WW2 Belgian Armour in 15mm: various Artillery Tractors

/

My final sets of 3D printed, 15mm Belgian WW2 models from bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk are some of the artillery tractors and the glorious trike troop-transporters!

First up, the Ford V8-97Y Marmon-Herrington Mle.1928 Light Artillery Tractor.

From their website:

The Ford V8-97Y Marmon-Herrington was an American-designed 4×4 artillery tractor, featuring a robust V8 petrol engine delivering approximately 85 horsepower. With a top speed near 65 km/h on roads and solid off-road capability thanks to its four-wheel drive and reinforced suspension, it was well suited for towing light artillery pieces and hauling supplies over Belgium’s mixed terrain. Its relatively compact size allowed it to manoeuvre easily in narrow lanes and rough country tracks.

Belgium acquired the Ford V8-97Y primarily to replace older, less capable artillery tractors. They were distributed to artillery regiments and mechanised units, valued for their speed and towing capacity. During the 1940 campaign, they performed admirably in moving guns and supplies, frequently operating under fire and over difficult terrain. Crews appreciated the tractor’s reliability, which rarely let them down despite the rigours of retreat.

Next up is the Vickers Carden-Lloyd Utility Tractor - Type B (Infantry).

This insanely small and top-heavy-looking tractor was a British-designed, licence-built tracked vehicle produced under contract in Belgium. Powered by a modest petrol engine, it was a simple, slow, but tough little tractor designed primarily for towing artillery pieces, supply trailers, and carrying infantry equipment across difficult terrain. It was lightly armoured, mostly against small arms and shrapnel, with a maximum speed of around 30 km/h.

If you want to see just how small this is, then watch the following episode of Does The Chieftain Fit Into...:

https://youtu.be/CjYxmlVk81I?si=XUpmv5Xu1AU7IAGr

Finally we have the excellent Tricycle FN Tricar T3 Light Troop Transports, my favourite piece of 3D printing ever: the intricacy and detail captured is superb, even if the vehicle itself is Heath Robinson in the extreme!

Again from the bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk website:

The FN Tricar T3 was a three-wheeled motorcycle truck built by Fabrique Nationale, designed for reconnaissance, liaison, and light transport duties. Powered by a modest single-cylinder engine producing around 7 horsepower, it was not built for speed—maxing out around 45 km/h—but its light weight and nimble three-wheel layout gave it excellent off-road agility and the ability to dart down narrow paths and rough fields.

The T3 featured a small cargo bed behind the driver’s seat capable of carrying a few hundred kilograms of supplies or equipment. Its frame was simple and lightweight, with a utilitarian open cockpit and minimal weather protection. The three-wheel design allowed it to negotiate tight turns and uneven terrain better than many four-wheeled vehicles, though it was prone to tipping if handled too aggressively (Ed’s note: you think?!)

Belgium deployed the Tricar T3 widely for courier and reconnaissance missions, particularly where speed and stealth were more important than firepower. The vehicle excelled in liaison roles, delivering messages, transporting small loads, or scouting ahead of main formations. Its small size made it popular with reconnaissance platoons and rear-area units needing quick and reliable transport.

So that’s it with the 15mm Belgian WW2 kit from bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk: superb stuff, very highly recommended!

WW2 Belgian Armour in 15mm: the T-13 Tank Destroyer

/

More excellent 15mm 3D printed models from bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk: this time it’s the range of T-13 tank destroyers, the mainstay of the Belgian anti-tank arsenal.

These are lovely little models that I cannot wait to get onto the battlefield. They were painted by a sprayed undercoat of Vallejo English Uniform, washed with GW Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushed and highlighted with Vallejo Khaki Grey.

The T-13 B1

The first variant of the T-13, the B1, mounted a FRC Herstal built 47 mm Model 1931 anti-tank gun and a FN-built M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (a Belgian license-built Browning BAR machine gun in 7.65x53mm "Belgian Mauser" calibre instead of the American .30) in a turret on a Vickers Carden Loyd 1934 artillery tractor.

T-13 B1

Because of the general lay-out of the Vickers artillery tractor, the decision was taken to simply install the gun and its man-powered turret backwards on the vehicle so as to keep enough space for its three crew and ammunition. Armour was light, and would have protected the crew only from shell splinters and indirect blast, and the vehicle had no radio fitted.

