Built by Renault, Char B1 No.226 was delivered to the 510th. RCC (Régiment de Chars de Combat) early in 1938 where the unit was stationed in Nancy, France. In September 1939, the tank was transferred to the 15th. BCC (Bataillon de Chars de Combat) but by April 18, 1940, the tank was assigned to 1st. Compagnie, 8th. BCC. The tank, named “Toulouse”, was commanded by Lieutenant Jean Renevey and had a driver by the name of Sergent Lavaux. Who the remaining three crew members were remains unknown.
The 8th. BCC was within the area of operations of the French 9th. Army commanded by Général d'Armée André Corap. It was Corap's troops that faced Heeresgruppe A (Army Group A) which was under the command of Generaloberst Gerd von Rundstedt. Included in this force was the 7th. Panzer Division led by Generalmajor Erwin Rommel. It was the task of Heeresgruppe A to break through the Ardennes into France and while Belgian and French forces were able to cause minor delays, they did not have the anti-tank capacity nor the available manpower to stem the flow of German forces. It was the poor roads in the region which was the main cause of German delays and the Armée de l'Air Française (French Air Force) failed to take advantage of bombing the long German traffic lines that were more or less at a standstill. As an example, Panzergruppe Kleist (the original name of 1. Panzerarmee) had over 40,000 vehicles jammed into four passable routes through the Ardennes. By May 12, 1940, elements of Heeresgruppe A reached the Meuse Line which was a series of French forts and emplacements some 31 miles long. The next day, Panzergruppe Kleist launched attacks to establish three bridgeheads through the Meuse Line in what became the Battle of Sedan. The Germans focused their airpower against a narrow portion of the Line and the Luftwaffe flew 3,940 bomber and dive-bomber sorties against the French in a non-stop, eight hour bombing. Although there was some French resistance, it crumbled underneath the relentless aerial bombardment and by midnight, the Germans were five miles behind the Meuse Line. The combat in and around Sedan was intense but by May 15, 1940, the Germans had succeeded in pushing through, cutting off Corap's 9th. Army along its southern flank and in short order, the isolated French forces collapsed and surrendered.
The photograph depicts “Toulouse“ along Rue Pasteur in Origny-Sainte-Benoite. What exactly happened to it is not known but most likely, the tank either had mechanical problems or ran out of petrol on May 16, 1940. Interestingly, “Toulouse“ was photographed many times by German troops and one such photograph shows the tank with no damage at all with a German soldier standing beside it holding a shell for the hull mounted 75mm ABS SA 35 howitzer. Later photographs show the tank in the condition seen here and from this, it can be surmised that the tank was struck by a German tank gun whose crew was unaware the tank had already been abandoned. That the shot was was through the rear of “Toulouse“ lends some credence to this as the Char B1 was difficult to knock out from the front and when able, German tank crews tried to get side or rear shots into the B1. The damage does show the Char B1's 6-cylinder, 16.5 litre inline Renault engine and six gear transmission (5 forward gears and 1 reverse gear). The hit set the tank on fire and secondary explosions caused further damage to the tank, including lifting the turret up and off its turret ring. At some point, the wreckage around the tank had been cleaned up and the tank's tracks coiled up next to the hull. It can be presumed that “Toulouse“ was eventually scrapped.
As a note, the town of Origny-Sainte-Benoite has a war memorial commemorating French troops who had come from the town that fought and died during the First World War as well as World War Two. It is located off E44 on a plaza bordered by Place Jean Mermoz.
No comments:
Post a Comment