Russian rut - the factor of victory in the Great War
Railway transport played a huge role in ensuring the victory of the Soviet Union over the Third Reich. From the first days of hostilities, it was necessary for railroad workers to ensure fast and uninterrupted delivery to the front of a huge number of troops, military equipment, weapons and at the same time to evacuate the population, the wounded, equipment and various materials to the rear.
Formally, the first railway line opened in Russia in 1837 year. In reality, the pioneers of this new type of transport, which were several years ahead of the states of Western Europe, were P. P. Frolov and the father and son Cherepanov in Russia. Back in 1806-1809. Frolov built the world's first cast-iron railroad with a horse-drawn rail between the Zmeinogorsky mine and the Korbalikhinsky ore transportation plant. She has worked successfully for decades. In 1833-1834 In Nizhny Tagil, the first locomotive was built by talented Russian mechanics E. A. and M. Ye. Cherepanovs. In 1835, the Mining Journal wrote about this: “... at the Nizhny Tagil plant, Cherepanov mechanics staged a land ship that was tested many times, and it turned out that he could carry more than 200 pounds of gravity at a speed of twelve to fifteen versts per hour . Now, the Cherepanovs made another larger ship, so that he can carry around a thousand pounds of gravity with him. According to the tests of this steamer, it is proposed to lay the cast-iron wheel lines from the Nizhny Tagil plant to the copper mine now and use the ship to transport copper ore from the mine to the factories.
However, later in the construction of the first railways in Russia, this domestic experience was ignored. Unfortunately, the ruling elite of Russia of the Romanovs treated their domestic inventions with distrust and disdain and admired all foreigners. It should be noted that this social disease prevails in modern Russia.
It is not surprising that the builder of the first railway line in Russia, Tsarskoye Selo, was a foreigner, and all the equipment for it was purchased abroad. In 1835, an Austrian engineer and entrepreneur Gerstner, during a personal meeting with Russian Tsar Nicholas I, persuaded him to link Petersburg with Moscow by rail. In order to evaluate the efficiency of the new type of transport in Russian conditions, especially in the winter period, they first decided to build a small branch. This is how the Tsarskoye Selo road appeared, connecting Petersburg with the country residence of the emperor. In 1837, it was launched, officially becoming the first railway in Russia and the sixth in the world.
1 February 1842. The emperor signed a decree, according to which it was supposed to begin construction of the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway. This time the initiator of the construction of this paramount highway was the government, which put the financing of this enterprise on the treasury. 11 August 1842 was formed by the Department of Railways, which concentrated all the orders on the construction of a new line, and subsequently of other rail tracks.
The railway Petersburg-Moscow opened in 1851 year. The Nikolaev Railway (up to 1855 of the year - Petersburg-Moscow, from 1923 - Oktyabrskaya) is the first double-track track in the Russian Empire. From it began to form a railway network of national importance. Soon other branches were attached to the Nikolaev railway. As a result, the network covered the Petersburg, Moscow, Novgorod, Tver, Pskov, Vitebsk and Smolensk provinces. The most ambitious railway project of Tsarist Russia was Transsib, which connected the European part of Russia with the Far East. The pace (12 years), length (7,5 thousands of kilometers) and the severity of climatic conditions, he was not equal throughout the world. No wonder the Trans-Siberian Railway is considered the most outstanding technical achievement of the turn of the century.
In Russia, there was also its own track - 1524 mm. The formerly built Tsarskoye Selo railway had a gauge width of 1829 mm. The most common gauge width in the world is 1435 mm (4 English feet and 8,5 inches). This track has the railways of North America, China and most of Europe. This is the width of the gauge was adopted for the construction of the first passenger railway line Liverpool - Manchester by engineer George Stephenson. From the middle of the 19th century, the standard gauge on the railways of the Russian Empire, later the USSR, was the gauge width 1524 mm (5 English feet). That was until 1970, when the Soviet railways were transferred to a gauge of 1520 millimeters.
There are several versions of why the Russian Empire adopted such a rut. Perhaps this was due to the work on the construction of the Nikolaev railway by consultants from the United States, in particular, J. V. Whistler (at that time this gauge was popular in the southern states of the United States). It is also possible that Russian engineers P. P. Melnikov and N. O. Kraft, who visited America before the construction of the Nikolaev Railway, suggested using this gauge. In addition, this gauge was convenient in that it was expressed by a round number - 5 feet.
Another version is military. Custom gauge makes it difficult for the enemy to supply troops in the event of an invasion of Russia. Indeed, during the Great Patriotic War, the Germans had to “change” the gauge in the occupied Soviet territories, which slowed down and hampered the supply of troops, and this affected the course of military operations. The German High Command, planning an attack on the USSR, made a number of serious mistakes. Arrogantly hoping to smash the Red Army in frontier battles and to capture Kiev, Leningrad and Moscow with a rapid blitzkrieg, the Germans did not plan to conduct a long-term military campaign. Therefore, in the winter of 1940-1941. Wehrmacht’s railroad troops, instead of preparing for a large-scale rewrite of the Russian to European track, were engaged in the expansion of the Polish railway network. Hitler was more concerned about the concentration of forces on the border, rather than supplying his troops during a long campaign. The Germans were counting on a “blitzkrieg”. At the same time, in accordance with the German military plans, the Russian (Soviet) railways were to become the main communications providing the German army on the territory of the USSR.
