"'By 1916, the number of Czech prisoners of war in Russia increased to 300,000.' An armored train simply couldn't hold it..."
"Yes." Housekeeper Ai smiled: "Because during the decades of World War I and World War II, the railway was the most important means of large-scale transportation. It was also the most important lifeline for both warring parties. Therefore, the railway was preserved as much as possible. For example, the Trans-Siberian Railway did not suffer large-scale damage. And without exception, all important cities and transportation hubs are distributed along the railway. This also allowed the Czech Legion, which built as they went and used local materials, to build many armored trains. .”
"Ah... So that's it." The crew of the Mountain No. 1 nodded.
"Czech Armored Trains (1918-August 1920): The Czech regiments retreated along the railway line, their main concern being the safety of the rearguard, especially when the Bolsheviks began to attack them. To hold the railway at Bakhmach At the hub, Captain Cervinks, commander of the 6th Regiment, began building an armored train in March 1918, including a steam locomotive, a boxcar and three mine cars. The carriages were protected by sandbags and equipped with machine guns and crew's rifle. On June 1, the train received a field gun that could be mounted at the front or rear of the car, greatly increasing its firepower. Its patrol mission ensured the safe passage of Czech troops. Thus, the birth of the armored train It originated from the task given to the Czechoslovaks by General Janin, the head of the French military delegation - to protect the railway line. The area under their control extended to 10 kilometers on both sides of the railway. By 1919, this so-called ' The Neutral Zone' was the only area that did not fall into Bolshevik hands. Certain sections of the railway line were secured by the 'Polish Legion', which also deployed three armored trains.
The construction and service of armored trains mainly took place between May and September 1918, but some trains did not appear until 1919, such as the trains assigned to the 8th and 9th Regiments. Other trains did not join the regiments, such as the anti-aircraft train built by Captain Kulikovski in Chaytanka in September 1918. The armored train of the assault battalion was built in Kansk from June 16 to 20, 1918. From July to August 1918, it participated in the battle to provide cover for the retreat as far as Lake Baikal. The 1st Regiment had a train built in Kinel in June 1918. The lead car was equipped with a Pudilov 76.2 mm gun. It was numbered 3 and was destroyed at the Battle of Bouzoulouk on the 25th of the same month.
Of the four armored trains of the 2nd Regiment, two of the equipment and operating trains were destroyed, one of which was destroyed on the Volga River on October 23, 1918, and the other on the Ik River. The armored train commanded by Lieutenant Netik achieved military success on June 26, 1918, destroying an enemy armored train.
The 3rd Regiment uses the most armored trains, but the scale and armament of its trains are relatively limited: there is usually a carriage equipped with a bow (tail) gun, and multiple swivel cars protected by sleepers and sandbags. These trains were all built in June 1918. They were not called by individual names but by the names of their commanders: Malek, Lieutenant Iijnsky, Sembatovic ), Lieutenants Nemcinov, Urbanek (command was transferred to Captain Troca on July 6) and Nepras.
