Vichy Automitrailleuse Dodge-White

French Automitrailleuse Dodge-White

When General Maxime Weygand was made Delegate-General of the colonies in North Africa in September 1940, he found the forces there in some disarray, so set about reoganising and instituting changes.

One of his first orders was to break up armoured and motorised units - Chasseurs d`Afrique, Foriegn Legion Cavalry and other Spahis and local units, to create independent mechanized columns with integrated artillery, armour and infantry (horsed cavalry too).

Weygand  found the quality of material left in Lebanon and Syria after the fall of France to be generally in a poor state of readiness. So began organising a program to cannibalize useful parts from the worst vehicles to rebuilt and recover others in better working condition.

Among the vehicles so built were the Automitrailleuse Dodge-White. By combining the chassis of the Dodge 3T trucks or T110 (purchased from Egypt) and the armored plates of outdated White and White-Laffly armoured cars, some dating back to WWI, the French engineer teams were able to create a few of these basic but functional armoured cars. They served along with refurbished White-Lafflys in the mixed mobile columns. Another variant without a turret called the automitrailleuse Dodge (having run out of spare White-Lafflys to cannibalize), was called the Tanake.

The Tanake and the Dodge-White soldiered on with the Free French in Egypt, and some ended up in the Syrian army, well past WWII.

From photos I`ve identified two different configurations one with a small hexagonal turrent - Which appears to have been taken off a Panhard 165/175 (similar in looks to the AM80), this turret was retrofitted with a 25mm SA 37L gun, whilst the other has a round turret from a White AM50.

I`ve found very little actual information on the vehicles, but I would assume they weighed around 4-5 tons with a maximum speed of 60-70 MPH in perfect conditions.

Photos and plans

Dodge T110 with D60 cab

You will note one this one the White turret still has the 37mm SA18 gun and the front is rounded, not just flat plates

This is the photo which first inspired my obsession to own one for my collection

Note the White turret seems to have only a machine gun

Two photos of the second type with the 25mm gun

                                                              

Photo off the internet of someones wonderful model

Photo taken by me of a 20mm model by Senor Francisco Sánchez Abril at the Museo Militar de Cartagena 

My model

Now as some of you will be aware I have two very clever and technical boys - Alex and Chris. Alex has had a 3D printer for quite a while and produces bits for his hobby with it. Chris is at the end of his four year Bio-Medical Engineering Degree and one of this years projects was to plan and create a 3D model. So he asked me if there was anything I really wanted and I said one of these Dodge-Whites

This is Chris` basic plan to create a Dodge-White, you can see from the drawing the super-imposed Dodge Tanake, so he could work out the scale. After a month or so of trial and error, he sent the STL file he`d created to his brother and Alex produced an 8-part kit.

After some sanding and messing about the model looked like this

Ages back Paul of EWM supplied me with a white metal AM50 turret

Being pedant I am I tinkered - swapped the gun for a nicer Hotchkiss barrel, added a bumper and scored doors into each side. 

Painted up she looks fine (note the added head-lights)

Alternate White turret

Goumier support

Goumier Support

Being the total pedant I am about my wargames, an issue many share I`m sure 😁I was struck by the need to create a few more support weapon teams for my Goumier Tabor.

First up a 1917 water-cooled Browning 1917.30cal MMG.

The Strelets pack M151 actually has a MMG and gunner, but I wasn`t happy with the guns detail (again the pedant in me screams out loud) So I took the Browning from the Esci US infantry set No 202 and combined the two.

This allows me to field a Goumier MMG section with a US supplied .30cal for NWE. 

All the orbats I`ve found online indicate Goumier Tabors had anti-tank platoons, most online sources seem to agree this would be Bazooka, rocket propelled weapons. Now noone does a Goumier Bazooka team in 20mm and I`m not anywhere near as skilled as out Portuguese comrade Joao Pedro Peixoto, but with a little cutting, an arm swap, a white metal Bazooka from the bits box and some plasterscene I created a moving team for my Tabor, note the straps made from tin foil - a really old school conversion 😁

Santa Faz and the SCW

Santa Faz and the SCW

This is not a wargaming article, just a short piece of history. 

