La Moskowa
Image by RyanN81
Free-French crew posing with their M4(105) Sherman of 2e Compagnie, 501e Régiment de chars de combat (2nd Company, 501st Combat Tank Regiment) after the Liberation of Paris. (Bois de Boulogne, Paris, France, Aug 1944).
Fighting with the 2e Division Blindée (2nd Armoured Division), La Moskowa fought through the Battle of Normandy and took part in the Liberation of Paris. On the 1st of November 1944, the tank became immobilized during an attack at Hablainville in Meurthe-et-Moselle. Stuck in the mud, the tank was hit several times from enemy anti-tank guns, destroying the vehicle and killing two of the crew members.
The M4(105) Sherman was a variant of the M4 that was equipped with a 105mm M4 Howitzer instead of the standard 75mm gun. It was mainly used for infantry close fire support and laying smoke screens. The French 2nd Armored Division had three tank regiments with three battalions per regiment. Each battalion had three companies of 17 tanks and each company had one M4(105) tank operated by the company commander.
(Left to Right)
Jean Fabre, wounded Nov 1, 1944. Did not return to action.
Louis Decherchi, wounded Nov 1, 1944. Did not return to action.
Robert Boccardo, Killed-in-action Nov 1, 1944.
Charles Kartner, survived. Returned to action.
Louis Pierre Fleuret, Killed-in-action Nov 1, 1944.
Pictured with "Marraine de guerre" (War Godmother) of the crew. ‘War Godmothers’ were volunteers who supported Soliders by sending letters of encouragement and gift packages.
Original Image Source: (unkown)
Crop, repair, upscale, colorize: RyanN81
Information Source: External link
Additional Information Source: External link
Additional Information Source: External link
[The World War 2 colorized photos are apolitical, and are simply for historical interest and research purposes only. Any comments relating to politics, racism or other inappropriate/offensive subjects will be removed].
