Product Description

First seen during the American Civil War and later appearing in the Franco-Prussian War and the Anglo-Boer Wars, the armored train came to prominence on the Eastern Front during World War I. It was also deployed during the Russian Civil War and the technology traveled east into the Chinese Civil War, and the subsequent war with Japan. It saw service on the Russian Front in World War II, but was increasingly sidelined by its vulnerability to air attack. Steven J Zaloga examines the origins and development of the armored train focusing equally on the technical detail and on the fascinating story of how armored trains were actually used in combat. This title will appeal to armor, military history and railroad enthusiasts alike.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54559 in Books
• Brand: Osprey Publishing Limited
• Published on: 2008-01-22
• Released on: 2008-01-22
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .0" h x .0" w x .0" l, .0 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 48 pages

Review
"I must say I thoroughly enjoyed this new Edition and I'm now ready expand my modeling skills into this area. I've seen several examples of Armored Trains at past Conventions too............ENJOY!!!!!!!!" -Jack Bruno, IPMS/USA (March 2009)

"Osprey's books on armored trains and units of the Russian Civil War (RCW) are simply awesome. The Armored Trains book discusses the development of armored trains from the American Civil War (ACW) through its height in the 1920s to WWII... This Armored Trains book is my favorite of the three [from the series] -- not only does it illustrate the trains... but it discusses the tactics in which they were used -- a major plus!" -Michael Koznarsky, Historical Miniature Gamer (Issue 11)

"Valuable as an introduction to a huge and under-explored subject that is finally getting attention in model form. The size of the subject restricts the depth of the coverage as always, but shouldn’t put off anyone with an interest in the subject. As always with Steve Zaloga the content is clear and well-written and similarly with Tony Bryan as illustrator, the artwork is excellent." -David Maynard, Armorama (February 2008)

"Steven Zaloga tells the story of these interesting machines and backed by superb period photos and the artwork of Tony Bryan, provides you with an outstanding book on a truly unique subject. Get this one, you'll be pleased you did." -Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (January 2008)

About the Author
Steven J Zaloga was born in 1952. He received his BA in History from Union College and his MA from Columbia University. He has published numerous books and articles dealing with modern military technology, especially armored vehicle development. His main area of interest is military affairs in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe in World War II, and he has also written extensively on American armored forces. The author lives in Abingdon, MD.

Customer Reviews

A Fine Addition to any Bookshelf
Armored Trains, by Steven J Zaloga, is number 140 in Osprey's New Vanguard series and a fine addition to any bookshelf. As usual, the author's delivery is precise, detailed and insightful. This volume describes the development and use of armored trains by a variety of armies from the American Civil War up to the 1960s. Although this subject has often received scant attention in many standard military histories, the author succeeds in depicting the role and significance of this unique weapon system. Furthermore, the volume also benefits from Osprey's new streamlined format and some really great photographs and artwork by Tony Bryan.

Armored Trains begins with an introduction that lays out the early development and trains modified to carry weapons, troops and armor plate in both the American Civil War and the Boer War. These early modifications were rather ad hoc and mostly suited to either fire support or railroad security roles. At the start of the First World War, Russia and Austria-Hungary had invested in more powerfully armed and better-protected armored trains, which performed well in the vast open spaces on the Eastern Front. With few roads available, armored trains offered an excellent mix of firepower, mobility and protection that made it perfect for a wide variety of missions. Once the Russian Empire collapsed into Revolution, the numerous armored trains available played a key role in the seesaw battles across Eurasia between the Whites and the Reds. This volume focuses heavily on Eastern Europe in the period 1918-1939, where armored trains enjoyed their heyday in the Russian Civil War, the Russo-Polish War and factional fighting in Manchuria. About half the volume focuses on armored trains in the Second World War, with most of the focus on the large number of Soviet armored trains. Germany only came to appreciate armored trains for anti-partisan work late in the war, but nevertheless the author describes their efforts to use them in some detail. The final section notes the use of armored trains by minor armies as well as mentioning some post-war examples. However, the lethality of modern airpower spelled the end of the armored train's brief period of military effectiveness and consigned the survivors to museums.

This volume has six color plates and Osprey has finally made the sound decision to put the caption for each plate on the facing page. No more flipping back and forth to the end of the volume! There is also a color centerfold/cutaway that shows detail on the Soviet PL-37 artillery wagon. One of the nicest color pages is one that shows the configuration of various German, Polish and Russian armored trains. The B/W photos throughout this volume are also terrific and Osprey's new format for photos enhances their presentation. Finally, the author provides excellent notes on further reading and sources available, for readers seeking more detail. Both graphically and content-wise, this is a superb volume.

Armored trains - an opinion
The book is very good, and provides an insight on what is a complex and somewhat overlooked theme. There are a lot of pictures, and some small-scale drawings, but relatively little hard information. I would like to have seen some scale 4-view drawings,by no means of all the trains but of some representative cars. I would also like to see more technical information, although I recognize that this may simply not be available. One way is by having an appendix, train by train (car by car) with dimensions, weights, crew, armament, armor thickness, etc. and separately a notesheet of details on the armaments themselves, caliber, range, weight of projectile etc.
I enjoyed reading it, and I learnt a lot from the book, but with a little more dogged research it could become a really useful reference book.
RD

Nothing against the booklet, but the booklet.
A favorite subject of mine. Mr Zaloga is an expert in many fields. This is a rather in depth look within it's few pgs. Is it just me or are these Osprey booklets getting thinner and thinner as the price goes up?

Let's hope someone out there has a huge tome about this subject in the works. It deserves one. Only on the WW2 German trains please.

I think this booklet (and most of the others in Osprey's line) are overpriced even at Amz's $12, let alone the $18 'list'. Is anyone out there still paying retail nowadays? $8 seems about right for such a thin study. Very nice artwork tho.