Figure 1.--Famed World War II photograoher Robert Capa was in Chartres for the liberation of tis beautiful Chartres cathedral town (August 18). Hesnapped this image. The unidentified boy does not seen as exited as the adults. The tank is the Renault R35, the primary French battle tank at the onset of the War. Large numbers of French tanks were turned over to the Germans after the fall of France (June 1940). The Germnans used them for many purposes. They were obsolete in front-line service by 1944. We suspect that the Germans had incoroporated this one into their Atlantic Wall defenses. It may have been recovered by the Resistance. It looks like the turret has been reversed and is facing backwards. You can see large open compartment with a type of shock spring in view and that would never be in the front. Also it looks like there is a small hole in turret next to cannon where a light machine gun might have already been removed.

Famed World War II photograoher Robert Capa was in Chartres for the liberation of tis beautiful Chartres cathedral town (August 18). Hesnapped this image. The unidentified boy does not seen as exited as the adults. The tank is the Renault R35, the primary French battle tank at the onset of the War. Large numbers of French tanks were turned over to the Germans after the fall of France (June 1940). The Germnans used them for many purposes. They were obsolete in front-line service by 1944. It looks like the turret has been reversed and is facing backwards. You can see large open compartment with a type of shock spring in view and that would never be in the front. Also it looks like there is a small hole in turret next to cannon where a light machine gun might have already been removed.

The Renault R-35

The Renault Char léger Modèle 1935 is commonly referredcto as the R-35. It was a light infantry tank. Desisigning began (1933) and it wentbinto production (1936). It was designed to support infantry operations not to battle enemy armor. Its main armament was a short 37-mm gun. It was assigned to autonomous tank battalions assigned to infantry divisions. For such a purpose it had adequate armor. And it had innivative sloping aemor. It did not, however, have adequate armor or a high-velocity gun to take on German tanks. It was also slow. When war was declared (September 1939), thec French began to realize they needed a tank capable of engaging German armor. The French rushed an upgrade into production with a more powerful gun--the R-40 (April 1940). Plans were underway to develop more powerful, faster variants. At the time of the Battle of France (Msy0June 1940), the R-35 was the orimary tank in the French inventory and its inability to engage German armor left the French infantry exposed. (At gthe time there were no light infantry anti-tank weapons.) The French built about 1,685 of these tanks. The French exported the R-35 to their allies (Poland, Romania, and Yugoslavia) as well as Turkey.

Disposition

The Franco-German Armistice (June 1940) required the French to turn over war material and stores, except for the French fleet, to the Germans. This inclded large numbers of tanks. After the battle of France, the Germans thus recovered many French tanks which in 1940 were in some cases superior to the German tanks. This included: • 500 FT-17 • 800 R-35/40 • 600 H-35/39 • 50 FCM-36 • 160 B1bis (18 B2(f) with 10.5 cm howitzers, 60 B2 flammpanzer and 82 B2(f) tanks + turretless B2(f) Fahrschulpanzer) • 297 Somua S-35 tanks Beginning 1942 the Waffen-SS security forces received 250 FT-17, 30 R-35 and 60 Hotchkiss tanks. Several tanks were given to Germany allies like for example 40 Renault R35 to Bulgaria and other R35 tanks to Croatia. The Germans also used some of these tanks and other French equioment in the Atlanic Wall. A reader writes, "The Germans buried a few tanks, but mostly they took the turret off the chassis and mounted it like a ship's turret with a magazine and gun room deeper underground below the tank turret. The chassis were eitherconverted for other uses or used for spare parts or melted down. Nearer to end of war in te defense of the Reich, they buried complete tank hull and those would have been Mk IVs, Vs, and VIs. [Military History]

Liberation of Chartres (August 18, 1944)

Chartres is located southeat of Paris. It is an ancient Roman town and one of the most aclaimed cathedral cities of the medieval period. The city itseld was built on a hill on the left bank of the Eure River. Its renowned medieval cathedral was built on top of the hill and thus its famous two spires are visible from miles away across the flat surrounding farm lands. The plain of Beauce, the "granary of France", streaches to the southeast. Many condider Chartres to be the jmopst beautiful of the many medieval gothic cathedrals. Chartres was not damaged in the battle for France as French authorities declared Paris an open city ad surrendered soon after (June 1940). The city was subsequentlt damaged by Allied bombing. Allied units stuck outside the city, wanted the Cathedral destroyed, American officer, Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr., doubted the need to destroy the magnificent Cathedral. He volnteered to surepticiously go into the German-occupied city and determine of the Germnans were using the Cathedral spires as an observation post. He mnanaged to confirm that the Germans were not using the Cathedral. [Nordlinger] The Allies entered the city (August 18). Col. Griffith was killed two days earlier as the Allies liberated the nearby town of Leves (August 16). As part of the liberation, the city population went after collaborators. The fall of Chartres further opened the roads north and to Paris.

Scenarios

Our guess is there was French military equipment all over the place. Because of Hitler resistance to any kind of wuithdrawl, the Normandy withdrawal was not carefully planned, but done at the last minute in a panic. Wethink the Germans dug some tanks into the ground. Thus the Resistance may have got hold of some. But your scenario is just as plausible if not more so.

A reader provides another scenario, "I was just thinking about another possible scenario for that photo. I can't really see a resistance group capturing an intact tank. They could blow it up or disable it but not capture it. My idea behind the pic. Reason turret is facing backwards was because the German tankers were retreating and they wanted to guard against anything catching up to them. They were probably going full speed. Full speed for too long puts a strain on engine. Engine stops, driver (usually the drivers have some mechanical skills) opens one of the engine hatches and sees that he can not fix it. Tank commander orders his men to strip tank of anything useful and the MG-34 is removed and probably some extra ammo and food and water and they start walking. Later on resistance finds tank."

Sources

Military History of the 20th Century Website.

Created: 11:41 AM 9/5/2012
Last updated: 6:40 PM 9/5/2012