Captain de Segonzac's Somua S-35
French Medium Cavalry Tank

This is a replica of a Somua S-35 tank that was part of the 1st Light Mechanized Division which fought against the German 5th Panzer-Division in the village of Jolimetz on May 18th 1940. It was commanded by Captain Pierre Dunoyer de Segonzac whose job was to do everything he could to try and stop the German advance towards the Channel. Of course, that was an impossible task given the situation at that point, but de Segonzac’s platoon fought hard, despite the fact that some of his tanks were out of fuel and had to be towed on to specific locations around the village from where they could shoot at the enemy in the most efficient way. De Segonzac’s tank received several shots to the rear as the Germans were able to encircle the village. On top of that, its turret became jammed and the tank stopped dead in its tracks in front of the village church. Having lost control of the situation, De Segonzac had his crew evacuate the tank and managed to slip through German lines, after which he joined another tank formation and jumped back into action. De Segonzac fought until the signing of the armistice on June 22nd 1940. He then worked in secret towards building a resistance cell during the Occupation before he was finally able to join the Allied Forces in 1944 in their push towards Nazi Germany.