About the FT17 – WWI Light Tank:
The Great War witnessed some of the most impactful—and deadly—weapon advancements in the history of warfare. Machine guns, barbed wire, mustard gas, airplanes, and more were developed and utilized throughout the conflict. However, one of the most frightening of the time, was the development of the Tank. In the Western Front, a stalemate had been met. Each side had dug themselves in to a point where mass assault was futile. Trenches lined the French countryside with artillery and machine gun pillboxes fending off attack. The landscape between became a No-Man’s Land—a harsh landscape void of vegetation and filled with craters from relentless artillery bombardments. A solution was needed to cross the barren landscape and then overcome enemy defenses. The Allied powers were the first to set aside resources for such an endeavor. Britain was the first nation to develop machinery under the codename moniker of “tank,” since without weapons they appeared to be vehicles intended to carry water. The first tanks were just up-armored tractors, which is a realistic analogy since many early tanks were in fact built by tractor companies. The British Mark 1 tank arrived at the Western Front in August of 1916 where it took part in Britain’s Somme offensive.
By 1918 the British Mark series of tanks were the most popular and recognizable, however, the French had been developing tanks as well. One in particular, the Renault FT series, at first glance, looks like a tank as we know it today. This was the first tank to standardize the layout of engine at the rear, crew at the front, and a fully rotating turret affixed to the top. The Renault FT-17 was a light, two-man tank designed to support infantry. It proved essential when first introduced in 1918. The war had finally returned to a more mobile endeavor, finally breaking the stalemate of trench warfare. Fulfilling a similar role to cavalry the FT-17, armed with either a Hotchkiss machine gun or the more favorable 37mm Puteaux SA 18 L/21 gun, charged through the German lines at Soissons. While the FT-17 was painfully slow by today’s standards, its 4-cylinder 35hp engine meant it could top out at speeds of 5mph, perfect for keeping pace with infantry. The Renault was exported to various allied nations during the conflict, including the United States. The U.S. had not developed much of anything in an armored corps, but leadership viewed tanks as a replacement to horse mounted calvary. One famous calvary officer took to tank warfare, George S. Patton. Overall, nearly 4,000 Renault FT-17 tanks were built during the war, and many more were exported afterwards. Even by 1939, France was operating with 10 battalions of FT-17 tanks.
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