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Show CO Tank as Weapon of War Undergoes Striking Changes " i ! WITH THE FRENCH ARMIES, Oct. 11. The armored caterpillar motor car or "tank" which is now in high favor as an engine of assault against the enemies' lines, almost fell Into discredit dis-credit in France in 1917. The most successful type has boen the new lighter light-er car with a swinging turret from which an inch and a half caliber cannon can-non or a machine gun can fire in any direction. While the British were manufacturing manufactur-ing their immense heavy tanks, the French, without knowing of the "work their allies were doing, experimented with lighter cars, one type weighing thirteen tons and another twenty-three twenty-three tons. The thirteen-ton cars made their appearance in April, 1917, taking part In the French offensive between i Rheims and the Aisne, as an experiment. experi-ment. Tho losses appeared to be excessive and the report spread that they caught fire every time they were hit by a projectile. pro-jectile. Tho death of Commondant Bossut while leading an assault with one of the cars created a profound impression. im-pression. Two later operations, however, modified modi-fied military opinion regarding them and they proved to be most effective. During the winter other experiments wore made and toward tho last of May, 1918, the light tanks made- their appearance ap-pearance on the battlefield in greater numbers. They were assigned to the defense of tho forest of Villers-Cotter-ets when the Germans made their rush , between Soissons and Rhelms. During the first fifteen days of June they t made "more than twenty counterat- X lacks and kept the forest clear of the t enemy. The medium weight cars in h the meantime had helped the Ameri- f. cans take Cantigny. J; Their first spectacular feat was in mobilizing in twelve hours south of J Montdldier to precede the infantry in a successful counterattack that stop- J? ped the advance of the Germans on the Montdidier-Noyon line. 4 These and subsequent successes I convinced the French military author!- 1 ties that the light tank -was an effec- ?1 tive and efficient arm. 1 1 |