I only learned of this incident yesterday during a trip to the church with our Spanish walking group and feel it deserves telling to a wider audience. 

Please understand I am not making judgements, or commenting on religious beliefs, just documenting history here.

  

Santa Faz Church as it is today

The Monasterio de la Santísima Faz was founded in 1453 by Pedro Mena, a local priest inspired by the relic of the Holy Face (Santa Faz) of Jesus. This piece of cloth, believed to have been used by Saint Veronica to wipe Jesus’ face on his way to Calvary, bears the miraculous imprint of Jesus’ face. 

Old postcard image of the relic

Within the monastery grounds also stands one of the best preserved watch towers in the local area dating back to the 13^th Century, this is part of the San Juan Tower Walk path which we did with Alex back in 2013.

https://baberonwargames.blogspot.com/2023/04/tower-walk-san-juan.html

 The Santa Faz (Holly Face) of Alicante is a Catholic relic that is venerated and kept in the Monasterio de la Santísima Faz near the Spanish city of Alicante. The original canvas was a linen cloth with bloodstains depicting a face. Years later, these stains were highlighted with red paint. The tremendous devotion to the Santa Faz aroused led to the canvas gradually being reduced in size due to the pieces cut off by wealthy families. Therefore, a reliquary was placed on it with an image of a Santa Faz in front and an image of the Virgin Mary behind. It is one of the three faces recognized by the Vatican.

The relic is the object of a pilgrimage, which annually attracts more than 260,000 pilgrims, this year (2025) being held today - May 1st.

Santa Faz in its reliquary today

At the start of the rebellion in Spain on 26 July 1936, the settling of scores, revenge, and murders began on both sides. Alicante, remaining in the Republican zone and fell under the control of militiamen during the first months of the war. The monastery was attacked by Communist and Anarchist militia and the church was devastated, they burned the main Baroque style altarpiece, destroying the statues of the facade and the Renaissance baptismal font.

Other churches and religious buildings were also attacked and sacked on the same day around the Alicante area and the casket holding the remains of Father Pedro Mena was burnt in San Juan.

Luckily the relic was saved thanks to the brave intervention of some neighbours - Senor Antonio Ramos Alberola (Tonico Santamaría) who was the local mayor and Senor Vicente Rocamora Onteniente, who sneaked into the chapel and after breaking into the glass cabinet spirited the Santa Faz to safety, hiding it in a shopping basket.

After spending the night at the local mayor's house, the relic was transported by tram or municipal vehicle (depending on the story) to the Provincial Council, where it was stored in the safe. Later, communist mayor Rafael Millá Santos and former mayor Lorenzo Carbonell would save the relic from falling into the hands of government officials who were requisitioning gold objects for the Reparations Fund. The relic spent the next three years hidden at the Villa Marco Estate, where it had been used, secretly during various religious celebrations during the Civil War years.

 The church was used as an aircraft factory by the Republic. The monastery became a Checa – a facility created in the Republican zones to detain, interrogate, torture, summarily try and execute (outside lawful courts) those suspected of sympathizing with the rebels. Checas were mainly used by individuals or groups related to political parties and unions outside the general rule of law.  

 Some sources I have read say that after the occupation of Alicante by Nationalist troops, the Littorio Regiment (which was a mixed regiment with both Italian and Spanish personnel by this period) were housed in the monastery, they left several pieces of graffiti depicting Mussolini and war scenes on the tower, but I have found no photographic evidence to confirm this. Pending archaeological studies, it is believed that a mass grave may exist. In 1989, a replica of the casket of Mósén Pedro Mena was made.

 After the Civil War, the church was restored but did not reopen for three years! A new altar was built, much more spectacular than the original, according to plans by architect Juan Vidal Ramos and thanks to donations from Manuel Prytz.

 

The alter today