Birth of the French Legend! | ‘Renault FT’ Light Tank Development

When the Republic of France entered World War 1 on 3rd August 1914 against the German Empire, few could have had any concept of the scale and duration of the war which was to follow. Having already fought the nascent German Empire in 1870-1871 and lost the territory of Alsace-Lorraine in a humiliating defeat, France was determined not to repeat its failures, yet entered WW1 unprepared for a new type of warfare dominated by artillery and rapid-fire machine guns. Just as other nations soon found, the men of their respective armies, regardless of personal heroism, were no match for a well prepared defence or machine gun fire. Machines were to be a key to victory, new armored machines carrying guns to meet the enemy and, to this end, France developed a tank which was to shape their future designs for many years and become an icon of WW1 – the Renault FT.

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Information sources:
Renault. (1917). Renault Char d’Assault 18hp.
Canon de 37 SA pour Chars Légers 1918
Lt. Goutay. (1920). Manuel pratique du Char Renault
War Office. (1922). Instruction sur l’arrimage du lot OI RI des Chars Légers Renault
War Office. (1931). Instruction sur l’Armement et le Feu dans les Chars Légers
War Office. (1935). Instruction sur l’Armement et le tir dans les unités de Chars Légers
Bruché, Col. (1937). Manuel d’Instruction pour les Unités de Chars Légers – Canon de 37 SA –
Gale, T. (2013). The French Army’s Tank Force and Armoured Warfare in the Great War. Ashgate Press, England
Vauvallier, F. (2014). The Encyclopedia of French Tanks and Armoured Fighting Vehicles 1914-1940. Histoire and Collections Publishing, France
Zaloga, S. (2010). French Tanks of WW1. Osprey Publishing

Image sources:
Pinterest
US National Archives
Public Domain
Yuvnashva Sharma

An article by Andrew Hills
Audio edited by Kraiger
Voicing by Stan Lucian

[Ghost_a_Rat]

The FT is one of my favorite tanks, it’s one that I want to see/be in in-person

[Anlushac]

Renault FT...rocking a turret before turrets were cool.

[highjumpstudios]

Great video! I had read your article on the FT on your website, but this was much better information on its creation. I really enjoyed it.

[paoloviti]

Very interesting video on the FT-17 and I have never seen the photos of the mock ups and the prototypes of this tank! It is interesting to know that both the generals and the politicians were dragging their feet to produce this tank especially when they knew that it was urgent to field it because of the horrific loss they suffered on the front just because they wanted big tanks! Nowadays instead of producing cheap tanks like the FT-17 they are producing extremely expensive and difficult tanks to produce....

[maxkronader]

"Brutal, grinding butchery".
Excellent description of the Western Front in WWI.

[TheSonicfrog]

When I was a kid, they had an FT in a local museum. I opened the driver's doors and crawled in while my buddy stood watch, woo hoo! Quite an experience.

[Edax_Royeaux]

I often mock the WW2 French Duguay-Trouin-class cruisers for having a main armor belt of thinner than that of a FT light tank. With such a thin hull, you'd have to wonder if it would get bent from wailing in the water alone.

[clouetjp]

You begin the introduction like this: "When the French Republic entered the First World War on August 3, 1914 against the German Empire"
The real fact is that the Germans declared war on France on August 3, 1914. It was the Germans who entered the First World War against France and Russia.
Please correct this.

[JamesHReeve-cdfr]

The man shown at 15.56 isn't Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier. I have contemporary photographs. Nor is he Louis Renault. Maybe Charles Edmond Serre, but not certain.

[JamesReeve-ioxj]

That isn't Rodolphe Ernst-Metzmaier.

[SageManeja]

why do you repe-
why do you repeat yours-
why do you repeat yourself

[HeedTheLorax]

Yeah the repetition and failure to get to the point get's a thumbs down don't suggest