Based on the experience of the Polish company, three "high-speed cuirassier divisions" (Divisioins Cuirassees Rapide - DCR) were created in France, consisting of two B-1 battalions (60 vehicles) and two battalions of H-39 tanks (78 vehicles). The fourth was in the stage of formation, moreover, these units lacked support from the motorized infantry (they were given only one motorized infantry battalion), but, most importantly, they lacked any combat experience! In addition, 400 British, Belgian and Dutch tanks fought against the Germans, so that in total the Allies had significantly more than 3,500 tanks in the French army.
Another thing is that the combat characteristics of most of them were not balanced, so their use was extremely difficult. Thus, the French Somua S-35 tank, armed with a 47-mm cannon and a machine gun, had a maximum armor thickness of 56 mm, but a crew of three: a driver-mechanic, a radio operator and a tank commander, who was in a single-seat turret and overloaded with such the number of responsibilities that he simply could not successfully combine them all. He had to simultaneously monitor the battlefield, hit targets with a cannon and a machine gun, and besides, also load them. The exact same turret was on the D-2 and B-1-BIS tanks. Therefore, it turns out that one single unsuccessful development of French engineers reduced the combat effectiveness of three types of combat vehicles of the French army at once, although the very idea of such a unification deserves every approval. The B-1 tank was the heaviest, as it had a combat weight of 32 tons and a maximum armor thickness of 60 mm. Its armament consisted of 75- and 47-mm guns in the hull and turret, as well as several machine guns, but the crew of only four, so he could not effectively service this tank either. So, its driver had to perform also the function of the gunner of a 75-mm gun, which was loaded by a special loader, the radio operator was busy with his radio station, while the commander, just like on the S-35 tank, was overloaded with responsibilities, and had to work for three. The tank's speed on the highway was 37 km / h, but on the ground it was much slower. At the same time, its high height made it a good target for German 88-mm anti-aircraft guns, from which even 60 mm armor could not save shells! The Renault R-35 / R-40 was a typical representative of the post-war generation of French infantry support light tanks. With a combat weight of 10 tons, this two-seater tank had 45 mm armor, a short-barreled 37-mm SA-18 gun and a coaxial machine gun. The speed of the tank was only 20 km / h, which was completely insufficient for the conditions of a new, maneuverable war.
Destroyed B-1 on the square of the French city.
In May 1940, there were 1,035 vehicles of this type, and another part was in reserve. More perfect, in any case, in terms of weapons and speed, can be considered a tank of the company "Hotchkiss" H-35 and especially its subsequent modification H-39. Unlike machines of earlier releases, it was equipped with a 37-mm SA-38 cannon with a 33 caliber barrel and an initial velocity of an armor-piercing projectile of 701 m / s. The speed of the H-39 was 36 km / h and practically did not differ from the speed of the S-35. Armor thickness 40 mm, the crew consisted of two people. At the beginning of the war, there were 1,118 N-35 / N-39 tanks, and if it were not for the absence of a radio station and the tightness of the tower, even they could have become serious opponents for the Hitlerite Partzerwaffe. It turns out that the French had in the first echelon 1,631 light tanks and another 260 medium tanks D-1 and D-2, produced in 1932-1935. By 1940, they were already considered obsolete, but they could also be used.
Moreover, it turns out that tanks with a two-man turret, and armed with the same sufficiently effective 47-mm gun and with a crew of three, existed in the French army. These are AMC-35 or ACGI, which were also supplied to Belgium. With a combat weight of 14.5 tons, these tanks had a maximum armor thickness of 25 mm and developed speeds of up to 40 km / h. The crew consisted of a driver-mechanic, a gunner-commander and a loader, i.e. had the same distribution of duties as on the Soviet T-26 and BT-5 / BT-7. It is completely unclear why the turret of this particular tank was not installed on the D-2, B-1 and S-35 chassis, since in terms of development and production time, all these tanks are the same age. But since the AMS-35s were intended to equip reconnaissance units, they were released in very small quantities, and they did not play any role in the battles.
