The AMC 35 started off as a redesign of Renaults previous project, the AMC 34, after it was deemed insufficiently armoured to withstand hits from anti-tank guns and unable to receive any armour upgrades. In March 1936, Renault delivered the first prototype of the redesigned vehicle for testing, designated AMC 35. Extensive testing showed that the vehicle suffered from frequent mechanical breakdowns, leading to the vehicle being classified as unfit for production and active duty by the testing committee. However, as the remilitarization of the Rhineland deeply concerned the French cavalry, an order for 17 (later expanded to 50) vehicles was placed, in spite of the concerns raised by the testing committee. Nonetheless, production started and the first AMC 35 was delivered to cavalry units in November 1938.

Prior to the outbreak of WW2, no AMC 35 tank was in active service with any unit, despite being in the inventory of the Cavalry. Instead, they were part of the reserve materiel. However, once German forces successfully broke through at Sedan in Spring of 1940, the AMC 35, along with other reserve vehicles at the time, was mobilized and sent to the front. Once there, the mechanical unreliability of the vehicle came once more to light, with many crews experiencing breakdowns and poor cross-country mobility. Furthermore, the armour protection of the tank proved to be no real upgrade compared to the AMC 34, as even light anti-tank guns, such as the 37mm PaK 36, were more than capable of destroying the vehicle. The limited number of export units used by the Belgian army experienced identical issues when faced off against the advancing German army. Once Germany occupied the Benelux states and France, some captured AMC 35 hulls were taken into service by the Wehrmacht, however only for training purposes. In the end, around 50 AMC 35s were ever built, with most being either destroyed in combat or left behind by their crews after experiencing mechanical failures. Although the vehicle was ultimately deemed a failure, it did show what it meant to rush an unfinished design into production. Being a vehicle that had potential in its infancy, it’s hard to say what the ultimate outcome of leaving the design to mature would have been, but it’s almost certain that it would have been better than what actually went down in the history books.