Commemoration of the Battle of Montcornet, 1940

A friend sent along this web page http://www.minitracks.fr/montcornet_2010.htm with YouTube vid and numerous pics showing reenactors and restored French (and Belgian) vehicles at the 70th anniversary commemoration of the Battle of Montcornet (May 14-16, 1940). Just outstanding!

French Renault R35 Light Tank

This is a 15mm (1:100 scale) Battlefront (Crusader) mini depicting the familiar French light tank that also saw service with several other armies in World War II (for example, Poland and Romania) and in the early post-World War II conflicts. The kit consists of seven parts. There are two resin castings – a hull and turret – and five cast metal pieces: gun (with cradle), running gear with tracks (2), tank commander, and rear hatch. The model can be built with or without the tank commander/rear hatch combination, and I chose to omit it, since it looks a bit fiddly, and it isn’t clear exactly how one is to fit it to the turret rear or rotate the turret if it simply rests on the rear deck abutting the turret.

The R35 was considered an infantry tank and was the successor to the venerable FT-17 of World War I. In many respects, it was unsuited to the modern battlefield, since it was slow, lightly armored, and possessed a weak main gun.

Some statistics:
Max. armor: 40mm
Max. speed: 20 km/hr road
Armament : 1 x 37mm cannon; 1 x 7.5mm MG
Crew: 2 – commander/gunner and driver

A typical R35 company (compagnie) was organized as follows:
company commander: 1 x R35
1st platoon (section): 3 x R35
2nd platoon (section): 3 x R35
3rd platoon (section): 3 x R35
4th platoon (section): 3 x R35
Total: 13 R35

French AMD Panhard 176 Armored Car

My next project is this classic French armored car of the 1940 campaign. There were 198 in service in September 1939, equipping some 11 reconnaissance squadrons of cavalry formations (AMD = Automitrailleuse de découverte = distant reconnaissance wheeled vehicle).

This is a BattleFront/Military Miniatures (Crusader) 15mm (1:100 scale) model that comes in seven clean-cast parts, metal and resin: vehicle body, four wheels, and turret (in resin), and mantlet with guns in soft metal.

German Panzerkampfwagen I Light Tank (3)

A few things I left out of yesterday's post ...

On May 10, 1940, 1st Panzer Division had 52 Panzer I (of 256 tanks total); 2d Panzer Division had 45 (of 266); 3d Panzer had 117 (of 341); 4th had 135 (of 314); 5th had 97 (of 327); 7th had 34 (of 225); 9th had 30 (of 153); and 10th had 44 (of 265). Altogether, there were 554 Panzer Is among the 2,582 German tanks that invaded France in May 1940 – or, 22% of the total.


The Wiki here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panzer_I has details of service, including Spain, Poland, Denmark, Norway, France, North Africa, and Russia.

German Panzerkampfwagen I Light Tank (2)

The photos show the finished model on a 1” x 1¾” base of architect’s board painted with Polly S mud, green, and flocked.

I gave this model a base coat of flat black. I followed this with panzer gray. As with the French Army green, there does not seem to be any definitive statement of what this color really was, although with a little searching on the web, you’ll find various pronouncements by experts. Having any number of gray paints in my workshop and noting the light gray appearance of the German vehicles depicted in the SteelMasters France ‛40 supplement, I settled on a couple shades of light gray to represent panzer gray. When I was finished with the basic painting, I used my weathering wash to finish the vehicle.


I picked up my weathering wash from an article on weathering tank tracks in an old issue of FineScale Modeler. Basically, it’s a mix of dark(est) blue, black, and red-brown acrylics diluted by isopropyl alcohol that is dry brushed on the tracks. Steel paint can be used later to pick out the high points where the steel would meet the road.


Some statistics:

Max. armor: 13mm

Min. armor: 7mm

Max. speed: 50 km/hr road; 37 km/hr cross-country

Armament : 2 x 7.92mm MG13 Dreyse MG

German Panzerkampfwagen I Light Tank

Next up in the workshop is this German light tank that was used primarily for training during the interwar years and saw combat in Spain and early in World War II. This is a Military Miniatures (Crusader) 15mm (1:100 scale) model that consists of five parts – resin hull and turret (the turret is tacked to the hull in the boxed model), metal left and right tracked running gear, and metal mantlet mounting the two 7.92mm MG13 Dreyse machine guns.

French 81mm Mortar M1927/1931 (Brandt)

This was the common medium mortar in French service, and license-built copies, like the US 81mm mortar M1, or outright copies, were in widespread use with other armies. The typical French infantry regiment in 1940 had 8 such mortars; generally, 2 were allocated to each battalion. In FoF, the 81mm mortar might be drawn for with an Asset Card, if not included as part of the scenario design.

Some stats:

RoF: 20-30 rpm

MV: 174 m/s

Max Range: 2,850 meters

Crew: 1 NCO, 5 EM (+ 1 driver)


The photos show the Peter Pig 15mm mortar with crew.

Lorraine Carrier in Force on Force Scenarios

In FoF the carrier would be a Class 1 vehicle (1D6), the lowest class of armored vehicle, generally including light APCs or armored cars.

