The FCM Char 2C heavy tank was the French response to the legendary British Mark V Landship tank.
The colossal metal beast weighed 69 tons, had a width of three meters, a height of four meters,
and an astonishing length of 10.20 meters, making it the largest operational tank ever made.
The expectations were sky-high for the French tank, with the stage
set to become the definitive breakthrough armored vehicle
to plow through No Man's Land and the German trenches of the Western Front during World War 1.
Protected by a 45-millimeter-thick armor and armed with a powerful 75-millimeter cannon
and up to eight machine guns, the Char 2C was meant to be the Cerberus of the battlefield.
Still, technology advanced faster than its development,
but the French would not give up on it, and a new way to make the most out of their imposing
size was devised as World War 2 approached. The Char 2Cs were ready to serve once again.
A French Response Armored vehicles known today as tanks
appeared for the first time during World War 1. The first ones were entirely British,
and they were introduced on September 15, 1916,
during the gruesome Battle of the Somme. They were the Mark I heavy tanks,
which were envisioned to become the ultimate weapon to break through the stalemate of the
trenches and No Man's Land, bringing havoc to the battlefield like never seen before.
Despite being extremely slow and prone to malfunctions, the Mark Is managed to achieve their
objective and make their way through mud, barbed wire, and into the enemy trenches while providing
supporting fire to the advancing British infantry. With the success of the British tanks, it was only
a matter of time before the French soldiers and the populace began asking when they would
get their own tanks to use against the enemy. These questions quickly turned into demands for
information about the state of the French tank projects. But the Army did not know what to say:
there were none. The Subsecretary of Artillery,
General Léon Augustin Jean Marie Mourret, then took the matter into his own hands and personally
met industrialist and pioneer Louis Renault to develop a French heavy tank sometime in 1916.
And although the development of the future Char 2C tank is shrouded in mystery
due to the secrecy surrounding the project and a lack of documentation, it is generally
accepted that Mourret’s intervention marked the beginning of France's heavy tank project.
Clash of Perspectives General Jean Baptiste Eugene Estienne was another
proponent of a French heavy tank that could become the ultimate breakthrough armored vehicle.
However, he believed that they had to be produced in small numbers, as they would only
slow down the swift advance of similar vehicles. However, Mourret thought the exact opposite.
While General Mourret was a strong advocate of the slow but heavily armed Saint-Chamond tank, General
Estienne believed that the lighter and smaller Renault FT tank and the Schneider CA1 were the key
to successfully breaching the German frontlines. Renault’s company had just made its debut with the
FT17 tank, which was deemed a success due to its speed, maneuverability,
and overall firepower in such a small package. With the FT17 tank now in full production, Renault
turned to Mourret’s suggestion of envisioning a true heavy tank, appointing one of his engineers,
Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier, to begin studying such a design.
With the cooperation of the Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée or FCM, a shipyard in the
south of France near Toulon, Renault had begun laying the seeds of the heavy tank project.
Then, in October of 2016, Mourret ordered the development of one prototype.
The heavy tank project coincided with the demands of the Ministry of Armament
Albert Thomas to build a superior tank to the British Mark 1, and he and Mourret
proposed building three types of heavy tanks: light, medium,
and heavy, each weighing 30, 40, and 62 tonnes. Mourret and Estienne finally agreed on this idea,
which eventually came full circle with the FCM 1A prototype.
The FCM 1A Tank While the new heavy tank was
still in development, Estienne and Mourret were already debating whether it should be used as a
complement to formations of four light tanks or as a standalone unit on the battlefield.
Nevertheless, they agreed that the new tank should be able to navigate the rough terrain of
the Western Front without any difficulties. Previous tanks had failed in this regard.
Meanwhile, Supreme Commander of the French forces Robert Nivelle was informed by his
senior officers that Estienne and Mourret were developing a heavy tank in early January of 1917.
He then wrote to both Minister Thomas and Estienne telling them that under no circumstances should
the heavy tank program collide with the production of the Schneider CA1 tank and other lighter
vehicles, as the scheduled April Offensive against the Germans was fast approaching.
However, when the offensive failed, Minister Thomas was forced to cancel all tank projects,
including the heavy tank. Weeks later, Minister Thomas traveled
to Russia and Mourret took the opportunity to resume all projects. This led to his
firing as soon as Thomas returned to France. However, the ongoing development resulted in
the Forges de Chantier de Méditerranée or FCM 1A, which was put on trial in December of 1917.
Footage taken by the French forces shows the colossal tank climbing steep slopes,
crossing wide trenches, and coming up victorious from deep craters and ditches.
The 1A had a length of 8.35 meters, a height of 3 meters,
a width of 2.84 meters, and weighed 41 tonnes. In addition, its hull was covered by an armor
plate that was 35-millimeter thick, while the sides and rear plates were 21 millimeters thick.
After the successful tests of the first prototype, the 2C prototype was approved. It would be bigger,
larger, and more effective while making its way through the trenches.
