book presents a detailed picture of this armoured force and the history of its engagements, unit by unit. An essential reference document.

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Chars B au combat - Hommes et matériels du 15e BCC

On the afternoon of May 16 1940, a group of about twenty B tanks belonging to the French army, 32-ton vehicles each armed with a 75 cannon and a 47 cannon - making them the most powerful armored equipment in the world in 1940 - approached a small town that would soon enter history: Montcornet. Since the day before yesterday, the enemy had broken through the front and opened a gigantic breach in the Allied system. Launched like lost children into the gap, the French battle tanks have a simple mission: "Destroy everything in your path", the fiery General Giraud simply told them...
This feat of arms - which precedes by 24 hours the famous action of Colonel de Gaulle on the same locality, with tanks of the same type - is one of the many episodes that this book recounts with rigorous accuracy and a striking attention to detail, supported by the direct testimonies of the combatants.

This fourth volume of the Encyclopedia of the French Army is profusely illustrated by an extraordinary collection of period photographs piously preserved in the souvenir albums of the Veterans of the battalion and brought together for the first time: more than 500 documents, almost all unpublished, have been collected and perfectly classified in this work with a view to constituting a true detailed review, tank by tank.

Numerous color profiles restore all the details of the markings and camouflage of the B tanks engaged in the actions recounted, while insights are shed on crucial questions more generally affecting French battle tanks of the time: armament, range and fuel supply, means of radio transmission, availability of equipment. A first-hand historical documentation that enriches the eternal debate on the "strange defeat" suffered by France in 1940.

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Chars D2 au combat - Les éléphants de guerre du colonel de Gaulle

In 1937, Colonel de Gaulle moved from theory to practice. The man of the "paper tank", author in 1934 of a veritable manifesto in favour of the armoured corps - Vers l'armée de métier, his most famous work - would command a combat tank regiment, the 507th RCC, for two years in Metz.
There, with powerful 20-tonne tanks, type D 2 built by Renault, he made his unit, subject to strict discipline and constant training, a remarkable combat tool from which he "always expected the most".

When the war broke out, Charles de Gaulle received a higher command, in the 5th Army. However, he did not take his eyes off his D 2 tanks and presented them to President Lebrun, on the front lines of the troops in the autumn of 1939, during a sequence that has remained famous.
And, when it was time to engage in battle, on 16 May 1940, the first tanks to join his 4th armoured division created from scratch were, once again, the D 2s. These pieces of equipment, armed with an excellent 47 anti-tank gun, were engaged offensively at Montcornet, then at Crécy-sur-Serre and on the Somme in front of Amiens, before taking part in the final battles of the Battle of France.

A saga of blood and steel, during which the crews did not disgrace themselves.

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