About 32 B1s were delivered, and were used with the Frontier and covering forces; units in the Ardennes sector; and with early divisional anti-tank detachments.

The T-13 B2

The T-13 B2 really differed from the B1 only in the fact that it had a lower-profile turret arrangement with an improved gun mounting.

All 21 (23 according to some sources) T-13 B2s were apparently converted from the VCL artillery tractors of the Chasseurs Ardennais mountain troops and were mainly used to support them in the Ardennes sector.

T-13 B2

The T-13 B3

Despite the fact that the only change in designation was B2 to B3, the T-13 B3 was a significant re-design, with the base vehicle changed to the Vickers-Carden-Lloyd Light Dragon Mk. IIB that also formed the basis of the Belgian T-15 light tank. Also, rather than being imported, the basic chassis were produced under license by the Belgian Familleheureux company.

The larger, more powerful chassis meant that the turret could be pointed forward and had full traverse, and the four-man crew benefited from slightly better armour (13mm at the front, 7mm at the sides, rear was open). No radios were fitted.

T-13 B3

About 250 B3 had been built by May 1940, but up to about 50 were still at the factory or had no trained crew by the time the Germans invaded. They were issued to Infantry Division anti-tank companies; Cavalry Division reconnaissance and screening forces; and Fortified sector mobile reserves.

Operational History

A total of around sixteen T-13 companies with 12 vehicles each were fielded, together with a number of single vehicles and squads, making the T-13 the most numerous Belgian tracked vehicle of the war.

These T-13 companies were mostly added to some of the existing infantry divisions: the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th and 18th infantry division all had a single T-13 company on 10 May 1940. Only the 'Chasseurs Ardennais' 1st mountain division and the two cavalry divisions had two or three companies each.

In combat, they proved underpowered, prone to breakdown (especially the B1 and B2) and underarmoured. Lack of radios didn’t help. Their 47mm gun did, however, pack a significant punch, knocking out several German tanks in the various actions they fought in.

T-13 B3

WW2 Belgian Armour in 15mm: the Vickers T-15 and Carden-Lloyd Mk. VI

/

More Belgian armour 3D printed by the excellent bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk

First up is the Vickers T-15 light tank.

These are teeny-tiny two-man tanks armed only with a Hotchkiss 13.2mm machine gun and with only 7-9mm of armour. It’s only advantage was its speed - it could reach 40mph - but lack of anything remotely ressembling a stabilisation system meant that that didn’t mean much anyway, and it was very prone to breakdown.

Only 42 T-15s were built and issued, and these were used mainly by cavalry divisions and the Chasseurs Ardennais: roughly 16 per cavalry division, plus small detachments (3 each) to several Ardennes Chasseur regiments, and one for training.

The T-15s entered combat almost immediately after the German invasion began, serving through the critical opening days of 10–13 May. Belgian cavalry formations employed them for reconnaissance and screening duties, probing advancing German columns and conducting delaying actions to slow the enemy’s momentum.

A notable engagement occurred on 12 May 1940 near Hannut, where a mixed Belgian cavalry detachment—equipped with both T-15 light tanks and T-13 tank destroyers—clashed with German armoured forces. Although the Belgians lost two of their own vehicles, they succeeded in knocking out two German tanks.

In late May 1940, a Belgian counterattack using T-13 and T-15 vehicles temporarily retook Knesselare, capturing about 150 German prisoners, but were then forced to withdraw when threatened by encirclement.

Next up is one of my favourite “wacky” vehicles of the early war period: the Carden-Lloyd Mk VI tankette with an FRC 47mm L30 Mod. 1931 anti-tank gun mounted on top.

These were experimental vehicles that quite frankly didn’t work. The recoil was too much for the chassis; the crew had very little protection; and adding the gun removed all the tankette’s already obsolete mobility!

Six of these were built before the design was abandonned, originally serving with the Chasseurs Ardennais then ending up with the Border Guards and actually firing at the Germans on the Meuse on 10th May 1040.

I only bought two of them, and am determined to get them onto the tabletop in the very near future!

Both sets of models were painted by a sprayed undercoat of Vallejo English Uniform, washed with GW Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushed and highlighted with Vallejo Khaki Grey.

