The first combat use of British Mark I tanks occurred on September 15, 1916 during the Battle of the Somme. Other tank designs were quick to follow and exploit the new way of breaking the stalemate of trench warfare. Though tanks have been around for over a hundred years now, the first modern tank, as it is generally considered, followed the very first design in less than two years.
The first tanks very considered “landships:” large, ponderous and bristling with cannons and machine guns, crossing no man’s land in advance of the infantry to shield them with its hull. French colonel (and later general) Jean Baptiste Eugène Estienne, however, had a different vision for the weapon, one that was considered a folly by most of his contemporaries. Estienne wanted a small, light, cheap tank that could work in tandem with larger, heavier ones similar to British designs. Once heavy tanks and infantry broke through the enemy trench lines, a large group of these light tanks would pour through and use their speed and numbers to attack the enemy’s rear like a swarm of bees.
The French had two traditional, heavy tank designs in the Great War: the Schneider CA1 and the Saint-Chamond. Both, however, proved unsuccessful, opening the door to Estienne’s light tank to enter. The new tank was designed and first produced in the Renault factory, getting the official name Renault FT. There are several legends surrounding the designation, claiming it stands for faible tonnage (low tonnage), faible taille (small size), franchisseur de tranchées (trench crosser), or force terrestre (ground force). The mundane truth is that all Renault vehicles had a two-letter factory code for internal use and FT happened to be the letters that were next in line. The tank is also frequently referred to as “FT 17” or “FT-17” in English sources due to the design year of 1917 but the number was not a part of the official French designation during the war.
The Renault FT weighed 7.2 tons and was 16ft 5in long, a mere 5ft 9in wide and 7ft tall – a diminutive vehicle compared to, say, the British Mark I with its 31 ton weight, 32ft 6in length, 13ft 9in width and 8ft 2in height. With its 4.3 mph speed the Renault was barely faster than heavier designs and struggled to keep up with infantry. Its high torque, however, allowed it to go up steep slopes and its small size made it suitable to navigate forests, something larger tanks weren’t able to do. Being rather short, it had a tail extension to prop it up while crossing enemy trenches. Unlike heavy tanks, it was to follow, rather than lead, infantry and roll up to deal with enemy emplacements when called by foot soldiers.
The FT debuted on May 31, 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne, where 30 light tanks broke up a German advance. In fact, it was this battle that managed to halt the last major German offensive and turn into an Allied advance that lasted for the rest of the war.
The FT is considered to be the first modern tank because it introduced some of the basic tank design ideas still adhered to today. It was the first tank to have the crew compartment in the front and the engine tucked away in the back. It was also the first operational tank to mount its main armament in a turret that could traverse 360°, though armored cars had also already used the idea before. The turret could hold either a short-barreled 37mm cannon, which was respectable for the time, a machine gun, a 75 mm howitzer, or a radio transmitter in lieu of armament, allowing the tank to coordinate assaults and stay in contact with high command. The tank had a crew of two: a driver sitting in the front and a gunner-commander standing behind him, who later ended up sitting on an improvised leather strap. The cramped interior was deafeningly loud during operation, so the commander had to give orders to the driver through an improvised code of kicks to the back, neck and the head.
There was significant institutional resistance to the light tank concept but it was embraced by General Philippe Pétain, the same controversial man who became the leader of Nazi-occupied Vichy France in WWII. Though Pétain wasn’t fully sold on the tactical concept, he saw it as a great morale booster for the infantry, who felt safer with a large group of tanks nearby. The FT’s small size allowed it to be transported on trucks and trailers rather than on trains. Pétain made sure every tank-carrying truck had the words Le meilleur ami de l’infanterie (the infantry’s best friend) written on it in large letters.
First to adopt the light tank was the American Expeditionary Force, George S. Patton being one of the loudest proponents for using the small, maneuverable vehicle. With French manufacturing capacity tied up with French military demands, a modified American version was created as the Light Tank M1917.
Estienne’s light tank concept became a massive success, heralding a new era of mobile tanks. After the First World War, numerous countries bought FTs or designed their own versions, including Poland, the Soviet Union, Italy, Spain, Finland, China and Japan. Many of these tanks were still active, though greatly obsolete, in World War II. During the fall of France, Nazi Germany captured 1,700 upgraded French FTs and put them to use. Some of these were used for airfield defense and patrolling occupied areas. Others were encountered by the Allies in North Africa, Syria and the Channel Islands.