How did the clashes between German and French tanks go in May - June 1940? First, the massive attacks of Hitler's aircraft, tanks and motorized formations immediately caused massive panic, which quickly spread along the roads along which the soldiers of the Allied forces were retreating interspersed with the civilian population. Secondly, it immediately became clear that in those cases when French tanks tried to counterattack the enemy, the N-39s were quite easily destroyed by German anti-tank and tank guns from a distance of 200 m, especially when the latter used subcaliber armor-piercing shells with an initial speed of 1020 m / sec.
The situation was worse with the S-35 tanks, which could be hit even with such shells almost point-blank, from a distance of less than 100 meters. Therefore, the German tankmen and artillerymen tried to hit them on board, especially since the French tactics of using tanks easily allowed it. Taking advantage of the fact that, due to the small range of action, the French vehicles often had to refuel, the Germans, who had very good air reconnaissance, tried to attack just such formations in the first place. In particular, thanks to the skilfully conducted reconnaissance by motorcyclists and armored vehicles, the 7th German Panzer Division received information in time that a French DCR-1 equipped with B-1 and H-39 tanks was in front of a gas station. The French, who were not expecting an attack, were attacked by German tanks Pz.38 (t) and Pz.lV, which were marching at top speed. Moreover, from their 37-mm guns, German tankers tried to shoot at the ventilation grilles of French B-1 tanks, choosing for this a distance of 200 meters or less, and the Pz.lV from their short-barreled 75-mm cannons fired at trucks, fuel tankers and French crews. tanks outside the vehicles.
At the same time, it turned out that French tanks at close range could not shoot at German ones from 75-mm guns, since they did not have time to turn after them. Therefore, in response to frequent firing from the Germans, they were forced to respond with slow fire from their 47-mm turret guns, which, in the end, led them to a complete defeat. Individual successful attacks by French tanks, in particular, units under the command of Charles de Gaulle - the future president of the French Republic, as well as individual successes in Poland, had no significant consequences, and could not have them.
Padded Somua S-35
Meeting with stubborn resistance in one of the sectors, the Germans tried to bypass it immediately, break through to the rear of the enemy and seize its supply bases and lines of communication. As a result, the winning tanks were left without fuel and ammunition and were forced to capitulate, having exhausted all possibilities for further resistance. In addition, they were also not very unsuccessfully used, evenly distributing them along the entire front, while the Germans gathered them into one fist in the direction of the main attack.
The tanks of the British Expeditionary Force also took part in the summer battles of 1940 in France. But here, as it turned out, there were no less problems with their use. So, the British troops used two-seat tanks "Matilda" MK. I with a combat weight of 11 tons and pure machine-gun armament. True, unlike the Pz. I, their armor was 60 mm thick, but the speed was only 12 km / h, i.e. even less than that of the R-35, so they could not bring any significant benefit in this new, highly maneuverable war. The Mk. IV cruising tank with a crew of four with a combat weight of 15 tons had 38 mm armor, a 40-mm cannon and a machine gun, and even had a speed of 48 km / h. Another British "cruiser", the A9 Mk. I, with a crew of six people housed in three turrets, as on the Soviet T-28 medium tank, was also very high-speed. The armament on it consisted of a 40-mm cannon, a coaxial machine gun and two more machine guns in machine-gun turrets located on both sides of the driver's booth. The speed was 40 km / h. However, the maximum armor thickness was only 14 mm, besides, the tank was distinguished by a terrible design with many "lures" and angles that directly attracted German shells, because of which almost every shot at this vehicle reached its target.