The 4th Regiment owns the most famous armored train 'Orlik' during the Soviet Russian Civil War. On July 22, 1918, the Red Army armored train named 'Lenin' at the time was captured intact in Simbirsk (now Ulyanovsk) and was renamed 'Orlik' two days later. It immediately went into action on the Simbirsk-Chita railway line. In October 1918, she was split into 'Orlik I' and 'Orlik II', which operated at Priytovo and Abdulino respectively. In the summer of 1919, they were reunited into one to ensure the safety of the Trans-Siberian Railway, which was experiencing continued damage. When the train was stationed at the Irkutsk station (Czech means 'little eagle', which is also the name of a castle), General Yanan said that the area was calm and the ''Orlik'' armored train... …order is ensured. 'On April 8, 1920, it was involved in an incident in which the Japanese forces forced the four officers and 100 soldiers on board to hand the train over to them. After negotiations, the train was returned to the crew on the 13th. After the last Czech troops left on May 20, 1920, the train once again belonged to the Japanese troops occupying the area, but the Americans insisted on handing it over to the White Russian troops. The latter used the train until the autumn of 1922, when the Soviet Red Army captured Vladivostok, "Orlik" joined the troops of the Chinese warlord Zhang Zongchang. The name of this train is popular among Czechs because the 4th Regiment also owned another train named "Orlik", which was built in Penza in May 1918. It was commanded by Captain Sramek, had a crew of 60, carried nine machine guns and two armored vehicles. At the end of May, a flat car carrying artillery was added to the train, but it was seriously damaged on the same day. Overnight it was rebuilt with new carriages and its crew reinforced to a total of six officers and 200 soldiers. This train took part in the battles of Abdulino and Chishma on July 3. On that day, it used the name "Orlik I" to avoid confusion with the original "Lenin" of the same name, and fought continuously until the Battle of Simbirsk on September 8 and 9, when the lead carriage was destroyed. The gunner and commander were killed or wounded. Shortly after evacuating to Kindiakovka (now Vinovka), she was withdrawn from active service.
The 4th Regiment built a train named 'Orlik II', which took part in operations from July to November 1918. After a battle in front of the town of Bougoulma in early August, it was hit by a train of the Soviet Red Army and had to retreat. Thereafter, she covered the evacuation of troops from Bugulima to Zlatoust, repaired battle damage, and was decommissioned on 20 November. The 'Grozny' armored train was built in Penza in May 1918. It is equipped with one artillery and three machine guns and has a crew of 107 people. Its task was not to be envied - to cover the retreat of the rearguard of the 4th Regiment, which at this time was the rearguard of the entire Czech Army. The most powerful weapon of this train is the flat car at the rear, which carries a Putilov-Garford Armored Car. The train was reorganized twice: the first time the crew was increased to 160 people, and the weapons were increased to two artillery pieces and 10 machine guns. On June 24, two additional armored carriages were mounted. In August 1918, the train was reorganized again and split into two, the section still known as 'Grozny' retained the armored truck and the crew was forced to destroy it on 23 October 1918. The other part retains a second artillery gun and 10 machine guns, named 'Armored Train No. 29'. It was also destroyed in September. "——Adapted from "The World Illustrated Encyclopedia of Armored Trains".
After watching this reenactment of the Czech Legion's armored train's homeward journey across the Trans-Siberian Railway, the crew of the Mountaineer fell silent for a moment.
Housekeeper Ai looked around at everyone with soft eyes: "Sisters, do you have any questions?"
"Where is our armored train?" Danielle, the war girl who is the protagonist of this performance, asked directly.
"Here it is." As she spoke, the housekeeper Ai threw out another panoramic information display: one of the most amazing black technologies of the Nazi German army, a super train that could tow warships.
During World War II, Nazi Germany, which had explosive black technology, created many equipment projects that were once jaw-dropping under the direct orders or acquiescence of the head of state, such as the P1000 Giant Rat tank, stealth fighter or land cruiser project. Although most of the plans were It went down the drain, but some of its essence was used for reference and development by later generations. Among the black technology products of Ling Ling Zong Zong, there is this "hyper high-speed rail" plan that is still tall even from a modern perspective. After the second half of 1941, the Siberian cold wave gradually put the Führer's troops in the Soviet Union into a serious supply crisis. At least 70% of the trucks and even trains were struggling in the ice and snow. In order to solve the transportation pressure of the German army in the alpine environment, German ordnance and ammunition Minister Fritz Todt made a somewhat forward-looking suggestion to the head of state, Adolf Hitler: to build a broad-gauge railway from Germany to Ukraine, equipped with powerful locomotives, to solve the supply problem of frontline troops. And he believes that the future German railways should allow every German family to take a 2-3-story train to travel or settle in Germany's "Eastern Living Space".
