The M4 Sherman medium tank was regarded by many as the workhorse of the US Army during World War II. In fact, virtually all of the Allied armies employed the Sherman in their armed forces, including the British, who developed an upgunned variant called the "Firefly". Eleven different US plants manufactured six basic models of the Sherman, and by June 1944 over 49,234 battle-ready vehicles had been produced. While it was no match for the German Panther or Tiger tanks, the Sherman soldiered on, using its weight in numbers to wrest control of Europe from the Wehrmacht. The M4A3 was fitted with a long-barrel M1A1 76mm gun, which replaced the shorter and less effective 75mm gun, and sported a larger, more angular turret to house the bigger gun. In addition, the slope of the M4A3's frontal armor was changed to 47-degrees to increase frontal protection and simplify the production process.

This particular 1:48 scale replica of a M4A3 Sherman Medium tank w/ 105mm gun was attached to the RBCEO ( Regiment Blinde Colonial d'Extreme Orient), while participating in Operation Mouette, during the First Indochina War Vietnam in 1952. Comes with 3 figures. Only 600 pieces produced. Sold Out!

Dimensions:
Length: 6-inches
Width: 3-inches

Release Date: August 2008

Historical Account: "Last Vestiges of Empire" - The French Far East Expeditionary Corps (Corps Expeditionnaire Francais en Extreme-Orient, CEFEO) was a colonial expeditionary force of the French Union Army sent in French Indochina in 1945 during the Pacific War.

The CEFEO was created in 1945 as a replacement for the older Far East French Expeditionary Forces ( Forces Expeditionnaires Francaises d'Extreme-Orient, FEFEO).

Its purpose was to support Saigon based-General Sabatier' overwhelmed "Indochina French Forces" ( Forces Francaises d'Indochine) colonial troops and resistance small groups CLI then fighting with the Japanese Southern Expeditionary Army Group during the Second Sino-Japanese War. After the 1944 Liberation of France and the fall of Nazi Germany in Europe the following year, the French authorities wanted to "free" the last Axis Powers occupied territories in South-East Asia, these included the newly established Empire of Vietnam, which was a Japanese colony.

On June 7th, 1945, Leclerc was nominated commander of the CEFEO. On June 22nd, Leclerc transferred commanding of the 2nd Armored Division (2eme D.B.) -the famous unit who liberated Paris in August 1944- to Colonel Dio. Leclerc received command of the Far East French Forces ( Forces Francaises en Extreme-Orient) on August 15th.