June 30, 1918 - French Tank Attack Breaks Through German Lines
Pictured - The Renault FT entered service in summer 1918. Weighing only five and a half tons and carrying a turret, it was the predecessor of modern tank designs.
A French attack cut through the German lines at Ambleny on the Aisne on June 30, 1918, with astonishing success. The French victory owed much to the use of new Renault FT tanks. Unlike clunky earlier tanks, like the British Mark I, the French Renault was light and manueverble at only five and a half tons. Small, narrow, and (relatively) fast, the Renault was conceived as a machine that could swarm through the enemy lines. Its turret allowed it to have only one machine gun or cannon but still have have 360 degree coverage, unlike British and German tanks which needed large crews to man guns on all sides.
The Renault was light enough to be ferried to the front on trucks. Each truck had written on the back plate: “Le meilleur ami de l’infanterie” (“infantry’s best friend”). This time the French took a tip from the German playbook and charged through the German lines rapidly to their objectives without hanging around to secure the rear-areas. Only once they had secured their goals did soldiers turn back and capture a thousand Germans they found hiding in caves and dugouts.
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