| Char de Bataille (“battle tank”) B1 bis designed and built by Renault, Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée (FCM), and Forges et Aciéries de la Marine et d’Homécourt (FAMH). Some 405 of these heavy tanks were built, disappointing French armor advocates like Captain Charles de Gaulle (November 22, 1890 — November 9, 1970), who advocated for large formations of the less expensive Char D2 tank, armed with the same forty-seven millimeter (1.85 inch) gun. French doctrine in 1940 did not effectively use radio; every German asset was equipped with it, while the Char B1bis had Morse Code sets because the engine was too loud for voice communication. Individually, these tanks could be formidable. But air power and artillery could destroy them before they reached the battlefield. “Cambronne,” Number 455, attached to the 46e Bataillon De Chars De Combat, 3e Compagnie (“Forty-Sixth Combat Tank Battalion, Third Company”) was one of two hundred tanks commanded by de Gaulle on May 17, 1940, that attacked the German-held village of Montcornet. The French drove off the Germans, destroying a truck column, but later had to retreat due to lack of support and the intervention of the Luftwaffe. “Chambrone” Number 455 and the rest of her section cleared Chivres of Nazi survivors of the truck column. During the retreat, “Cambronne,” Number 455, sank into the marshes of Gisy, nine miles (fifteen kilometers) to the northwest of Laon, on the return to Chivres. Abandoned there, the Germans took many souvenir photos and stripped the vehicle for technical intelligence. The crew was Tank Commander Lieutenant Forrer, also Chef du 2ème Section (“Chief of Second Section”); Driver Sergeant-chef Georges Commeilhnes; Assistant Driver Louis Moncharmant; Radio operator Chasseur Paul Paris. | |
| Image Filename | wwii2088.jpg |
| Image Size | 797.34 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 3000 x 2978 |
| Photographer | Dever |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 19, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Laon |
| State or Province | Hauts-de-France |
| Country | France |
| Archive | The Image Centre |
| Record Number | The Black Star Collection |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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