Due to the fact that the British did not have high-explosive shells for 40-mm guns, they could not conduct effective fire on infantry. It was believed that with such a small caliber, there was still no great benefit from them, and the British armed some of their "cruisers" with lightweight 76-mm cannons with a short recoil and even 95-mm howitzers. Their task was to fire high-explosive shells at enemy artillery positions, pillboxes and bunkers, as well as defeat enemy manpower. Due to the specifics of their combat missions, the British called vehicles with such weapons "close" support (or CS) tanks. Interestingly, in this approach to the use of tanks, they turned out to be by no means original, it is enough to recall the Soviet "artillery tanks" on the T-26 and BT chassis and even such a German tank as the Pz. IV with its short-barreled 75-mm gun. It turns out that of all the vehicles of the British tank fleet, only the A-12 "Matilda" MK. II - a 27-ton tank with a crew of four, 40-mm cannon and 78-mm armor in front, was a truly strong and hard-to-hit tank. although its speed was only 24 km / h on the highway and 12, 8 km / h on rough terrain. Those. this tank, again, was not suitable for the maneuvering operations carried out by German tank corps in France.
British and French trophies at Dunkirk.
However, even these tanks from the British were very few, since their own production of armored vehicles in England before the war was strikingly small: in 1936 - 42 tanks, 1937-32, in 1938-419, in 1939-969, and only 1940. after the fall of France, when it was necessary as soon as possible to make up for the loss of tanks in the Arras region, where on May 21, 1940, in order to delay the advance of German tanks to Dunkirk, a massive tank counterattack was launched. Nevertheless, only 58 tanks "Matilda" Mk. I and 16 "Matilda" Mk. II participated in it, and it was not possible to achieve the defeat of the German tank forces in this area.
Typical French tank of 1940. A lot of armor, little space and weapons.
Indeed, with a pitiful force, the British "attacked" the German troops that day, and it should be noted that, despite the lack of air support and weak accompaniment by infantry forces, at the very beginning they were accompanied by complete success. German 37-mm anti-tank guns and 20-mm guns of the Pz. II tanks were completely powerless against the British armor, while the machine-gun British tanks quite successfully hit the gun crews, trucks and caused severe panic among the German infantry.
However, the forces were still too unequal, and this time a successful attack from the very beginning by thick-armored British vehicles, in the end, was repelled by fire from 88-mm anti-aircraft guns and 105-mm field howitzers. At the same time, it turned out that the 88-mm gun hit the A12 tank from a distance at which its 40-mm cannon could not respond, and a larger-caliber cannon could not be placed on it due to the too small diameter of its turret shoulder strap. In turn, the increase in diameter inevitably had to be reflected in the increase in the width of the tank itself, which was hampered … by the width of the railway track in England (1435 mm.). Interestingly, the railway track was the same in Europe. And there she also interfered with the Germans, which is why the same "Tigers" had to be "changed" into transport tracks for transportation by rail.
A German Pz. III tank drives past a destroyed French village.
The result was a vicious circle, which the British tried to get out of on the Matilda Mk. III tanks, which, as already noted, were armed with lightweight 76-mm cannons (CS). As a result, three people in the turret of this model of the Matilda tank could hardly fit, the ammunition load had to be significantly reduced, and the tank's combat capabilities decreased, since the lightweight shells of this gun had practically no armor penetration. Subsequently, the crews of the cruising tank Mk. VI "Crusader" and the infantry Mk. III "Valentine" continued to suffer from the tightness of the turret, especially after they received new and larger 57-mm tank guns. Meanwhile, all that was then required to achieve the full success of the British armored forces were tanks with 80-mm armor thickness and 57-mm cannons, which, if necessary, could be easily replaced with more powerful 75-76-mm guns!
Thus, as paradoxical as it may sound, the British were let down by their railways, while the French became hostages to their outdated tactical principles and the costly fortified Maginot line on the border. By the way, French designers were able to create technically very modern tanks in just a few pre-war years. But since they were forced to rely on the instructions of their military, they got vehicles that lost to the German blitzkrieg tanks. Having defeated France, the Germans captured approximately 2,400 tanks out of 3,500 armored vehicles available to the French as trophies. The usual practice of using them has become the alteration or rearmament of captured vehicles. So, for example, on the basis of B-1, the Germans managed to create a good flamethrower tank, while the chassis of other vehicles were used to turn them into ammunition transporters and all kinds of self-propelled guns.
"Matilda" MKII: well, at least something … But only for only two years!