The photos show the finished model

French Lorraine 38L VBCP Infantry Carrier

Above: The Lorraine Carrier on my work table. Only the tarp has been painted at this point. To give an idea of the size, the base is 1" x 2".

This is a Battlefront (Crusader) mini. It came in three pieces -- a cast resin hull and two metal tracks with running gear. It is 15mm (1:100 scale), according to the box description. Most French material in 1939-40 was painted “Army green,” and there are many examples on the web, with suggestions for mixing paints to achieve the dark olive green color. (Apparently, the exact color is not known.) Two-color camouflage schemes for armored vehicles that employed Army green and a chocolate brown color are also shown. There is a complete discussion of French paint schemes on the authoritative France 1940 page here http://france1940.free.fr/armee/colours.html

VBCP stands for Voiture blindée de chasseurs portés or, in my loose translation, “armored infantry carrier.” Two units that were completely equipped with the VBCP were the 5th BCP (Battaillon chausseurs portés) of the 1st DCR (Division cuirassée – armored division) and the 17th BCP of the 2d DCR.


Some statistics:

Max. armor: 9mm (front, sides, rear); 6mm (top). Note: The passenger compartment had an open top that was covered by a tarp.

Max. speed: 35 km/hr

Armament: Unarmed, but a FM 24/29 LMG could be fitted to a side mount for AA fire.

Capacity: The tractor carried six men – two abreast in the narrow driver’s compartment and four in the box-like passenger compartment at rear. A boxy trailer seating six men could be towed.

The best source for the vehicle itself and its many variants is the comprehensive, highly-detailed article by Steve Zaloga titled “Lorraine 38L Infantry Tractor,” at the Military Modelling site online. See http://www.militarymodelling.com/news/article.asp?a=4082

FoF Unit Characteristics for the French Squad

Top: Half-Squad Shock (Maneuver) Element

Bottom: Two Bases Showing Figures with the FM24/29 LMG

These are Peter Pig 15mm figures. I uploaded new images, since the previous images were indistinct.

Quality

Most line infantry in 1939-40 would be classed as Regular, Trained (D8). From my reading, the only troops with a higher rating (and I wouldn’t class any higher than Veteran – D10), would have been the Dragons portés (motorized infantry of the DLMs/DLCs), the Chasseurs portés (mechanized/motorized infantry of the heavy armored formations), Foreign Legion, Corps francs, and Chasseurs alpins.

Morale

I’d classify the French for the most part as Average (D8), although higher or lower values may be scenario appropriate.

Confidence

This was for the most part Average.

Supply Quality

Again, for the most part, Normally Supplied.

France `40 -- Notes on Sources

I listed Borsarello’s book yesterday as one of my sources. It’s comprehensive in its coverage of the three services – Army, Navy, and Air Force – despite its title, which might mislead a native English speaker and is well-illustrated.

McNair, Ronald. Les blindés français: mai-juin 1940. Bayeux: Éditions Heimdal, n.d.

McNair’s volume is really an issue of Heimdal’s Guerres contemporaines journal. Other than the cover, the numerous illustrations are in b/w. It’s a handy, authoritative guide to French armor – organization, material, and markings. Heimdal’s publications are worth checking out. One title that I haven’t seen intrigued me: Les trains blindés, 1826-1989. I had no idea that armored trains pre-dated the US Civil War!

French Army Groupe de Combat (Squad), 1939-40

A recent foray into Force on Force (FoF) rules (re)inspired me to find my 15mm Peter Pig and Battlefront minis for the France `40 campaign. Of course, I had to (re)familiarize myself with the arcana of French organization and armament from the period, so I thought I’d layout the groupe de combat (squad) as I understand it. This is the basic “type unit” for FoF.

1 x Squad Leader (SGT) w/MAS36 Rifle

1 x Assistant Squad Leader (CPL) w/MAS36 Rifle

1 x Machine Gunner w/FM 24/29

1 x LMG Loader w/Ruby Pistol

3 x Ammunition Carriers w/MAS36 Carbine

4 x Riflemen w/MAS36 Rifle

Rifle Grenadier w/MAS36 or Lebel 86M93 fitted w/Grenade Launcher Cup Tromblon VB

So, there were 12 EM in the squad, which could cover a front of about 50 meters on the offensive. Generally, as I understand it, the squad would be divided in two for combat, as follows:

Fire Element

Assistant Squad Leader

LMG Gunner

LMG Loader

3 Ammunition Carriers

Shock Element

Squad Leader

4 Riflemen

Rifle Grenadier

So, theoretically, you’ve got the typical base of fire and maneuver element of the interwar squad.

Sources

Borsarello, J.-F. L'Armée française de 39 à 41, ou, Le conflit deux ans trop tôt--. [Colmar]: Jérome/Do Bentzinger, 1998.

Sumner, Ian, François Vauvillier, and Mike Chappell. The French Army 1939-45 (1): The Army of 1939-40 & Vichy France. London: Osprey Publishing, 1998. (See cover illustration above.)