Armored trains: the birth of steel monsters
John Basil Turchin - Russian general of the American army
The first to put a 32-pounder cannon on a railway platform was John Basil Turchin, a colonel in the federal army and commander of the 1861th Illinois Regiment, during the American Civil War in 19. He was also a colonel in the Russian Imperial Army, Ivan Turchaninov (whose biography is worthy of a separate story). The cannon was quickly delivered to the Confederate troops stationed near the railway track and opened deadly fire. Subsequently, during the “great American civil strife,” this successful experiment was repeated many times, including with the use of a closing artillery armor.
Northern armored train - the father of all armored trains
Why exactly did Turchaninov decide to organize the first armored train? Well, the fact is that in Russia the idea of putting cannons on a railway platform was expressed in 1847 by engineer-captain Gustav Corey. He proposed a project for a new type of fortress:
The project was terribly original: for example, the width of the paths along which the platforms with guns would move should have been three meters, there should have been two floors in the fortress, and much more - bold to the point of absurdity. In general, the project was rejected. Although, perhaps, in vain - if Sevastopol had artillery at the railway base, perhaps its defense in the Crimean War would have ended differently.
Well, after the defense of Sevastopol, projects rained down like from a cornucopia: the project of N. Repnin - 1855, the project of engineer-colonel P. Lebedev - 1857, the project of Lieutenant P. Fomin - 1860... But there were clearly more projects than capabilities of Russian industry: the length of our railways at that time was 30 times less than in the USA! So Turchaninov probably heard about them and... implemented them on American soil. However, his armored trains were an improvisation, albeit a very successful one.
Armored cars of Napoleon III
The Emperor of France, Napoleon III, was the first to think of building specially built armored carriages. I would like to say that, being a professional military man, he correctly assessed the combat potential of the new weapons, but... Being a professional politician, he constantly faced the threat of assassination, and ordered the first three armored cars to protect himself from terrorist attacks or enemy shelling during the war. In principle, the French have been proposing armored train projects since 1825, when Captain 2nd Rank Jacques-Philippe Merigon de Montgerie put forward the idea of “steam-powered military wagons" In 1841 M. Shwickardi proposed “cannon car"for the defense of fortresses. In 1866, during the Mexican adventure of Napoleon Bonaparte’s nephew, they developed “defensive convoy» with carriages protected by 12 cm wooden lining. Finally, in 1867, it was decided to implement the project of the American Colonel Brenty.
Dupuy de Loma armored train project
The armored train was simply named “Napoleon III”, the object was terribly secret, so there were not many photographs of it left. Judging by the surviving ones, the cars were very small, two-axle, with beveled corners and firing loops, closed by armored flaps. However, if this armored train can hardly be called a breakthrough, then the Orleans, designed by shipbuilding engineer Stanislas-Henri-Laurent Dupuy de Loma, had all the features of later armored trains, including rotating gun turrets.
Be that as it may, when the Franco-Prussian War really began, Napoleon III went to the front without his armored cars. So the Prussians were the first in Europe to place guns on railway platforms: in 1871, during the siege of Paris, they placed several guns on the platforms and began shelling the city, constantly changing positions. The French decided that it was not enough for the Germans to use technical innovations, after which the famous mechanic Kehl built an “armored train”, armed with a pair of mitrailleuses. General Ducrot regularly took this monster out to hunt the “Boches,” which made them feel terrible. As a matter of fact, it is Kehl’s train that can be called the first armored train, and not just artillery at a railway base.
The British could not help but become interested in the successful use of new weapons: in 1871, Colonel Wetherd proposed using railway artillery in the defense of London. In 1876, a real monster was placed on the platform - an 81-ton cannon. The tests were successful; based on their results, the colonel published an article in The Times on May 25, 1877: “Movable and portable batteries.” Soon, in 1886, tests were carried out in British India: a 40-pound gun weighing 3,5 tons was installed on the platform and successfully fired from it. This was the first experience of firing across the tracks, which proved that a gun placed on a railway platform would not overturn it with its recoil...
“Eh Tommy, Tommy - you’re a soldier, you’re in the top row, but - “By the cars, to the train!” - only the guns will thunder..."
It was necessary to check the experimental data of the Lime during the Boer War. In addition to trains with 4- and 8-inch guns, the British command also built an armored train with Maxim machine guns. The train consisted of a locomotive and several open-top carriages, which were protected by vertical armor plates with cut-out embrasures for rifles and machine guns. However, it was in South Africa that the Boers demonstrated a successful fight against armored trains: they undermined the railway track, first along the train, then behind it. In addition, they regularly blew up bridges, tying up the already limited maneuverability of the “armored trains” in the conditions of an undeveloped railway network. However, by 1902 the British had at least 20 armored trains in South Africa. They were used for patrolling, protecting communication lines, and also rescuing besieged blockhouses, with a network of which the British covered the territory of the recalcitrant Boer republics.
The crews of English armored trains in the Boer War were often made up of sailors
Perhaps the not-so-positive experience of the Anglo-Boer War caused a negative attitude towards the installation of fortress artillery at the railway base by the famous Russian military engineer K. I. Velichko. He believed that artillery placed on rails would travel more than fight. However, in 1900, the Boxer Rebellion began in China, and the Russian contingent in Beijing was tasked with guarding the railway station. For this purpose, an armored train with a detachment of 200 soldiers was built. Subsequently, armored cars were used during the Russo-Japanese War for... protection from local robbers - Honghuz. In 1907, General Rennenkampf ordered the armored cars to be equipped with machine guns and artillery.
The armored train "Hunhuz" in the First World War was named after the main enemy of Russian armored trains...
What is characteristic of early (and later) stories armored trains? These new weapons worked best during colonial wars. And mainly against... not the most developed enemy. Even the Boers in South Africa were able to cause a lot of problems for the British armored trains. The same story can be traced in Russia - armored trains fought well against the Honghuz, but against the Japanese... they were practically not used. Soon in the First World War, armored trains would have to face the armies of the great powers, with disappointing results. Individual successful raids of armored trains on enemy positions will not correct the overall picture: large, clumsy, with bulletproof armor, they will become an easy target for enemy artillery. And only the Civil War in Russia will breathe new life into them. Fortunately, most of the troops that the crews of the armored trains will have to fight with will be very reminiscent of Honghuz in terms of combat effectiveness...
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