WW2 Belgian Armour in 15mm: the Berliet VUDB

/

More models from the excellent bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk range of 3D printed 15mm WW2 Belgian armour: this time the Berliet VUDB armoured cars. From their website:

The Berliet VUDB (Véhicule Utilitaire de Dépôt Blindé) was an armoured personnel carrier of French design, adapted from a pre-war colonial troop transport. Developed in the early 1930s by Berliet of Lyon, this peculiar machine featured a fully enclosed body mounted atop a 4×2 commercial truck chassis. Armour thickness was modest at best—around 9mm at its thickest, enough to protect against small arms and the occasional Gaulish kipper slap—but not much else. It had a petrol engine producing roughly 55 horsepower, making it about as zippy as a hungover snail on cobblestones. Top speed was approximately 45 km/h on roads—though “road” is a generously enthusiastic term for Belgium in May 1940.

These were painted by a sprayed undercoat of Vallejo English Uniform, washed with GW Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushed and highlighted with Vallejo Khaki Grey.

When the German invasion began in May 1940, the Belgians had about twelve VUDBs, but they were never concentrated into one unit: most of them served in small detachments with the Gendarmerie and ad-hoc army reconnaissance groups.

Here’s what ChapGPT and I have managed to piece together:

Frontier screening around Liège (10–11 May)

A small group of VUDBs attached to frontier security forces operated east of Liège on the first day of the invasion. They carried out reconnaissance along the Meuse crossings and road axes toward Verviers and Tongeren. One vehicle was reported as damaged and abandoned after an encounter with German advance scouts supported by light anti-tank fire.

Albert Canal – Diest / Aarschot line (12–13 May)

As Belgian forces pulled back from the Albert Canal, at least one VUDB section covered the retreat near Diest and Aarschot. These cars acted as mobile machine-gun posts, delaying German reconnaissance units attempting to seize bridges intact. Belgian accounts describe one vehicle knocked out by a 3.7 cm anti-tank gun, and another scuttled by its crew after being immobilised.

Leuven road network and Dyle position (13–14 May)

During the Allied deployment on the Dyle line, a few VUDBs were used as liaison and traffic-control vehicles around Leuven. When German pressure increased and the line began to give way, they were drawn into short firefights with German motorcycle troops and armoured cars. At least one VUDB was left behind intact in a roadside ditch after an air attack, later falling into German hands.

Rearguard fighting west of Brussels (15–16 May)

There were now very few VUDBs still available, and these were used as rearguard escorts for retreating columns moving west of Brussels toward the Scheldt. Belgian reports mention armoured cars covering demolitions and roadblocks, sometimes engaging German advance parties at close range. Several were destroyed or burned by their crews when they ran out of fuel during these withdrawals.

Final actions toward Ghent–Scheldt sector (17–18 May)

The last operational VUDBs appear in scattered references during the withdrawal toward Ghent and the Scheldt defensive line. They were used mainly for column protection and anti-parachutist/security patrols, with some lost in minor skirmishes with German infantry and others were abandoned intact due to breakdown or encirclement.

WW2 Belgian Armour in 15mm: the Renault ACG-1

/

My favourite era for WW2 gaming is the early war period: anything from Poland in 1939, through to France and the Low Countries in 1940, through to the Soviet Union in 1941.

I was therefore very pleased to see that Bayonets & Brushes had launched a range of 15mm 3D-printed tanks and armoured cars for the Belgian army’s eighteen day resistance to the German invasion: especially as many of the vehicles are gloriously unique. I bought everything I needed to field a Belgian force (don’t tell anyone, but I’ll proxie the Belgian footsloggers with French infantry - very similar at a distance!) and have finally got around to painting them.

Renault ACG-1

First up is a platoon of Renault ACG-1 tanks, known to the French as the AMC-35. These are lovely little models of what was considered a medium cavalry tank. Unusually for French armour, it had a two-man turret (total crew 3), and packed quite a punch with its 47mm SA35 gun.

Unfortunately for the Belgians, they deployed the ten tanks that they had in penny packets. From tank-hunter.com:

However, on 21 April 1938, the Belgium Army signed a new agreement and paid for the supply of ten tanks. This included the cost of the previously delivered tank number 803. Production was resumed in November 1938 and over the course of the next year, the remaining nine vehicles were delivered. AMC 35 tanks number 806, 814 and 817 arrived on the 30th March 1939, tanks numbered 807, 823 and 829 in May 1939 and tanks numbered 831, 831 and 833 on 7 August 1939. In August 803 was also sent back to Renault for a revamp. They were officially called 'armored cars' instead of 'tanks' in all official documents so as not to provoke the Germans.

