Armored Trains Book Review

Armored Trains

By Steven Zaloga

Series:  Osprey New Vanguard #140

Softcover, 48 pages, bibliography, and index

Published by Osprey Publishing, January 2008

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1846032423

ISBN-13: 978-1846032424

Dimensions:  7.2 x 9.5 x 0.2 inches

Railroads revolutionized land travel in the 1800s, journeys which previously took weeks now could be completed in days.  The obvious utility of moving troops and military supplies was not lost upon planners.  During the American Civil War more direct applications of rail power were developed, with trains being employed in patrol duties, transporting raiding parties, or as mobile artillery platforms.  During the Boar War in 1899, armored trains became widely known to the public due to the newspaper articles detailing the ambush of a British train authored by a young reported named Winston Churchill.

During the First World War armored trains were utilized by almost all the antagonists in one form or another, and eventually became standardized.  Both factions made extensive use of them during the Russian Revolution, where they frequently played prominent roles in operations.  The Second World War saw the ultimate development of the technology and was used by both the Germans and the Soviets, but was ultimately made obsolete by airpower.

This is a fascinating subject, but one which has received comparatively little attention from the military press.  This book is an interesting and welcome overview of the development and evolution of armored trains specifically, but it does not attempt to cover the large railroad guns nor the Luftwaffe flak trains seen during the last years of the war.  Any of these would make for an unusual modeling project, but one which would be constrained by size limitations for many subjects.  A nice addition to the Osprey New Vanguard series, recommended.