Panzer IV vs Char B1 bis: France 1940 (Duel) [ペーパーバック]

The Char B1 bis was the main tank of France's armored divisions (DCR), while the Panzer IVD was more of a support tank. It seems an odd match-up, yet the comparison works well. The author conveys direct one-on-one encounters between the two at Stonne, on May 16, 1940. The analysis allows a discerning contrast between French and German armored equipment, training, doctrine and leadership during the fateful spring of 1940.

Author Steven Zaloga did his usual thorough research, correcting common myths and simplifications about the fall of France. He shows how each country's political and military situation in the interwar years influenced the development of tanks and armored doctrine. For the Wehrmacht, the Versailles Treaty's prohibition on tank development made the forbidden weapon alluring. Rebuilding their army virtually from nothing, German tank enthusiasts were little hindered by antagonism from the infantry, cavalry and artillery. The Germans also benefited from covert cooperation with the Soviet Union 1929-1933 at the Kazan joint training/testing facility. Experimental tank maneuvers taught much about practical armored operations, including the importance of using a three-man turret crew for maximum efficiency.

The French, by comparison, carried forward the World War I doctrine of methodical warfare, with tanks serving an infantry-support role. The Char B's design origins can be traced to the early 1920's, explaining its archaic appearance. The French lacked a clear vision of how battle tanks should function, and had little experience coordinating tanks in action. When the French army considered maneuvers with an experimental division-sized armored formation, the plan was canceled for fear of stoking international tensions in 1938. The French army only authorized formation of four armored divisions after the fall of Poland. These formations never had the training time necessary to work out problems with command control, communication, and refueling that would bedevil French armored forces during the 1940 crisis. The new divisions were weak in motorized infantry simply because the French lacked enough Lorraine infantry carriers to accompany the tanks.

There are plentiful informative tables, diagrams, paintings and photos to accompany this thoughtful comparison. In a straight matchup, the Char B had a clear advantage. Its main armament could easily penetrate the Panzer IVD, which was vulnerable at most battle ranges even to the small French 25 mm antitank gun. By comparison, the Char B was nearly impenetrable, even at close range, by the low-velocity 75 mm cannon mounted on the Panzer IV. It took a track hit, mechanical breakdown, heavy artillery, or lack of fuel to stop a Char B.

In the end, greater German combat efficiency caused high Char B losses, despite occasional forays in which they seemed as terrifying, and unstoppable, as German King Tigers to the western Allies later in the war. The author points out that "Axis/Allied polarities" reversed as the war dragged on. The Germans began emphasizing tanks that performed well on paper, but which were unwieldy and unreliable in practice, while the western Allies would win with tanks that were mobile, reliable, and supported by well-coordinated combined-arms formations with a strong logistical base.

While it only covers a small aspect France's swift defeat in 1940, this title provides some useful answers that will interest casual and professional readers alike.

Osprey's newest book in the Duel series sheds light on two tanks that don't draw as much attention as the better known behemoths of World War II. For this reason alone the book is invaluable.

Of particular interest to me was the information on the Char B1 bis tank. The French tanks are often overlooked in popular literature because of the catastrophic strategic defeat of France by Germany in 1940. Nonetheless, the French possessed some fascinating weaponry and very promising tanks which did not have a chance to make an impression on the popular mind the way the Sherman, T-34, or Tiger did.

Up until now, if one wanted to find out about the Char B1 bis, one had to prowl the corners of the internet, digest half-considered commentaries in general historical works, or read French.

Thanks to Mr. Zaloga and Osprey, we now have a single volume which gives us all we need to know about this powerful yet flawed vehicle.

Zaloga's book gives every detail on the Char B1 bis, including all the relvant statistics and a good overview of how the tank was used in battle. But in addition to this, great attention is paid to the layout and interior design of the tank, as well as its logistical "tail" problems and the training or "lack thereof" of its crews. The illustrations of the crew positions and the cut-away view of the turret and interior are superb.

In all, this book gives an English speaker all the info they need to understand the Char B1 bis in one place. I won't spoil all the details this book has to offer, but in sum the story is one of great power and some significant flaws. Overall, it seems the Char B1 bis was a monster in battle, assuming it could get there and stay properly fueled. Those preconditions were often the problem. When
they were met, they resulted in terrific onslaughts such as Capt. Billote's rampage through Stonne.

The book gives the same treatment to the PzIV, although that tank has been covered in many sources before, it still gets a superb overview here, with the same kind of detail regarding layout, specifications, and the context in which it was used.

