Composition of a B1bis battalion 1940

by David Lehmann

A French BCC (= Bataillon de Chars de Combat) equipped with B1bis heavy tanks in 1940 is grossly composed of :

One HQ company :

  1x Renault YS armored command car

  3x VL = voiture de liaison = liaison car (Peugeot 402, Simca 5, Citroën 11BL, Renault Primaquatre ...)

  1x VLTT Radio (Citroën-Kégresse P19 radio halftrack)

  2x Radio light trucks

  2x Light/medium trucks

  3x Motorcycles (René Gillet G1, Gnôme Rhône XA, Terrot VATT ...)

  1x Motorcycle with side-car

  1x Kitchen/food truck

Three combat companies each with :

  HQ platoon :

    1x VL = voiture de liaison = liaison car (Peugeot 402, Simca 5, Citroën 11BL, Renault Primaquatre ...)

    1x VLTT = voiture de liaison tout terrain = liaison halftrack = Citroën-Kégresse P19 halftrack

    1x Radio light truck

    1x Light/medium truck

    2x Motorcycles

  Three tank platoons :

    1x company leader B1bis (with a radio)

    1st platoon :

      3x B1bis (with a radio for the platoon leader)

      1x Motorcycle with side-car

      1x Light/medium truck

    2nd platoon :

      3x B1bis (with a radio for the platoon leader)

      1x Motorcycle with side-car

      1x Light/medium truck

    3rd platoon :

      3x B1bis (with a radio for the platoon leader)

      1x Motorcycle with side-car

      1x Light/medium truck

One "section d'échelon" (= supply platoon) :

  6x Lorraine 37L TRC (= tracteur de ravitaillement de char = tank supply tractor) carrying ammo in the skip and 565l fuel + oil   reserves in the trailer tank

  1x Fuel tank truck

  1x Ammo truck

  1x Radio light truck

  1x Light/medium truck

  1x Kitchen/food truck

  2x Motorcycles

  6x Motorcycles with side-car

  (possibly 1x VL more)

One "compagnie d'échelon" (= supply/repair company) :

  1st platoon : services

    3x Light/medium trucks

    1x Ambulance truck

    1x Kitchen/food truck

    1x Fuel tank truck

    3x Motorcycles with side-car

  2nd platoon : repair/engineer

    2x VLTT = voiture de liaison tout terrain = liaison halftrack = Citroën-Kégresse P19 halftrack

    3x Light/medium truck

    2x Motorcycles

    3x Somua MCL5 tow trucks

    3x 30t trailer (tank transporter)

    9x Heavy trucks (Panhard, Renault, Rochet-Schneider)

  3rd platoon : replacements

    3x Replacement B1bis

    2x Radio light truck

  4th platoon : supplying/refuelling

    1x VL

    2x Motorcycles

    5x Light/medium trucks

    9x Heavy trucks (Panhard, Renault, Rochet-Schneider)

    3x Heavy trucks carrying 50l fuel barrels

Total:

1x Renault YS armored command car

7-10x VL = voiture de liaison = liaison car (Peugeot 402, Simca 5, Citroën 11BL, Renault Primaquatre ...)

5x VLTT = voiture de liaison tout terrain = liaison halftrack = Citroën-Kégresse P19 halftrack

1x VLTT Radio (Citroën-Kégresse P19 radio halftrack)

1x Ambulance truck

10x Radio light trucks

28x Light/medium trucks

18x Heavy trucks (Panhard, Renault, Rochet-Schneider)

4x Fuel tank trucks

3x Heavy trucks carrying 50l fuel barrels

3x Ammo trucks

5x Kitchen/food/supply trucks

18x Lorraine 37L TRC (= tracteur de ravitaillement de char = tank supply tractor)

3x Somua MCL5 tow trucks

3x 30t trailer (tank transporter)

22x Motorcycles for liaison tasks (René Gillet G1, Gnôme Rhône XA, Terrot VATT)

22x Motorcycles with side-car

33x B1bis tanks (3 companies of 10 tanks + 1 replacement tank)

Until 1935/1937 most of the tank carriers were simply trucks with an embarkation ramp allowing the truck to carry the tank. This solution had been adopted in the 20's for strategic movements.

For the new light tanks (R35, FCM36, H35, H39 ...) special lifting-carrier trucks (camions "leveurs-porteurs") were also developed : Berliet GPE2 (1 produced), Berliet GPE3 (2 produced), Berliet GPE4 (32 produced) and Willeme DW12A truck (5 produced).

