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    Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940
    Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940
    Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940
    Ebook159 pages1 hourDuel

    Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940

    By Steven J. Zaloga and Richard Chasemore

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    The armour clashes in May 1940 were the biggest the world had yet seen, as the sweeping German advances of that period came to epitomize Blitzkrieg.

    The Wehrmacht's Panzer III was well matched by the French Somua S35 tanks, the two representing very different design philosophies and yet both ranking among the best in the world at the time. Fully illustrated with specially commissioned colour artwork, this work draws upon the latest research to provide a definitive analysis of the clash between these two high-quality, cutting-edge tank designs.

    Steven J Zaloga describes one of the key duels at the heart of a new type of warfare, in the epic battles at the outset of Hitler's conquest of France and the Low Countries.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherBloomsbury Publishing
    Release dateNov 20, 2014
    ISBN9781782002949
    Panzer III vs Somua S 35: Belgium 1940
    Author

    Steven J. Zaloga

    Steven J. Zaloga is a senior analyst for Teal Group Corp., an aerospace consulting firm, where he covers missile and drone technology as well as international arms transfers for clients in the aerospace industry and the government. He served for more than two decades as an adjunct staff member with the Strategy, Forces, and Resources division of the Institute for Defense Analyses, a federal think-tank, retiring in 2021. He is the author of numerous books on military technology and history, including NVG 294 Allied Tanks in Normandy 1944 and NVG 283 American Guided Missiles of World War II. He currently lives in Maryland, USA.

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      Book preview

      Panzer III vs Somua S 35 - Steven J. Zaloga

      INTRODUCTION

      This book examines the confrontation between two of the best battle tanks of the 1940 campaign, the French Somua S 35 and the German PzKpfw III. The duel forming the centrepiece of this book is history’s first great tank-versus-tank battle, the fighting at Hannut-Merdorp in Belgium on 12–13 May 1940.

      It is difficult today to recall the perspective of European tank designers of the late 1930s. Tank-versus-tank combat in World War II was so commonplace that it leads to the presumption that the tanks developed before 1939 had this type of combat as a primary technical requirement. In fact, this was not the case, especially with respect to the tanks built at the start of the arms race in the mid-1930s. While tanks were used in large numbers in the final year of fighting during World War I, there was only one known instance of tank-versus-tank combat. The primary function of tanks since World War I was to provide fire support to the infantry in overcoming enemy defensive positions, especially enemy machine-gun nests and trenches. As a result, tanks were armed with weapons appropriate to this mission, usually machine guns or low-velocity guns firing HE (high-explosive) projectiles. Tank production in Europe from 1920 to 1933 was miniscule. Germany was banned from tank manufacture by the Versailles Treaty and France had an enormous fleet of Renault FT light tanks left over from World War I.

      The Nazi rise to power in Germany in 1933 marked the start of a new European arms race. Germany had not manufactured large numbers of tanks in World War I, but German military doctrine after the war began to focus on the value of mechanized units for offensive military operations. Germany began the mass production of tanks in 1934. French military doctrine of the early 1930s had a more defensive orientation than Germany’s, but there was a widespread view that tanks were an essential element on the modern battlefield. France also began its own tank programmes, but mass production did not begin until 1936, two years after Germany.

      This Somua S 35, displayed for many years at Aberdeen Proving Ground, served in the 29e RD, 2e DLM. It was turned over by the Germans to the Italian Army as war booty and was captured at an Italian test centre near Rome by the US Army in 1944. In the background is one of APG’s PzKpfw IV tanks. (Author)

      In designing the new generation of tanks, the French and German designers had to establish a balance between the ‘holy trinity’ of tank design: armour, firepower and mobility. Since German tactical doctrine viewed the essential role of tanks as offensive weapons in mobile operations, German tank designs favoured mobility over armour. Armour was sufficient to resist the most likely defensive weapon, a machine gun firing armour-piercing rounds. The next level in armour, the ability to withstand infantry anti-tank guns, would require so much more armour that mobility would be compromised. The French took a different approach. The most important programme of the mid-1930s was the new infantry-tank effort, aimed at replacing the enormous fleet of obsolete Renault FT tanks. By the time of its conception in 1933–34, the Heer had already begun to adopt the Rheinmetall 3.7cm anti-tank gun. Since the primary requirement of the light tank was to accompany French infantry in overcoming enemy defensive positions, the presumption was that the new design would have to have armour sufficient to shield it from the threat of the 3.7cm gun. As a result, French tanks of this period had thicker armour, but lower mobility than their German counterparts.

