During World War II, both the Allied and Axis forces deployed a vast array of troops and weaponry across Europe and the Pacific theater. The fierce fighting across numerous battles left behind a huge amount of debris, much of which can still be seen decades after the conflict ended. While it’s common to come across smaller items such as hand grenades, land mines and other remnants, occasionally, large and historically important artifacts from that period also surface, as evidenced by recent discoveries in the French city of Chartres.
Chartres is no stranger to war
Chartres is no stranger to conflict, having experienced it for decades, and this was no different during World War II. It was one of many European cities to suffer heavy bombings during the early years of the conflict, and it was also the site of intense fighting in August 1944, just over two months after the D-Day landings at Normandy.
Saving the Chartres cathedral
The Americans were the first to advance into the city, tasked with kicking out the Germans and destroying its imposing cathedral, which officials suspected was being used as a vantage point. On August 16, Col. Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr., a liaison officer with the XX Corps, questioned if this was necessary and proposed a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines to verify if the church’s bell tower was occupied by enemy troops. Once it was confirmed to be unoccupied, the directive to demolish the building was canceled.
Fighting to liberate Chartres
Although the cathedral was free of German soldiers, the rest of Chartres was still occupied. Teams from the 3rd Cavalry Group and the 1139 Engineer Combat Group then carried out reconnaissance on the city, leading to clashes between both sides, with the Americans supported by the Free French and the French Resistance.
On August 18, the 5th Infantry and 7th Armored Divisions, part of Gen. George S. Patton‘s US Third Army, liberated Chartres. The capture of the city was one of many confrontations between the Allies and Germans that eventually led to the liberation of Paris.
Workers thought they were conducting normal road maintenance…
In 2008, a team of road workers in Chartres was engaged in their usual maintenance work around the city. During their digging, they unexpectedly uncovered what appeared to be a sizable machine right in the area of the famous cathedral, exactly where they were excavating.
An amazing discovery beneath the streets of Chartres
Confused by what it was, the workers tried to hoist the vehicle onto their truck, yet encountered difficulty and went to get help from a mechanical digger to dislodge the metallic behemoth from the ground. Despite successfully extracting it, they still needed of guidance from knowledgeable experts to figure out the precise nature of their find.
As later investigation revealed, the origins of this discovery could be traced back to Chartres’ liberation during the Second World War.
A long-lost M5 Stuart
As per the specialists, the unidentified vehicle turned out to be an American tank that participated in the liberation of France in 1944. Surprisingly, they managed to find eyewitnesses who recalled spotting the vehicle amidst the liberation operations, manned by US forces.
Serving with the 31st Tank Battalion
The M5 Stuart light tank, as they identified it, had served with Maj. Leslie Lohse of the 31st Tank Battalion, 7th Armored Division, who’d helped with the liberation of Chartres. The tank was the first to enter the city during the Allied liberation efforts, but it was abandoned while on a reconnaissance mission, with witnesses stating it had either slipped off of its tracks or ran out of fuel.
When World War II was over, the M5 was pushed into a bomb crater and buried, as a means of clearing the road. For the next eight decades, it remained beneath the ground, with few aware of its existence.
The M5 Stuart was a variant of the M3
The M5 Stuart was developed by the Americans in 1942 as an improved version of the M3. As a result of the increased demand for radial aero-engines, which were in short supply, the US military wanted to develop a tank that could operate with another engine. One designed by Cadillac, the V8, was chosen to power the new armored vehicle, which also featured a redesigned hull.
By the end of the Second World War, 2,074 M5s had been produced. While a good tank, it was rather small, compared to others.
No match for larger enemy tanks
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It’s not unusual that the discovery made in Chartres was an M5, given it was readily used by the Americans during their push into France. However, it was a poor match for enemy vehicles, as it was only equipped with a 37 mm cannon, compared to the 88 mm ones many German tanks were equipped with.
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