The concept of "broad gauge" was not actually invented by Fritz Todt. According to the track standards that originated in the 19th century, the rail gauge with a gauge of 1435 mm is called "standard gauge", and the gauge is higher than "Standard gauge" is called "broad gauge". But Fritz Todt proposed the astonishing "broad gauge" concept of 3000 mm. Anyone who dared to think about it would dare to do it. In May 1942, Hitler, whose way of thinking was far beyond ordinary people, actually signed it. In order to implement the order, Gunther Vince, a German doctor of technical science, was sent as the general person in charge to work with the Ministry of Transport to develop the "broad gauge railway", the so-called "Breitspurbahn" plan. In accordance with Hitler's requirement that "the arrival time between each station should not exceed 24 hours", the design speed of passenger cars was initially increased to 400 kilometers per hour. After many predictions and investigations by German experts, the design speed had to be lowered. Adjust it down to 250 kilometers per hour, which is equivalent to the speed of today's CR300 Fuxing train.
Speaking of the power locomotive in the famous "Broad Gauge Railway" plan in German history, there were no less than dozens of design plans in the memorandum of German technical experts at that time, but the one that finally succeeded in the competition was the one with SA3 coupling Diesel-hydraulic fast locomotive. According to data at the time, the power of this kind of machine head can reach 24,000-40,000 horsepower. In actual tests, its maximum pulling capacity can easily tow the "Gustav Train Gun" weighing 1,350 tons. ”, even a battleship weighing 1,500 tons. The entire train can be divided into upper and lower floors, and the interior of the carriages is planned in detail into different levels. The citizen carriages specially used for civilian use are divided into first-class, second-class and third-class carriages. There are 24 first-class carriages in the highest level. There are 48 seats in the compartment, and the supporting facilities include a bar, a reading room, a smoking room, and a washroom; the second-class carriage is equipped with 2 luggage compartments and 12 toilets, with a total of 144 seats; the third-class carriage has a total of 460 seats. In addition to the bathroom, there are 2 waiter rooms. This super train also has a "special class carriage" specially provided for German senior executives. The carriages for this special class are equipped with shower rooms, movie theaters and dining cars. It is said that in order to ensure the safety of the train, the train is also equipped with a carriage specially designed to accommodate 20mm 30/80 anti-aircraft guns or anti-aircraft machine guns. There are also a considerable number of armed soldiers to deal with emergencies.
As for the "special trains" that are provided to German high-level officials, the travel treatment is much higher than that of ordinary people. In addition to the above-mentioned carriage configuration, the "special" train also has a bathing carriage, a movie carriage and a gallery carriage. Among them, the bathing carriage has 4 baths, 20 shower rooms, 2 laundry rooms, 4 toilets and 2 waiter rooms. While senior German officers were enjoying bathing, they could also enjoy hairdressing, massage and other services in the carriage. The movie carriage can accommodate a total of 196 people watching movies and TV series at the same time. The last carriage of the special train is the "gallery carriage" used for appreciating art works. The top of this carriage is also designed with a "dome design" common in European architecture, which not only caters to the mainstream European architectural aesthetics at that time , and can also play a role in reducing air resistance when the train is moving forward.
In order to complete this ambitious project, Hitler involved a large number of German companies such as Krupp, Henschel, and Borsch, and invested a large amount of money and manpower. Until the end of World War II, 100 German officials and 80 engineers continued to work on the project.
The "broad-gauge railway" plan was truly implemented. In the autumn of 1944, Germany successfully tested a 3-kilometer-long 3,000 mm broad-gauge railway. Originally, according to the plan, the construction of the broad-gauge railway would first start on this section between the port city of Hamburg in northern Germany and the city of Linz in Austria. But the plan was far from keeping up with the changes. Less than a year after the first successful test of this broad-gauge railway, the Allied forces captured Berlin, and the technical personnel of the broad-gauge railway project became prisoners, and the plan disappeared.
