Automiltraileuse Platoon (GFR300)

Automiltraileuse Platoon (GFR300) Includes three White AM 1915/1918 Armoured Cars The French Army saw the usefulness of armoured cars as part of the offensive in the grand manoeuvres to exploit the offensive’s success. The formation of mechanised squadrons who would support the mounted troops was first considered as part of the general theorising for breaking the deadlock of trench warfare. This combination of horse and petrol was seen as the return of the armour to the cavalry who had lost its decisive battle weight in modern warfare. Designed by Evan Allen Painted by Jeremy Painter Check out this product in the online store here...

1918 saw great changes in the warfare of the Western Front. Russia pulled out of the war, freeing thousands more German troops to push the Allies back huge distances. The Allied counteroffensives, with the new tanks, evolving tactics, and the arrival of the Americans, forced the Germans back towards their own borders and defeat. Learn more about Great War here...

The French command and government then decided to initiate the production of armoured cars, ordering from Renault, Peugeot, Archer, Dion-Bouton, Gasnier, Delaunay-Belleville and White TBC cars. A number of different armoured car designs were tried, but by 1918 the most common was the White TBC or White AM 1915/18. The White AM 1915/18 mounted a French armoured body on an American White truck chassis.

Eventually the French formed 17 armoured car groups. Some are attached directly to the Corps d’Armes (Army Corps) or Armées (Armies), but the 7th, 8th and 9th Cavalry Divisions each has one group in 1915, and two each by 1916.