Armored Trains

52 Pages·2008·6.68 MB·English

by  Steven J Zaloga

ARMORED TRAI S
ABOUT THE AUTHOR AND ILLUSTRATOR
STEVEN JZALOGAwas born in 19S2.Hereceived his SAin Historyfrom
UnionCollegeand hisMAfrom ColumbiaUniversity.Hehaspublished
numerousbooksand articlesdealingwith modern militarytechnology,
especiallyarmored vehicledevelopment.Hismainarea ofinterestismilitary
affairsin theformerSovietUnionand EasternEuropeinWorldWarII,and
hehasalsowritten extensivelyon American armored forces.Steven lives
andworks in Maryland.
TONY BRYAN isafreelanceillustratorofmanyyears'experiencewholives
andworks inDorset,UK.Heinitiallyqualified in Engineering andworked for
anumberofyearsinMilitaryResearchand Development,and hasakeen
interestin militaryhardware- armor, smallarms, aircraftand ships.Tony
hasproduced manyillustrationsfor partworks, magazinesand books,
including anumberoftitles inthe NewVanguard series.
NEW VANGUARD • 140
ARMORED TRAINS
STEVEN J ZALOGA ILLUSTRATED BYTONY BRYAN
FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin200BbyOspreyPublishing, AUTHOR'S NOTE
MidlandHouse,WestWay,Botley,OxfordOX2OPH,UK
Iamindebtedtoseveralfriendswhoprovidedmewithasubstantial
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY10016,USA
amountofinformationandalargenumberofphotosovertheyears,
E-mail:[email protected]
especiallyJanuszMagnuski,JustProbst,IvanBajtos,Jamesloop,and
JimCochran.Unlessotherwisenoted,allphotographsarefromthe
Q2008OspreyPublishingltd. author'scollection.Sadly,JanuszMagnuski,IvanBajtos,andJimloop
diedbeforetheirtime,andthisbookisdedicatedtotheirmemory.
Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivate
ARMOREDTRAIN CAMOUFLAGE
study,research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,
DesignsandPatentsAct,1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybe AsidefromstandardizedarmoredtrainssuchastheSoviet.Polish,and
reproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyform GermantrainsofWorldWarII,thereislittlerecordedinformationonthe
orbyanymeans,electronic,electrical,chemical,mechanical,optical, camouflagepaintingofarmoredtrains.Asaresult,theschemesshownin
photocopying,recordingorotherwise,withoutthepriorwrittenpermission theplatesaresomewhatspeculativeuntilfurtherinformationemerges.
ofthecopyrightowner.InquiriesshouldbeaddressedtothePublishers.
EDITOR'S NOTE
AC1PcatalogrecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
Foreaseofcomparisonbetweentypes,imperialmeasurementsareused
almostexclusivelythroughoutthisbook.Theexceptionisweaponcalibers,
ISBN:9781846032424 whicharegivenintheirofficialdesignation,whethermetricorimperia1.The
followingdatawilthelpinconvertingtheimperialmeasurementstometric
1mile=1.6km
Pagelayoutby:MelissaOrromSwan lib=0.45kg
IndexbyAlanThatcher 1yard=O.9m
TypesetinSabonandMyriadPro lft;O.3m
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PrintedinChinathroughWorldprint 1gal""4.5liters
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CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION 4
ORIGINS 5
WORLD WAR I 10
THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR 13
WAR OF THE EMPIRES 20
ARMORED DRAGONS 21
WORLD WAR II 24
Blitzkrieg armored trains
Russian developments, 1922-41
Soviet armored trains, 1941-45
Wehrmacht armored trains, 1941-45
Other armored trains in World War II
THE DECLINEOF ARMORED TRAINS 44
FURTHER READING 45
INDEX 48
ARMORED TRAINS
INTRODUCTION
The revolutionary impact of railroads on the world's armies in the 19th
century encouraged the development ofvarious types ofarmed train. By the
time of World War I (1914-18), armored trains were one of the growing
variety ofarmored vehicles that rook their place alongside armoted cars and
Armoredtrainsreachedtheir the fitst primitivetanks. Russian and Austro-Hungarian armored rail-cruisets,
