The irony of the German victory in the West and the legend of the Panzer Corps is that the French possessed a tank that was superior to the German Mk IIIs, the mainstay of the Panzer Corps during the Battle of France. They were, however, not equipped with radios nor did the French develop effective tank tactics. The French built some excellent tanks before the War. Click on the image for a fuller discussion.

Also it looks like there is a small hole in turret next to cannon where a light machine gun might have already been removed. You can see large open compartment with a type of shock spring in view and that would never be in the front. It looks like the turret has been reversed and is facing backwards. It may have been recovered by the Resistance. We suspect that the Germans had incoroporated this one into their Atlantic Wall defenses. They were obsolete in front-line service by 1944. The Germnans used them for many purposes. Large numbers of French tanks were turned over to the Germans after the fall of France (June 1940). The tank is the Renault R35, the primary French battle tank at the onset of the War. The unidentified boy does not seen as exited as the adults. Figure 1.-Famed World War II photograoher Robert Capa was in Chartres for the liberation of tis beautiful Chartres cathedral town (August 18).

French battle tanks ww2