The men of the new tank squadron were entered on the books on 1st September 1939 at Watermael-Boitsfort but soon moved to Ghent to pick up its vehicles and to start training. The Director of the seaport of Ghent offered the Army access to a nearby large area of wasteland. It was soon converted into a tank training ground.

At the end of October the tank crews and their vehicles were moved to Camp Beverlo. They under went tactical exercises with the 5th Infantry Division following the new military guidelines written by Belgium Captain Hullebroeck for the cooperation of tanks with the infantry.

On 24th December 1939 the squadron moved to Brussels. The unit was organised into two platoons of four tanks each time. The last two vehicles were held in reserve. The Belgium tank crews were drawn from two different cavalry regiments, the 2nd Lancers Regiment and the 1st Guides.

Each regiment provided four tank crews plus part of the platoon support staff. Most of these cavalrymen belonged to the class of 1935 and had been trained on horseback not tanks. The men of the 1st Guides were under the command of Lieutenant Gailly and had the following tanks in their platoon 807 (Lt H. Gailly), 817 (Wm Plissart), 829 (Adjt K.R.OLt.Pulings) and 832 (Wm Frankinet). The tank crews of the 2nd Lancers were under command of Lieutenant Schreiber and were equipped with AMC 35 tanks number 803 (Wm M. Verboven), 814 (OLt W. Schreiber), 831 (Wm Dumortier) and 833 (Wm Dumoulin). The two reserve vehicles, 806 and 823, had various defects, so Captain Hullebroeck made a decision to dismantle the tanks and use them for spare parts.

When the Army received the notification to be ready for war following the German invasion of Luxembourg and Holland in 10th May 1940, the squadron moved to the Walemstraat depot in Schaerbeek, near Brussels. The tank crews were told to hold themselves ready to intervene in case of air landings. They therefore began patrolling in and around the capital looking for paratroops.

On 16th May 1940 the Squadron was ordered to redeploy to Humbeek. They were now under the operational command of the 1st Light Regiment (1LR). The tanks were positioned to defend the canal and bridges between Willebroek and Vilvoorde. Their task was to act as a mobile anti-tank weapons.

The Belgium ACG-1 tanks first saw action on 17th May 1940. The first enemy scouts were spotted near the rail and road bridge of Kapelle-op-den-Bos. The ACG-1 tanks commanded by Adjutant Pullings in tank number 829 and Adjutant W Dumoulin in tank number 833 opened fire.

In the battle that followed, Tank 829 was hit at the front by an armour piercing shell from a German PaK 37 anti-tank gun. Tank driver Camille was killed and Gunner Lutin injured. After giving first aid to the gunner, the tank commander, Pullings, climbed back into the turret and continued to fire on the Germans alone. However, the situation soon became untenable. The remaining tank crew had to abandon the tank. Pulling continued to fire at the enemy: this time from a nearby house, using a machine gun fighting alongside a sergeant of the Border Bicycle Regiment. Pulling eventually escaped in the side car of a Border Police motorbike.

Tank 833, under the command of Adjutant W Dumoulin, remained in action until the general retreat order was given at 9pm. He constantly maneuvered the tank to enable the gunner to fire on targets without being hit. The rest of the Tank Squadron was used on the 17th May 1940 as part of the rear guard to protect the retreat of the Belgium infantry towards Dendermonde. They caused some losses amongst the attacking Germans.

On the 18th May 1940 part of the ACG-1 tank squadron arrived in Dendermonde just after dawn. It consisted of Captain Hullebroeck and his staff, and three tanks of Lieutenant Schreiber, 2nd Lancer's, platoon. Hullebroeck wanted to remain in place spot and fight, but was ordered to take what remained of his Squadron to Lotenhulle, to the west of Ghent. They arrived at 4pm.

Lieutenant Gailly's remaining three tanks of the 1st Guides Platoon disengaged with the enemy and followed orders to regroup near Dendermonde. They managed to cross the canal bridge just before the engineers blew it up. The Lieutenant visited the headquarters of the 6th Infantry Division to find out where Captain Hullebroeck and the other Squadron tanks were located, but no one could help him. Gailly's platoon of three tanks drive to the Cavalry HQ command post at Destelbergen. They arrive at 6pm and are ordered to support the 2nd Cavalry Division at Tereken near Sint-Niklaas on the road between Antwerp and Ghent. The two platoons are now separated and are many miles apart.