technicalpinnacleinthe19205
forexample,werethe largest,mostsophisticated,and most powerful armored
and19305inEasternEurope,
vehicles oftheir day. Like the Zeppelin bomber, however, armored trains had
basedonthelessonsofthe
1917-20warsfortheRussian a brief moment of military glory and then rapidly faded from view. Their
Empire.TheCegielskiPlantin importantcontribution ro the evolution ofmechanized warfare is not widely
Poznanbuilttheseelegant
known in the West, as they were most successful elsewhere in the world. The
artillerywagonsforthePolish
armored trainwasa keyweapon in the Russian Civil War in 1917-22,and its
Armystartingin,921,armed
witha turreted1OOmmSkoda usetherespilled over into thecivil war in China in the 1920s. Armored trains
Mod.14/19howitzeranda were used again inWorld WarII, but by then their heyday had passed,as they
rechamberedPutilov7Smm
were replaced by themore versatiletank. Armored trains have madesporadic
Mod.02126fieldgun,aswell
appearances in many scarrered wars in the larrer halfofrhe 20th century, but
asnine7.62mmMaxim
machineguns. more as technical curiosities than as vital means ofwarfare,
4
TheAmericanCivilWarsawthe
firstextensiveuseofarmored
trains.Thislithographshows
anarmoredtrainbuiltbythe
Philadelphia,Wilmington&
BaltimoreRailroadtopatrol
alongthelinebetween
HavredeGraceandBaltimore,
Maryland.afteranumberof
bridgesalongthelinewere
burnedin1861byConfederate
sympathizers.Thecannon
couldbepivotedtofire
forwardortoeitherside.
(PattonMuseum)
ORIGINS
From 1825 ro 1900, the railroad network in Europe grew from nearly
nothingro 186,500 miles oftrack. Travel ro any ofEurope'sgreatcities took
a day instead ofweeks. Railroads also helped ro solve twOofthe mostvexing
issues in the era of mass national armies - transport and supply. Railroads
could move armies across vast distances with considerably more speed than
the traditional army on foor. just as important, railroads could keep armies
supplied in the field at enormous distances away from the homeland.
Early military use of the railroad spawned the first schemes to build
armored trains. During the revolutionary disturbances of 1848, some
improvised armored trains were built by Austro-Hungarian troops, and
Britain contemplated the creation of an armored train force during a war
scare in 1859.The full potential ofmilitary railroads first became evident in
the American Civil War in 1861-65. During the fighting around Chattanooga
in 1863,Gen. Hooker wasablero move his entirecommand of22,000 troops
some 1,168 miles from Washingron DC ro Bridgeport, Tennessee, in only
seven days, a journey that would ordinarily have taken more than a month
on foot and left the troops exhausted and unready for battle.
The American Civil War also saw significant use of armored trains in
combar. The first American armored train was built ro patrol the railways
north of Baltimore against Confederate saboteurs, the earliest example
of armored trains performing their classic role of antipartisan warfare. In
june 1862, the Confederate commander Gen. Robert E. Lee instructed the
commanderofhis artillery roconstructa railwaygun wagon. AConfederate
Navy officer placed a 32pdr on a four-axle railcar protected by a wall of
inclined steel rails and this armored battery was used in combat during the
Seven Days' Batrle near Savage Starion (June 25-july 1, 1862). The Union
Army built a larger version in 1864 using a Parrot gun, and during the siege
of Vicksburg in 1864 a B-in. mortar was mounted on a railcar. These
developments were noticed in Europeand duringthe Franco-Prussian Warof
1870-71 the Compagnie d'Orieans built an armored train with two armored
wagons for 140mm guns, and used this vehicle during the siege of Paris.
