In 1933, the French Army tasked Renault with developing a new light reconnaissance tank to replace the unsatisfactory AMR 33. Despite achieving many improvements over its predecessor in terms of mobility, better design, robust suspension, a better-armed turret, fittings for a radio, and a more rugged and reliable engine, its overall performance was seen as unsatisfactory. Initially, it was plagued with mechanical unreliability that threatened to shut down the whole project. Eventually, these issues were somewhat resolved, and the vehicle entered production in 1935. However, the production run was limited, with less than 170 vehicles being built. When the war broke out with the Germans in May 1940, these tanks saw little use, being too lightly protected to offer any real combat value.
Following the fall of France in June 1940, the Germans came into possession of huge stockpiles of captured armored vehicles and tanks. Hundreds of tanks were captured, many of them in working condition. Lacking a sufficient number of tanks, the German Army command decided to reuse many of them. Those that were more modern, such as the Somua S35, were employed by second-line troops dedicated to anti-insurgent operations. Other older designs, which the Germans deemed obsolete, were mainly allocated for limited garrison and security duties.
Among the captured tanks was the AMR 35 light reconnaissance tank. In German service, these were known as Panzerspähwagen ZT 702(f). While not many were built in the first place, the captured vehicles were mainly operated in France, but some also saw service in the former Czechoslovak territory, performing security duties. In the closing stages of the war, these saw limited use against the Allies. Few were even used by the Germans to suppress the Prague Uprising in May 1945.