      A PzKpfw III Ausf F seen on the training grounds of the Panzertruppen-Schule in Wünsdorf on 3 June 1941. (NARA)

      Armament on these new tanks was shaped by economic considerations, tactical doctrine and production capacity. Both the German and French armies wanted to manufacture these new tanks in very large numbers. The Heer wanted enough tanks to create several Panzer divisions. The French Army wanted enough tanks to provide each infantry division with a tank battalion. Neither country had manufactured tanks for more than a decade, and it would take time to create an efficient tank industry. Tanks were expensive weapons, and tank costs had to be balanced against other aspects of army modernization including new infantry and artillery weapons and the motorization of the infantry and cavalry. As a result, both armies sought tanks that were inexpensive and easy to manufacture in large quantities. Inexpensive inevitably meant small tanks, since larger tanks weighed more and required more powerful engines.

      The small size of the new tanks naturally restricted their armament. Neither army regarded tank-versus-tank fighting as a primary tactical requirement. In the German case, a pair of 7.92mm machine guns offered enough firepower to deal with enemy infantry, and the availability of special anti-armour projectiles offered some limited capability against contemporary enemy tanks. In the French case, the Renault FT had been armed with a short 37mm gun or a heavy machine gun, and for the new infantry tank, the 37mm gun with a co-axial light machine gun seemed a perfectly adequate weapon, given the size and cost constraints. This 37mm gun had a very short barrel and a small propellant charge, and so its anti-armour capability was quite weak. As a result of these factors, the two most important tanks during the first phase of the 1930s arms race were the French Renault R 35 and the German PzKpfw I, neither of which was well suited to tank-versus-tank fighting.

      The PzKpfw I entered production in 1934 and continued through to 1937. In later years, it was misleadingly characterized as a mere ‘training tank’. Nothing could be further from the truth. By European standards of the mid-1930s, it was a very advanced design and far superior to the contemporary tankettes such as the Italian L3, Polish TK or Soviet T-27. A 1936 report succinctly defined German tank doctrine of the time: ‘The classical role for tanks is to overcome machine guns that have dominated the battlefield while at the same time crossing terrain obstructions. Therefore, the three primary features of the tank are protection against machine gun fire, armament of machine guns and cannon to engage targets, and high cross-country mobility with the capability to cross trenches and barbed wire.’

      The sudden surge in European tank production in 1934–36 increased annual totals in Western Europe from a few dozen to a few thousand. As a result, the probability of tank-versus-tank fighting dramatically increased. The Heer recognized this problem even before production of the PzKpfw I had begun. While some of the more radical tank advocates recommended waiting for the arrival of a next-generation medium tank, the senior leadership of the Heer wanted large numbers of tanks as soon as possible to begin creating the new Panzer divisions. The best that could be done in the short term was to arm a light tank with a better anti-tank weapon. This emerged as the PzKpfw II with a 2cm cannon. Production of pre-series vehicles began in May 1936, around the same time as the start of Renault R 35 production.

      With the arms race well under way, both Germany and France began to consider the configuration of the next generation of tanks. With adequate numbers of light tanks on hand, both armies recognized the need for tanks better suited to fight enemy tanks. Both countries had been considering medium and heavy tanks since the 1920s and had already built experimental designs. In France, this effort culminated in the Char B1 battle tank for the infantry and the Somua S 35 for the cavalry. The Heer adopted a parallel programme, with

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