Usage
They were first delivered in March 1917 to the French army.
Originally used during World War I, first appearing in the Forest of Retz on May 31, 1918.
At first the tanks weren't used in masses, but at the counterattack at Soissons, in July 1918, there were 480 FT-17s used.
Around 1,300 FT-17s were operational in 1940. Eight tank battalions were equipped with 63 FT-17s each.
United States Use in World War I
On September 12, 1918, the 344th and 345th Light Tank Battalions, commanded by Lt. Colonel George S. Patton, used FT-17s at the battle of St. Mihiel Salient.
Spanish Civil War
France supplied the Spanish Republicans with 32 FT-17s and Poland supplied 64 to the Nationalists.
World War II
Oldest tank used in World War II. Between wars tanks were extensively modified. Around 2,500 were in France in 1940. Some were used by the Vichy French in North Africa and Syria.
Supplied to Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Holland, Japan, Poland, Spain, and the United States.
German Use
Many were scrapped. Some turrets were mounted in Atlantic Wall defenses, others used as training vehicles, and others used for occupational duties in occupied countries. Some were used in the fall of Paris in 1944. Some had dozer blades installed and used to clear Luftwaffe airfields of snow.