Originally Posted by Pursuivant
France had more tanks in 1940 than Germany did. After the Armistice, Germany took the better French tanks and used them as second-line units in Russia and elsewhere. Many were converted to mobile artillery guns, artillery tractors or flamethrower tanks, others were used for "internal security" duties in conquered areas, or handed off to German allies.
Also, before the war, some French tanks were sold to other nations.
Likely suspects for modeling, in order of usefulness:
Renault FT-17 - A WW1-vintage tank which was sold to just about every country which didn't have its own tank production facilities, and some that did. It holds the distinction of being the only tank used in both WW1 and WW2, since the Chinese, Finns, French and Yugoslavians were still using them in 1939-41. Additionally, the Japanese used them against the Soviets in Manchuria, and the Republicans used them during the Spanish Civil War. The Germans mostly used them for training purposes or modified them to serve as artillery tractors, but used some in 1944 during the street fighting in Paris.
Renault R-35 - Used by France, Poland, Romania (captured Polish stocks), Hungary and Germany - the last stocks were ultimately used to oppose U.S. forces in Normandy!
Souma S-35 - Used by France, Germany, Italy and Bulgaria. The Germans equipped an entire unit with the S-35 and used it in Finland.
Hotchkiss H-36 - Used by France, Germany, Bulgaria and Israel. Germany used H-36 units in Finland and Yugoslavia. France used them against the U.S. in Morocco.
Maps where French tanks were/might have been deployed include Ardennes, Bessarabia, Finnish Gulf/Leningrad, Manchuria, Normandy and Odessa.
Then a tank like the FT-17 is perfect. As I wrote above, it was used by lots of different nations, and was one of the most ubiquitous pre-war/early-war tanks out there. For any early war mission where you want a inferior light tank which isn't Japanese, the FT-17 makes a reasonable stand-in.
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