D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War Elephants
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War Elephants
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War Elephants
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War Elephants
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War...
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War...
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War...
D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War...

D2 TANKS IN COMBAT - Colonel De Gaulle's War Elephants

L20160322
Delivery 8/10 days
€37.87
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In 1937, Colonel de Gaulle moved from theory to practice. The man behind the "paper tank" — who in 1934 had written a veritable manifesto in favour of the armoured corps, Vers l'armée de métier, his most celebrated work — spent two years in Metz commanding a tank regiment, the 507e RCC. There, equipped with the powerful 20-tonne D 2 tanks built by Renault, he forged his unit — subjected to strict discipline and constant training — into a remarkable fighting instrument from which he always expected "the very best." 

 

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When war broke out, Charles de Gaulle received a senior command at the 5th Army. Yet he never lost sight of his D 2 tanks, and presented them to President Lebrun at a troop review in autumn 1939, in a sequence that has since become famous. When the moment came to commit to battle on 16 May 1940, the first tanks to join his 4th Armoured Division — created from scratch — were, once again, the D 2s. Armed with an excellent 47mm anti-tank gun, these vehicles were thrown into the offensive at Montcornet, then at Crécy-sur-Serre and on the Somme before Amiens, before taking part in the final engagements of the Battle of France.

An epic of blood and steel, in which the crews proved themselves more than worthy.

Author 1
Stéphane Bonnaud
Publication date
Reprint November 2021
Pages
176
Illustrations
Over 200 photos and maps
Cover
Hardcover
Language
French
Publisher
HISTORY & COLLECTIONS

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