Before proceeding, it is worth makingsomedistinctions between the three
main types ofrailroad weapon. The focus ofthis book is on armored rrains,
which are characterized by armored protection of their weapons and crew.
Artillery rroops eventually realized that trains could serve as platforms for
5
Oneofthemorepowerful
armoredtrainsoftheAmerican
CivilWarwasthismassive
affairbuiltbyUniontroops
forthesiegeofPetersburg
in1864,withalargeParrot
gunonaseven-axlecar.
(LibraryofCongress)
extremely heavy artillery pieces. These weapons are usually called railroad
guns, bur lacked armored proteerion so are largely outside the scope ofthis
book. At the lower end of the spectrum are armed trains. These are simply
troop or supply trains equipped with a few machine guns and sometimes a
few sandbags for self-defense. These were usually temporary expedients and
are also not considered here.
Armored trains began to reach maturity in the hands of British fotces
duringthecolonial conflicts ofthe late 19thcentury. The Royal avy led the
Nodoubtthemostfamous
armoredtrainskirmishofthe way during the Egyptian campaign of 1882, fitring railcars with guns, iron
BoerWarinvolvedaNatal plates, and sandbags. One ofthe key innovations ofthese trains wasto place
Railwaysarmoredtrainofthe an expendable railcar at the head of the train to protect the main element
2ndRoyalDublinFusiliers
ofthe train in the event ofa mine or a deliberately loosened rail. Armored
ambushednearFrereon
trains were built by the Royal Matines in 1882 in Egypt, by the army in the
November15,1899.This
infantrycarwasforcedoffthe Sudan in 1885 during the campaign to relieve Gen. Gordon at Khartoum,
railsbyaboulderwhiletherest and by troops in India in 1886. These early experiments set the stage for
ofthetrainmanagedtoescape.
the most important use ofarmored trains in the 19th century, the Boer War
Ridinginthistrainatthetime
(1899-1902) in outhern Africa.
wastheyoungWinston
Churchill,ajournalistfor Railroads wereabsolutely vital to the transportand supplyofthearmy in
theMorningPost,whowas British-controlled areas ofSouth Africa, so before the war some 13 armored
captured.Thearmoredside
trains were built under the direction of the Royal Engineers by the
platesfoldedupwardwhenthe
Cape Government Railways (CGR), atal Railways ( R), and Rhodesian
wagonoverturned.(Australian
WarMemorialP00653.030) Railways (RR). They were intended ro move infantry rapidlyro troublespotS
6
TheRoyalNavywas
instrumentalintheformation
ofseveralarmoredtrains
duringthecolonialwarsof
thelate19thcentury.This
armoredtraininNatalin
1900wasarmedwithaMaxim
pom-pomgunaswellasa
navalgun.(AustralianWar
MemorialP00653.018)
..
'.~
.
:.'¥". -;"
-.:..:..~:...~~_..~
and to allow the infantry to fight from within the trains. The trains typically
had two or more wagons fitted with steel plates, with loops through which
the infantry could fire their rifles.
Thesearmored trains proved useful in the early fighting, though they were
far from invulnerableagainstadeterminedenemy. The best-known action took
place on ovember 15 1899, when an R armored train of the 2nd Royal
Dublin Fu iliers was sent on a reconnaissan e mis ion to monitor the
outhward advance of Boer forces. Gen. Louis Botha ordered a Boer militia
force to block the train nearFrere, while his troops launched an ambush from
behind the train. When the train attempted to withdraw, it ran into a large
boulder placed on the tracks by Botha' task force, and one of the armored
infantry wagons wa derailed. The armored train was then bla ted by the
Boer, who were armed with two field gun including a Vicker -Maxim
pom-pom. The armored train' own 7pdrgun wa knocked outofaction but
the armored locomotive was eventually able to push pa t the obstruction,
leaving behind the derailed truck. Botha's task force captured over 50 British
troops as well as a journalist from the British Morning Post newspaper, the
young Winston S. Churchill.
