French Tanks in German Service
with contributions by Steve Zaloga, Rainer Strasheim & Mario Doherr
 

 

The Germans intensive use of British Mk IV Tanks is well-known. In fact, they used more Mk IV's than their own tank, the A7V. Most of these Beute Mk IV's had been captured during the Battle of Cambrai, and they were refurbished, re-painted and in many cases re-armed, all in special workshops. (The Mk IV was the first type captured in reasonable working order.) In fact, the Germans had plans to produce a copy of the Mk IV. They also took 10-15 Whippets all in all, but only two runners. (Here I want to quote Rainer Strasheim: "In summer of 1918, it was known as the new "English" design - Germans didn't use the term "British" at that time - and the armies facing the Brits were keen to learn more about it. So, normally, an Abt. moving out for demonstrations might be given a no-running Whippet to show around. Only Abt.13 received - to their own very surprise - a runner - the one which later became the Freikorps "53". However, they had been told they would get a non-runner. When they got the runner instead, the whole training scheme was upset, because everybody wanted to drive and test the new vehicle.") They were much impressed by the Whippet, but by all accounts never used it in combat during the War. (As mentioned above, one Whippet, "53", was used in the internal fighting in Berlin in January 1919.) They never captured any Mk V's. (A Mk V marked "Hanni" can be seen in the famous Russian Tank Museum in Kubinka, but that is not the original "Hanni", but one of the Mk V's used in the Russian Civil War, later repainted to resemble a Beute Panzer.) One Mk V was taken from the Soviets during the Fighting in Russia during WW2, and paraded in Berlin. It was retaken by them in 1945.)

Much less has been known of the German usage of French Tanks. It is known that they did capture some. In the photo on the left can be seen the French FT-17 Hargneuse III, fitted with was seems to be a mock turret, and testing with Abteilung 14. (In the background the Beute Mk IV Liesel can be seen.) "Hargneuse" can only have been captured during the German advance to the Marne after 27th May, 1918, so, the date is probably August-September 1918. Also, the German Tank Expert Rainer Strasheim has found out, that the German Army captured at least one S:t Chamond, called Petit Jean Pas Kamerad (Pas Kamerad can be translated into "No Mercy") and that it was in running condition. In the book "Beutepanzer im Ersten Weltkrieg" by Fred Koch the author states that Pas Kamerad was used only for trials, and that the French 75mm gun was replaced by a Belgian 5.7cm gun and one Hotchkiss MG by a 13 mm Tankgewehr. Note that Rainer Strasheim has only found evidence of this tank being in "reconstruction", and that there's no evidence that this vehicle ever received the armament mentioned. The photos below all show Pas Kamerad, and all come from the collection of Mario Doherr, who has very kindly supplied them. The files ARE big, but they show VERY good detail, including the optical signal system of the tank. The fourth photo is from the Collection of Tim Rigsby.

Also, Steve Zaloga in his research has found that the Germans also captured and used in combat one Schneider CA.1, the one showed in the photo below - credits to NARA. It appears to be a late variant Schneider, with applique armour. It was knocked out by 1st Division 75mm Artillery near Froissy on 20 July 1918. (It has blown up, and back the roof is missing altogether - a common enough fate for these tragically vulnerable Tanks.) The lack of all German markings, and the fact that the Tank is equipped with the original 75mm Pack Howitzer, points to this being a Tank captured and used as is, probably on local initiative. It could also very well be, that it is simply a mis-identification on the American part. Anyway, Rainer Strasheim states that "Although it might be possible, that the Germans may have captured one or several running Schneiders, there's certainly no documentation about it, neither written nor pictorial".

This is just a first instalment on a tricky subject. This document will surely soon be updated. Special thanks to Steve Zaloga, Mario Doherr and to Rainer Strasheim, and thanks also to Jörg Schneider, Tim Rigsby and Eugene Sautin.