Char B1-bis [1:72]

Emerging victorious from the First World War, France decided never to repeat the horrors of static trech warfare that turned land in the frontline's vicinity into moonlike landscape and consumed hundreds of thousands of young lives. An important element of new French Army were tanks - a wonder weapon that first appeared on September 15th 1916 on the British side and, while unreliable and vurnerable to artillery fire, eventually helped to overwhelm German lines and win the Great War.

Tanks were gradually developed, but unlike Germany in late 1930s, which prepared itself for highly mobile form of warfare, known as "blitzkrieg", Allies thought that the future war will be similar to that from 1914-1918, with its participants taking positions on the battlefield and gradually pushing the enemy back. Therefore they optimised their tanks and their projects for this type of warfare. Britain and France decided to split tanks into three categories: light tanks infantry tanks and cavalry tanks. Light tanks were used mainly for reconaissance, so they were rather compact, lightly armoured and armed and therefore - fast and mobile. Cavalry tanks were also fast units with light armour, but better armament. They were to use openings in enemy's defence lines punched by infantry tanks. As their name implies, they were used for infantry support, so they didn't have to move very fast, just enough to keep up with infantry. This exposed them for enemy fire, so they were armed with thick armour and good armament.

France also developed one more type of the tank - heavy "breakthrough tank", able to overcome enemy's fortifications with powerful armament and thickest armour aviable. This concept materialised itself in Char B1, designed in late 1920s under the supervision of Jean B. E. Estienne, father of French armoured warfare. In 1921 he and other French military leaders held a conference during which they drew specifications for this type of machine. Estienne wanted to avoid rivalry between various French manufacturers, so he issued the so-called "Estienne accord": the producers had to reject any forms of competition and focus their efforts on improving French Army; in return, the army promised to put orders on large batches of vehicles, typically several hundreds to several thousands of them.

One look at the Char B1's layout was enough to give out its roots in WWI tanks. It had large tracks running all the way around the hull; clearly enough the designers created it with great trench-crossing abilities in mind. In fact, Char B1 was not even designed with a turret from start; it was more like a powerful self-propelled gun than a tank. The main gun - a short barrel 75 mm ABS SA 35 howitzer, perfect for smashing concrete and earth bunkers - was placed in hull, next to the driver. The initial version of Char B1 had 40 mm thick armour and weighed 28 t. By later standards, it was just an overgrown medium tank. Its top speed was 28 km/h. Later more armour was added (60 mm front, 55 mm sides) and the gun in the turret was replaced with more powerful SA 35 gun. This version was designated "Char B1 bis". A third version, with 75 mm armour, sloped sides (like in FCM 36 tank) and simplified construction was suggested, but remained a prototype. Char B1 was the most powerful Western used in combat, and it was only surpassed by several experimental heavy tanks ("true" heavy tanks, with thicker armour and more powerful guns) and some Soviet constructions which entered service in the 1940s: KV series and not very succesful T-35 multi-turret tank. Both of the Char B1's guns could knock out German tanks, as long as they came near enough. For German tankmen it became one of the most dreaded tanks and was eventually nicknamed "The Colossus".

Still, with all its tremendous firepower and intimidating look, Char B1 had several downsides which limited its combat capabilities. With its 31,5 t mass (Char B1 bis with extra armour) it couldn't drive faster than 25 km/h on roads and just above 20 km/h off-road. Its operational range was very short - the 400 l fuel tanks only allowed it to drive for less than 200 km. It ment that Char B1 had to be refueled very often, so French started to work on motorised fuel carriers based on Lorraine 37L tractors, which could follow the tank and refuel it when neccessary. Surely enough it consumed precious materials and time to prepare the fuel carriers. The Char B1's layout was not faultless, either. To the left-hand side of the tank was a large opening in the hull, serving as engine's radiator and air inlet, covered with armoured blinds. Altough they were quite thick (the slits were placed alternatively upward or downwards, and combined they were 150 mm thick), the overall protection was one of the weakest in the whole tank. The vurnerability of this point is still a subject of debate, but it seems that at least some of the Char B1s were knocked down after recieving several hits to their sides. Much more vurnerable were the exposed front wheels and large portions of Char B1's tracks (compared to German tanks). Many German gunners prefered to break their tracks and leave them to infantry or Panzers rather than fight them head on. Worst of all, the commanders turret with 47 mm gun did not have hatch installed on top of it, but in one of the walls. To take a closer look at the battlefield he had to stick out his body through the back hatch, using it as a seat - himself becoming a sitting duck not only for snipers and gunmen, but simply for rogue shrapnels from fragmentation shells exploding nearby.