Thi kirmish highlighted the vulnerability of armored trains to ambush
and made it clear that they could not operate independently again t a skillful
enemy without their own reconnaissance force. Tactics and technology
continuedtoevolve;cavaltywasoften u edtoprovidethe route reconnaissance.
Oneofthemorecurious
innovationsduringthe80er
Warwastheuseofprotective
carpetsmadeofheavyropeto
protectthelocomotivefrom
small-armsfire.resultingin
the"HairyMary"seenhere.
(AustralianWarMemorial
P01328.012)
7
The usefulness ofarmored trains in p:molling the vital railroads led to further
construction, and attheir peak strength during the waras manvas 20armored
trains were operational.
A postwar study of the conflict concluded that the armored train had
seven main missions - accompanving and supporting infanrry columns
Twoheavyarmoredtrainswere attempting to inrercept the enemy; serving as flank protection to infanrrv
builtbytheRoyalNavy'sNaval
columns; reinforcing camps and stations on the tailroad; escorting ordinary
DivisionandmannedbyBritish
trains; reconnoitering; patrollingdav and night;and general protection ofthe
andBelgianpersonnelduring
thesiegeofAntwerpin rail-lines. The improvemenr oftrain tactics enhanced their effectiveness and
September1914.Eachwas one officer later commenred that "There is no doubt that the enemy disliked
armedwithaBritish4.7-in.
them inrensely and thatthe presenceofan armoured train had a great morale
navalgunandhadarmored
effecr.·' The character ofthe armored trains in combat was well summarized
parapetsoneithersidero
protecttheinfantry.(NARA) in the official British history ofthe campaign:
Itwas imporrant thattheofficercommandingthetrain
should be a man of judgmenr and strong nerve. He
wasoftencalled upon toacton hisown responsibility.
His strong armamenr and defences enabled him to
arrack superior forces. Yet his vulnerable points were
man\'. He had e"er to be alerr that the enemy did not
cut the line behind him. In addition to his visible foes
and the constant risks of traffic in warrime, he
had to contend with skillfullv-used automatic and
observation mines,and had tokeep his headeven amid
the roar which followed the passage of his leading
truck overachargeofdvnamite,and then todeal with
the arrack which almost cerrainly ensued. Officers,
therefore, had to be chosen from men of no common
scamp.Thedanger from Contanmines wastoacertain
extent obviated by a standing order that each train
should propel a heavily-loaded bogie truck. Such
trucks had low sides and ends; they in no wav
obstructed the view or fire from the trains; and thev
performed the double purpose of exploding conract
mines and carrying railway and telegraph materials
Ifor repairl.
ARMOREDTRAINS, 1915-18
1.Austro-HungarianPz.ZugII.1915
2.RussianBronepoyezdKhunkhuz,1915
3.SovietBPNo.'0RozoLuksembourg,1918
Pz.ZugII(1)establishedtheclassicelementsoftheAustro-Hungarianarmoredtrainswithits
distinctiveturretedartillerywagonwith70mmgun.Thelocomotiveisanarmoredversion
ofthecommonMAv377.KhunkhuzNO.1 (2)wastheleadtrainforthisclass.Thisisapartialview
ofthetrain;inpracticeitwouldhaveanadditionalartillerycaronthebackendofthearmored
locomotive.ThearmoredlocomotiveistheciassicOvOvechkoi.BPNo.10RozaLuksembourg(3)
wasnamedafterthefamousGermancommunistleaderandservedmainlyontheTurkestanfront
fightingthebosmachiMuslimpartisans.Itwaspoweredbyatypical50rmovo-patternarmored
OvlocomotiveandthedistinctiveSormovo~pattern artillerywagonarmedwithturreted3-in.
mountaingunsandnumerousfiringembrasuresalongthesuperstructure.Thisisonlyapartial
depictionofitsconfiguration.asitwouldalsogenerallyhavecontrolcarsateitherendaswell
asasecondartillerycarbehindthelocomotive.
8