Captain Hullebroecks platoon was then sent to defend the Dender River, now under the overall command of the 1st Division, Ardennes Jagers. In the east, Lieutenant Gailly's tanks are on the left bank of the Scheldt River to try and stop the German advance near Antwerp. At 11am, along with infantry and some 2nd Cavalry Division Armoured cars, they are sent forward towards Zwijndrecht. The tanks are not fitted with radios so they are assigned soldiers on bikes to facilitate communication.

This advance takes them via Kettermuit and the river road as they prepare to head towards Kruibeke on the outskirts of Antwerp. En route, Tank 833 by commanded by W Denis ran out of fuel. As the two remaining tanks entered the village, around 6pm along Burchtstraat, they made contact with the advance units of the German Army.

Tank 807 commanded by Lieutenant Gailly is in the front, followed about 100 metres behind by Tank 832 commanded by W Frankinet. The lead tank is hit by an armour piercing shell from a German PaK 37 anti-tank gun. Tank driver Sansen is wounded but manages to get out of the tank. Lieutenant Gailly is burnt but manages to climb out of his turret. The Gunner does not make it. The two survivors crawl back to Belgium army lines through houses, fields and canals. The platoon is now temporarily down to one tank.

That night the 2nd Cavalry Division then retreated west to Moervaart, using a water inlet to the Ghent-Terneuzen Canal as a defensive moat. They broke contact with the enemy at around 9pm near the town of Zwijndrecht. Meanwhile supplies arrived and the crew managed to refuel tank 833 so it could join tank number 832.

On the 20th the Germans continued with their advance and reached the eastern edge of the Ghent Bridgehead. There was fierce fighting near the riverside village of Kwatrecht, south west of Ghent. That night the Lieutenant Schreiber's tanks were ordered to advance towards the fighting at Kwatrecht.

In the morning of the 21st May 1940, tank 814 commanded by Lieutenant Schreiber is hit and the whole crew were killed. Tank 803 is also disabled by a number of hits from German PaK 37 anti-tank guns. The tank commander, W Verboven, and gunner Delens are instantly killed. The driver Goossens manages to survive the incident. On the 22nd May 1940 the remaining tanks are withdrawn behind the River Leie at Zwevezele for a short rest.

At 12 noon on 24th May 1940 the remaining three tanks were ordered to advance to Moorslede along with other armoured vehicles and infantry units, as the German advance into France had now reached the coast and threatened the south of Belgium. By dawn of the 25th they had reached the town of Sint-Eloois-Winkel, where they were used for patrol work.

On the 26th the tanks are fired upon by a Belgium 75mm Cannon as they are mistaken for German panzers. After that close call the ACG-1 tanks continue patrol work but fly the Belgium flag to prevent anymore friendly fire incidents.

The Squadron tanks are reinforced during the night with some Carden Lloyd T13 B2 tank destroyers. They are dispatched to different defensive locations to keep an eye out for German infiltration. Tank number 832 along with some T13s was sent to patrol the area between Moorslede and Tuimelaars. Tank 833 and more T13s were sent to Koekuithoek and Tank 833 along with their allotted T13s are sent to look after the area around Vierkavenhoek. They are part of a mobile reserve.

On the last day of the battle for Belgium, the tanks are pulled back to Roeselare near Hooglede. Only two of the ACG-1 tanks remain operational. German anti tank guns knocked out a number of the T13 tanks. Others had to be abandoned because of lack of fuel. When the surrender order was received the remains of the Squadron was told to stop fighting and await further orders.

Note that none of the four tanks pictured have any markings. Apparently the ACG-1s didn’t have any (at least not until they started flying a Belgian flag after 26th May) and only have their serial number written onto the left-side mudguard at the front…but that’s too small for me to attempt!

I highly recommend a visit to bayonetsandbrushes.co.uk to anyone interested in gaming the early war period.

These were painted by a sprayed undercoat of Vallejo English Uniform, washed with GW Agrax Earthshade, then drybrushed and highlighted with Vallejo Khaki Grey.