Even after the beginning of the invasion and occupation of vast Soviet territories, the Germans did not pay enough attention to the remaking of the Russian rut. The equipment of the German railway troops left much to be desired. Moreover, they even cut off the supply of fuel in favor of front-line parts. When the German command came to their senses and threw all the available forces on the track gauging, they managed to change an average of only 20 km per day. So, for 10 July, 1941 managed to prepare 480 km of the way. But such a number of ways provided only a tenth of the volume of supplies required by the German troops. English historian Robert Kershaw in his book “1941 year through the eyes of the Germans. Birch crosses instead of Zheleznykh ”, noted that the German Army Group“ Center ”daily needed supply of 34 trains. However, she got the maximum 18, and then at best. The lack of supplies, the shortage of manpower and the short supply of equipment held back the onslaught of the German army, and did not give the Nazis how to prepare for an attack on Moscow. Thus, the Russian rut, along with other factors, played a role in the defeat of the German troops near Moscow.
It is believed that such a width of the track was chosen personally by Emperor Nicholas I, who had a military education and understood the strategic importance of railways for Russia. Nicholas was not specifically trained to rule Russia. He was interested primarily in military affairs. However, it should be noted that his natural mind, iron will, love of discipline gave him the opportunity to effectively manage such a huge state. The Russian Tsar was able to appreciate the great importance of military roads for the armed forces and the country as a whole.
In the conditions of continuous numerical growth of the armies of the capitalist states and equipping the troops with new weapons and military equipment, rail transport opened up the possibility of providing corps and even whole armies with operational-strategic mobility in a theater of military operations and resolving in a new way supplying them with everything necessary. Despite the technical imperfections of the first railways, these possibilities for their military use were immediately noted by such prominent representatives of the advanced Russian military technical thought of the time, as N. S. Mordvinov and P. A. Yazykov. Back in 1841, N. S. Mordvinov wrote that railways would in the future widely maneuver troops "from one to the other edge of Russia," that is, for the first time he suggested that it was possible to maneuver troops in the country using internal strategic forces. directions. PA Yazykov, following him, raised the question of the possibility of using railways not only during the outbreak of the war, but also for strategic concentration of troops during the “pre-preparatory beginning of military action” period. These and a number of other statements already testified to the maturity of advanced Russian thought in matters of evaluating a new vehicle from a military point of view.
Obviously, Nikolai was also familiar with the advanced military-technical thought of his era. Thus, in the 1847 year, the Tsar was presented a “Note”, in which it was noted that the railway would allow, if necessary, for 60 hours, or 2½ days, to transfer from St. Petersburg to Moscow or from Moscow to St. Petersburg to 61 200 infantry men or 6840 man cavalry with horses. It was for that time extremely bold calculations, far exceeding all that was done in this regard abroad. Already in 1852, a draft of a unified railway network was drawn up in Russia. An explanatory note was attached to the project, which pointed to the great defensive importance of building railways in the country, as it would provide "the earliest recruiting of the army for martial law", provide an opportunity to speed up its transfer to the western border and concentrate reserves on the Dvina and Dnieper. Interesting that For the first time, advanced ideas in Russia about the enormous military significance of railways and the need to build a single railway network in the state were subsequently assigned to the Prussian General Staff.
Russia at that time was called the “gendarme of Europe”. In Western Europe, they were afraid and disliked Russia and, in their opinion, the reactionary tsar was glad to take advantage of the first occasion to destroy Russia's power and influence in European affairs. Kings and governments changed, and the opposition between the West and Russia was unchanged. Not surprisingly, Nikolai tried in every way to strengthen the defense of the Russian state.
The creation of railway units in Russia was closely connected with the system of protection of land and water routes existing in the country by that time. In the late forties of the XIX century, the Ministry of Railways, which was led by the "Main Directorate of Railways and Public Buildings", along with various chancelleries and departments, had at its disposal a number of military units and headquarters. Military engineers were reduced to the Corps of Railway Engineers and the Building Squad. There were also military schools, including the Institute of Railways. 52 separate military-working companies were subordinated to the Main Directorate of Railways and Public Buildings. They carried out guard duty on land and waterways, supervised the order during their operation, and also observed the repair of existing roads and the construction of new ones. He served on the Volga, Oka, Sura, Kama and Vyatka rivers naval detachment, and shipping channels and other similar structures were served by special military teams.