The theoretical strength was at first 3 lifting-carrier trucks for a battalion of 45 light tanks and later only 1 lifting-carrier truck complemented by 2 simple tank carrier trucks with no special device except a winch and an embarkation / disembarkation ramp. Of these tank carriers, 430 Bernard trucks had been ordered for example, but only 73 were delivered. 300 White-Ruxtall 922 US tank carriers had also been ordered but only one vehicle could be delivered.

Medium (D2, Somua S-35 ...) or heavy (B1 and B1bis) tanks needed a dedicated trailer towed by a tractor (Somua MCL5, Somua MCL6, Laffly S35T, Laffly S45T or Latil M4T). There were two types of trailers : 20t and 30t. These trailers were produced by Titan, Coder, Lagache & Glazmann ... Theoretically there should be one trailer for a company of 10 Renault B1bis and two trailers for a squadron of 20 Somua S-35 cavalry tanks. Only sixty 20t trailers and forty 30t trailers had been delivered to the French army.

30t trailer  characteristics :

- Weight : 10.5t

- Carry capacity : 30t

- Length : 9.15m

- Width : 2.68m

- Height : 0.83m.

From 1935 the typical tow truck was the Somua MCL5, but this vehicle reached its limits with the B series heavy tanks because of its only 90 hp engine. Therefore the Laffly S45T had been developed but only 12 vehicles were delivered, explaining that the Somua MCL5 was sometimes replaced by the Laffly S35T.

Laffly S45T characteristics :

- Weight : 8.2 t

- Length : 5.7 m

- Width : 2.25m

- Engine : 6232cc - 110 hp

- Maximum speed : 36 km/h

Laffly S35T characteristics :

- Weight : 8.05 t

- Length : 5.5 m

- Width : 2.35m

- Engine : 6232cc - 100 hp

- Maximum speed : 40 km/h

The Laffly S35 had been originally developed to tow the 155mm GPF, 155mm GPFT and 220mm C Mle1916 heavy mortar. Only 225 Laffly S35 had been delivered, 170 of them in the towing version with a winch. That means that the Somua MCL5 was still widely in use and that in the artillery units the heavy pieces were still mostly towed by vehicles like the Latil TARH2. All these wreckers should have been replaced by the huge Latil M4TX (8x8, 140 hp) but this one only reached the prototype level in 1940. The Latil M4TX could easily tow 100t, that is to say it could easily tow a B1bis tank with blocked or destroyed tracks.

About the fuel issue, each heavy tank company had the fuel required for "4 days" of operations without being supplied by units higher than the battalion level.

"1 day" in the tanks of the company themselves (10x 400l for the 10 B1bis tanks)

"1 day" thanks to the Lorraine 37L TRC of the company (6x565l = 3390l)

"1 day" thanks to the fuel tank truck of the company (3600l)

"1 day" for each combat company thanks to the 50l fuel barrels provided by the battalion's supply company

Various fuel trucks where used by the French army for the strategic transport of fuel :

Unic SU55 (5000 l) : 23

Panhard K125 (5000 l) : 4

Berliet VDCN (5000 l) : 80

Renault AGR (5000 l) : 16

Renault AGK (5000 l) : 340

Berliet GDR7 (5000 l) : 400

Matford F917-WS (5000 l) : 150

Willeme (18000 l) : 0-50

Renault AIB1 (9500 l) : ?

Also a few White 920 (8000 l and 18000 l), Mack EXBX (18000l) and several Chevrolet conversions.

+ civilian requisitioned trucks. The French Air force used also other trucks.

For the cross-country/tactical supply on the battlefield other vehicles were used :

Lorraine 37L TRC as mentioned (565 l fuel + ammunitions + oil + water) : 482

The Lorraine 37L TRC was very liked because of its armor + good cross country capacity, he could supply the first line troops.

Renault 36R tractor with a 450 l trailer : 260

Laffly/Hotchkiss S20 TL (1450 - 1900 l) : 39

Lorraine 28 (2000 l) : a dozen

Citroën-Kégresse P17 (2000 l) : 50

+ special dedicated trailers (450 l, 600 l and 800 l models) that could be towed by the tanks themselves, by tractors or tankettes.

Sources

- F. Vauvilier et J.M. Touraine (Massin)

"1939-40 : L'Automobile sous l'uniforme"

- Stéphane Bonnaud et François Vauvillier (Histoire et Collections)

"Chars B au combat, hommes et matériels du 15e BCC"