Throughout the span of the Second World War, both the Allied and Axis powers mobilized a remarkable amount of soldiers and weapons throughout Europe and the Pacific theater. Their encounters in numerous battles resulted in a large amount of debris that continue to surface even decades later. While the discovery of commonplace items like hand grenades, land mines and other types of debris happen often, significant artifacts from that era are also sometimes found, as shown by recent findings 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 arrive in the city, tasked with expelling the Germans and demolishing its towering cathedral, which officials suspected was being used as an observation post. On August 16, Col. Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr., a liaison officer with the XX Corps, questioned if this was necessary and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to verify if the church’s bell tower was housing enemy troops. When it was confirmed to be clear, the order to destroy the structure was canceled.
Fighting to liberate Chartres
While the cathedral was clear of German soldiers, the rest of Chartres was not. Teams from the 3rd Cavalry Group and the 1139 Engineer Combat Group subsequently conducted reconnaissance on the city, after which fighting broke out between both sides, with the Americans assisted by the Free French and the French Resistance.
On August 18, the 5th Infantry and 7th Armored Divisions, under Gen. George S. Patton‘s US Third Army, liberated Chartres. The city’s fall was just one of many of armed meetings between the Allies and Germans that eventually led to the liberation of Paris.
Workers thought they were conducting normal road maintenance…
Jump ahead to 2008, and a group of road workers in Chartres were engaged in their usual maintenance tasks throughout the city. As they were digging, they unexpectedly encountered what appeared to be a large machine located in the area of the renowned cathedral, right where they had been 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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