One slight criticism would be that these tanks really did not "duel" one another. The narrative makes it clear that the PzIV was intended for infantry support whereas the Char as an all-around main battle tank. It should come as no surprise if I reveal that in one-to-one confrontations, the Char was a vastly superior tank. In general, and with a few noted exceptions, it took German 10.5 cm howitzers and 88mm flak guns to deal with an operational Char. In this regard, the author and the publisher can be forgiven for the "mismatch", because in 1940, the German Army really had no tank equal (and therefore comparable) to the Char B1 bis.

Here's hoping that Osprey does more books on the neglected but impressive French tanks of the 1940 campaign.

Although the history of armored warfare in the Second World War attracts a great deal of attention, ranging from serious technical works to more popular accounts, the story of the first major clash of armor is rarely discussed in any detail. In Panzer IV vs. Char B1 Bis, veteran armor historian Steven J Zaloga examines the clash between the German Pz IV tank and the French Char B1 Bis in May 1940. Much of the narrative revolves around the Battle of Stonne on May 15-17, 1940, where some of the most intense combat of the 1940 Campaign occurred. This volume is superbly well-rounded, with a good development history of each tank, crew training and how they were used in combat. As usual, Zaloga packs plenty of facts in charts and tables into this volume, but he also takes the time to analyze these facts and tell the reader what they mean. Clearly, this volume was written for armor enthusiasts for whom the Char B1 Bis is an interesting but neglected subject. Overall, this is one of my favorite volumes in the Duel series.

In the introduction, Zaloga aptly explains why this duel was important both in the context of the Western Campaign and tank development. He includes a handy 1-page chronology. The section on design and development is particularly well-written. After more than a decade of development, the French Army began deploying the Char B1 in 1937 but at the start of the war I 1939, it had only four tank battalions with 119 on hand. German development of the Pz IV started later but moved along much faster and they had 211 available at the beginning of the war. By the time that the Western Campaign started in May 1940, the French had 258 Char B1 bis against 290 Pz IV. As Zaloga carefully points out, both tanks were designed primarily for infantry support, not tank vs. tank fighting. In the section on technical specifications, Zaloga compares the two tanks in terms of protection, firepower, mobility. The French tank was clearly superior in the first two categories, but the Pz IV had significant advantages in mobility, as well as internal layout (3-man turret vs. 1-man turret). Furthermore, the excessive fuel consumption of the Char B1 Bis and the French failure to streamline tactical refueling procedures prior to the campaign would have a significant impact on the outcome of the duel between these two weapon systems.

The 21-page section on Combatants provides an interesting look at crew training for each side. The French had particular problems, since most of their crews were reservists and many battalions only received their Char B1 bis tanks a couple of months before the May Campaign began. In contrast, most Pz IV crews had been together for a year of more and most had a taste of combat experience in the 1939 Polish Campaign. This section also includes layouts of the interior of each tank's turret as well as a see-through crew layout. Of note, Zaloga provides a full-page profile of French tanker Capitaine Pierre Billotte, but does not provide a profile of any German opponents. However, this section also a look at the French DCR and the Panzer-Division, as well as very informative tables on French and German tank strength in May 1940 (broken down by unit and type). My only concern here was that there was not uch information on the platoon-company-battalion level of organization or tactics, which would have better set up the subsequent combat narrative.

After a short section on the strategic situation (with map), Zaloga moves briskly into the 14-page Combat section, entitled Duel at Stonne. He goes into considerable tactical detail discussing the 2-day clash between the French 3e DCR and the German 10. Panzer-Division at Stonne. The French tried to hit the German crossing at Sedan but ended up in a protracted slug-fest short of the river at Stonne. This section includes a terrific battle scene of a Char B1 bis in the attack, a tactical map, and some superb B/W photos. In the end, the French counterattack fizzled out and the Germans held, after about 33 French tanks and 25 panzers were lost. Following this, Zaloga briefly discusses the operations of the other Char B1 bis units.

Overall, Zaloga concludes that, "many individual Char B1 bis tanks performed exceptionally well in small actions due to their impressive armor.." but "the central problem facing the Char B1 bis was their incorporation into armored divisions which were inadequately prepared and ill-used by higher commands." Zaloga notes that the French tanks suffered about 43 percent losses versus 35 percent for the German, but that at least 60 Char B1 bis were destroyed by their own crews. He notes that the Germans were sufficiently impressed by the Char B1 bis to incorporate 125 captured ones into their own tank inventory. As for the Pz IV, Zaloga notes that "it was not a star performer in France" and it was hard-pressed when forced to serve in the anti-tank role as at Stonne. In sum, Panzer IV vs. Char B1 Bis is an incisive and thoroughly enjoyable read, with a nice supporting graphics package.