Though mounting a formidable 75mm main gun, the vehicles were held in reserve and served moreso in a propaganda-type role for the French government to the point that each existing system was named after a region of ancient France and kept from enemy fire at all costs. Effectively never engaging the enemy or firing a single shot in anger against them, the reputation of the Char 2C was one of invincibility and power where the sheer sight of the machine sent the enemy running. In reality, of course, this was far from the truth. As the tide of the Battle of France continually turned against French favor, a last-ditch effort was made to reposition them further out of harms way in an effort to keep the French image alive. All ten tanks were purposely destroyed by French forces when the railway the tanks were transported on was found to be blocked by fire. With this mighty symbol of French military dominance all but gone, the German propaganda machine put to the airwaves in full force, stating that the tanks were directly destroyed by German forces in battle. A single example was recovered, however, and shipped to Berlin for show. The fate of this system is unknown. In any case, now real remnants of the tank officially exist.
The ten tanks were named by the following French regions: Alsace, Anjou, Berry, Bretagne, Champagne, Normandie, Poitou, Provence, Picardie and Touraine. Champagne would be the basis of a later developmental model in the form of the Char 2C bis featuring a powerful 155mm main gun, cast turret and new engines. Though perhaps a powerful force to reckoned with in the First World War, the Char 2C found itself highly outclassed in the Second World War and was mostly under-utilized for its military value - whatever that may have been some twenty years after its initial design. In any case, the Char 2C did play a role in the defense of France though mostly as a token in boosting morale across the lines. Perhaps in some ironic way the fate that the system incurred was justifiable considering its military value in 1940.
It should be noted that the origins of the Char 2C bring about much controversy in the historical sources. Apparently French Brigadier Estienne and his FT-17 light tank project with Renault faced off with French General Mouret and his super-heavy tank project the Char 2C. Estienne feared his light tank production would be curtailed due to the sheer amount of resources that would have to be dedicated to Mouret's Char 2C project under full production and used his political power to work in his favor. Mouret is also accused of having accepted a bribe from the FCM Company for his involvement in furthering Char 2C production. Regardless, this type of behind-the-scenes turmoil certainly did not help in the development of the Char 2C in quantity thus explaining the limited production examples.
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