6 August 1851, Tsar Nicholas I signs a decree according to which so-called “railway troops” appeared in Russia. Their duties included ensuring the functioning of the entire complex of railways in Russia. At the initial stage, the 14 separate companies of the military workers, as well as two companies of the conductor and telegraph personnel, became part of the railway troops. For the protection of the road and the constant supervision of it, a “special road guard” was created as part of 1200 people. In addition to the road guards, “special mobile teams” were formed, one for each 10 version of the road. The responsibility of these teams was to repair the damage and to produce in general all the work necessary for the proper maintenance of the road. The military-working companies were also responsible for ensuring the work of the stations, guarding bridges, crossings, etc. The first conductor company consisted of machinists, their assistants and firemen, and the second - the conductor and conductor. The telegraph company, which included non-commissioned officers and ordinary signalmen, was obliged to ensure the uninterrupted operation of the "electromagnetic telegraph" on the whole road. 14 consisted of 3500 men, 2 conduit companies 550 and telegraph companies 290. The company was supposed to wear military uniforms with light-blue bullets and a shako with the emblem of the Department of Railways in the form of a crossed ax and anchor.
The military workers, conductors and telegraph companies, intended to operate the Petersburg-Moscow railway, were special-purpose military units and were the initial core of the railway troops in Russia - the first military-railway formations in the world. August 6 date 1851 of the year was the day of the creation of the “Railway Troops of Russia”.
Because of the Eastern (Crimean War), the construction of railways in Russia was carried out very slowly, and during the Crimean War itself 1853 — 1856. stopped completely. It is worth noting that the lack of railways to the south from the center of the country was one of the reasons for the defeat of Russia. The Russian army could not quickly maneuver its forces, promptly transferring troops, supplies and military materials. After the war, the situation with the construction of railways left much to be desired. The large-scale construction of railways was a tasty feeding trough for various Russian and foreign social parasites. Therefore, speculation and embezzlement have developed around the construction of railway lines. Numerous representatives of foreign capital, businessmen and speculators were striving for personal gain, the national interests of Russia were an empty sound for them. On the sweat and blood of the workers, they made up for themselves huge states. As for the construction, it moved extremely slowly (and the quality left much to be desired). In the summer of 1860, the Main Society of Russian Railways was forced to declare its inability to fulfill its own proposed plan for railway construction.
In the current situation, the military department and the railway department took joint steps to create special railway construction units: the so-called military workers brigades, as well as for use in railway construction field troops. The first railway military workers brigade was formed in 1858, consisting of about 3500 people and used to build the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway. In the future, such teams were used in the construction of railways in various regions of Russia. They were formed, as a rule, at the time of work on a particular construction, and after its completion they were disbanded. For example, in the spring of 1863, on the construction of the Odessa-Parkan railway, 4 working companies were formed, headed by a staff officer with the rights of the commander of a separate battalion. Under him there were two officers for errands, a treasurer, an auditor and an official who was in charge of the office and reporting. Each company was also headed by an officer. The company had 550 privates, 12 non-commissioned officers, Kaptenarmus, paramedic and Feldwebel. The structure of the organization in its organization was close to the structure of the later created railway battalions.
The practice of applying to the construction of temporary formations soon showed their inexpediency. Therefore, from 1864, the military department switched to the creation of permanent military working brigades that could be transferred from one railway construction to another. So 2-I was first formed, and then 1-I construction workers for the construction of railways in the Novorossiysk Territory. Each brigade, according to the order of the military department No. 25 of January 31, 1864, consisted of seven mouths of ordinary 650. Thus, as the military working brigades in Russia, the first construction railway units appeared in 1858. The use of field troops, mainly infantry divisions in railway construction, as was the case, for example, at the construction of the Moscow-Nizhny Novgorod railroad, was not widely spread due to the difficulty of combining construction work with combat training of troops.
Interestingly, in the West it is believed that railway troops were first established in the United States during the civil war 1861-1865. and that only after this, the European countries, borrowing the American experience, began to form such troops in themselves. In fact, the North American command in the years preceding the civil war, and at the beginning of the war, underestimated the military significance of the railways and took no measures to protect them. Only in the course of the war, when the poor condition of dirt roads, which became completely impassable during rainy periods, and the limited possibilities of using river communications, did the North American command understand the importance of railways for supporting the actions of its army. This circumstance, as well as a number of cavalry raids by the Southerners to the rear of the North American troops, in which the railways were destroyed and the warehouses with food and military equipment were stored there, put the United States government to take decisive measures to ensure the operation of its railways. Chief among these measures was the formation of railway operational and construction parts. As a result, the railway units were able to restore the destroyed sections of the railways and organize the operation of the railway network in the theater of military operations.
Thus, the experience of the formation and use of railway parts was advertised after the war by the Americans and picked up by the press in Western Europe. Although in reality, the first railway troops in Russia were created in the autumn of 1851 on the St. Petersburg-Moscow railway, and the first railway-construction units were built in 1858 during the construction of the St. Petersburg-Warsaw railway.
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