The Char 2C
The design of the 2C, which would be dubbed the Char, was similar to that of the 1A,
but it was larger and heavier. It had an impressive length of 10.27 meters,
a height of 4 meters, a width of 3 meters, and a weight of more than 70 tons.
Because of its size, the Char 2 was able to cross trenches with a width of up to 4.5 meters. Plus,
its suspension and tracks also helped the tank be able to cross rough obstacles.
This suspension comprised 24 double-roller wheels
spread across six bogies that were held by a leaf spring-style suspension.
Meanwhile, the track ran across the entire hull to further
increase the tank’s all-terrain capabilities. Its frontal armor was 45 millimeters thick,
its side armor 22, its roof armor 13, and its bottom armor 10. Furthermore,
the frontal turret had a 35-millimeter armor and a 22-millimeter rear turret one.
The 2C was practically impenetrable against machine-gun fire and could even deflect the
rounds of anti-tank rifles such as the German Mauser T-Geweher. When compared to the average
12-millimeter armor thickness of tanks of the era, it truly was like a giant metal rhinoceros.
The tank’s main armament comprised the 75-millimeter Model 1897,
which was a slightly modified version of the field artillery cannon that was shortened and featured a
2.5 magnification scope. This cannon could store up to 124 shells and fire armor-piercing, high
explosive, and anti-tank bullets. Plus, it allowed the Char 2C to shoot up to 15 rounds per minute.
Secondary armament comprised four 8-millimeter MLE machine guns.
One MG was located at the front hull, one in the rear, and two at the sides. The side emplacements
had between 60 and 90 degrees of rotation, while the front and rear MG turrets had 320.
How It Worked The Char 2C was manned by a crew
of 13 men, which comprised four machine gunners, the main gunner, the commander, loader, driver,
mechanic, electrician, and other assistants. Notably, it was the first to have a three-man
turret that allowed for smoother operations when engaged in combat.
The crewmen entered the armored vehicle through several rectangular hatches located at the sides
of the tank. Crew coordination was verbal at first, but wireless sets were later provided.
Also, several stroboscopic cupolas were located close to the turrets to provide maximum visibility
for the crewmen without making them vulnerable to small arms fire, and they could also be opened.
When it came to interiors, the Char 2 also had several innovations, with sections that were
self-contained and gave the crew the possibility to move freely without feeling cramped. In fact,
the interior was divided into two compartments, which were divided by the front and rear turrets.
Finally, the tank’s drivetrain consisted of two Mercedes diesel engines that were rated
at 200 horsepower each. These engines were originally intended for German Zeppelins
but provided more than enough power to give the Char 2 a maximum speed of 12 kilometers per hour.
Change of Plans Despite the impressive potential of the Char 2C,
it was not finished prior to the end of World War 1. And following the Armistice and the Treaty
of Versailles, many tank projects were halted. The Char 2C was delivered in 1921, followed by the
production of nine other tanks of its type. The French Army classified them as super-heavy tanks.
Marshall Petain and Estienne initially wanted over 300 such tanks by the early 1920s,
but it was decided to reduce the number to 10 as technology quickly evolved.
Still, the 10 Chars were constantly upgraded with more features throughout the years
to match them against newer armored vehicles, but eventually reached their full potential
and could not be further modernized. Despite being the World War 1 tank
with the thickest armor, the Char 2C soon became extremely vulnerable
against more powerful tank guns and most anti-tank rifles as World War 2 approached.
World War 2 When World War
2 finally broke out following the invasion of Poland by Germany and the Soviet Union,
the 10 outdated Chars were quickly pressed into service in October of 1939.
The 10 tanks were then renamed after iconic French regions for propaganda purposes.
They were Anjou, Champagne, Alsace, Berry, Normandie, Bretagne, Touraine, Picardie, Provence,
and Poitou. The Char 2Cs proved imposing figures
with an aura of invincibility and power to civilians and soldiers alike, but French
tankers knew that they were pretty much worthless if pitched against a pack of German Panzer IIIs.
As such, the tanks were held in reserve to bolster the French Army’s morale
and would never engage the Germans or fire a shot despite their formidable 75-millimeter cannons.
Then, as the Germans pushed forward into French territory,
the 10 Chars were constantly repositioned to prevent the enemy from capturing them.
With the Battle of France slowly turning against the French Army,
they decided to pack all the tanks in railway cars and get them out of harm's way.
However, on May 15, 1940, the tanks were stuck near Nofshato
as the Germans rained fire from the skies. After removing debris from the tracks,
the convoy managed to make its way through but was once again blocked in the Meuse, about 40
kilometers from Nofshato. The Germans were some 24 kilometers away, and they were approaching fast.
As they were encircled, Colonel Fournet, in command of the 51st Tank Battalion,
then had to make a difficult decision and destroy the tanks before letting
them fall into the hands of the Germans. However, in the ensuing race against time,
the Frenchmen forgot to destroy one of the Chars, and when the Germans finally took over the area,
they took the almost intact vehicle as a war trophy and sent it to Berlin.
The Char 2C remained there until 1948, when it was last photographed and never seen again.
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