As if it wasn't enough, Char B1's performance was hindered by tactical errors or French commanders and overtasking of the commander. He was responsible for: commanding his tank, observing the battlefield, aiming, loading and firing the 47 mm gun, and if he was the commander of the tank unit, he also had to transmit orders to the rest of the tanks. It was obviously inferior to German Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks with three-man turrets, in which commander could focus on the situation inside and around the tank, gunner could aim and fire the gun and loader was responsible for feeding it with shells. Moreover, Char B1s were dispersed all over the front, constatly shifting their positions to "plug" enemy's breakthroughs and conduct their own offensives. French military leaders still believed that the war will be similar to that of 1914-1918.

So when on May 10th 1940 Germany commenced their Panzer blitzkrieg on its western neighbours, French doctrines shattered in pieces. Char B1s were not mobile enough to succesfully fight the Germans, and though their guns and armours were a formidable threat once the two opponents met, their commanders could not cope with flexible and mobile form of warfare the Germans had introduced on the battlefield. Instead of fighting Char B1 head on, Panzers would surround them like a pack of wolfs and fire at their sides and backs, where the armour was not as thick as in the front. Many Char B1s were simply abandoned when their supporting Lorraine tractors were destroyed and they ran out of fuel. The final blow to the Char B1s was the German air superiority: when faced with French heavies, the Germans relied on their artillery spotting aircrafts and Ju-87 bombers to smash down their enemies with howitzers and bombs.

Numbers of Char B1s were captured after the fall of France and since many were still in reparable conditions, they were put into German service. Some were converted into self-propelled artillery, others were used for drivers training. The best known conversions were Flammwagen auf PzKpfw. B-2(f), self-propelled flamethrowers with the main gun replaced by German Flammenwerfers. One unit (Panzer-Abteilung 213) was deployed on British Channel Islands, the only parts of the Commonwealth to be under German occupation, just off the French shore. There are also evidences of using Char B1s in Balkans and Eastern Front.

After Allied invasion in Normandy some of the tanks were recaptured and once again used by Germans. At this point, however, the "true" heavy tanks, such as the Tiger I and II appeared, and Char B1 could only counter lighter constructions. Still, it was pretty formidable bunker buster. Free French Forces also recaptured small numbers of these tanks. They were withdrawn from service shortly after the war; as of now, eleven of them survive in different conditions and different configurations (both original French tanks and German conversions).

The kit
I bought this kit on my birthday in 2009. It was my most expensive model, costing me ca. 50 PLN (for comparison standard Revell 1/72 vehicle costs 30-35 PLN). It was produced by Chinese company Trumpeter, so I wasn't very enthusiastic about it; but I really wanted to have Char B1 and this was the only choice aviable.

Against my fears, the tank was a pleasure to construct, and most of the pieces fitted together like a dream. Road wheels are moulded as one piece, so it simplifies the construction. I only had problems with the rod-like piece at the front, under the 75 mm gun, which is the axis of the front wheels. Turret is placed with two "teeth" that prevent it from falling off.

But when it came to the paintjob, I've screwed it completely It was one of my first models (I had only 8 months of experience when I did Char B1), so I wasn't paying much attention to historical accuracy (OK, I still do not, but at least I try to copy the colors and patterns used in original vehicles whenever possible ). And because of that, when I've learned that brake fluid is a perfect paint solvent I decided to give another life to the little French tank of mine.

Surely enough the "bath" destroyed this oh-so-much-French blue heart on the turret, but I had to deal with it. The paint went off nicely, but the side effect is that it may get between the part's edges and damage the glued surface. On the other hand, I was able to "straighten" the axis seen in front of and below the 75 mm gun, which went "off course" during my first attempt.

For the camo, I chose the "Japanese camouflage", popular in France, Poland and Japan in the 1930s, which consists of several large yellow, brown and green spots, separated by thick black lines. However I didn't try to replicate any existing camouflage. I painted the spots with brush, while for the lines I used a marker. I then covered it with clear matt paint. For an experiment, I like the look of it. I'll surely use it for a TKS tankette I want to buy if I find one.

Fortunately enough I still had a decal sheet with second painting scheme, though like I mentioned my model is not a replica of any existing tank. The tank with turret number "2" bears the name "Vercingetorix", a legendary chieftain of the Arverni tribe and leader of Gallic uprising against Julius Caesar's forces.

Model: Trumpeter
Paint: Humbrol for hull's camouflage, marker for black lines, Pactra Clear Matt coat for protection
Scale: 1/72