3 – 16th Armored Automobile Squad

4 – 36th Armored Automobile Squad

XIV – Special-purpose Armored Automobile Division:

It was part of the reserve (Southwestern Front) as of June 1, 1917

This unit was exclusively composed of Jeffery-poplavko armored cars. On September 10, 1916, even before the construction of the armored vehicles was completed, the Imperial approval of the structure of the Special Purpose Armored Car Division was given: 30 armored Jeffery vehicles, 4 trucks, 4 passenger cars, 4 tank trucks, 1 auto repair shop, and 9 motorcycles. Its commander was Captain Viktor Poplavko, who had been promoted to the rank of commander. The division was divided into three squads (10 armored vehicles each), each squad into three sections (3 vehicles each), each section commanded by an officer. On October 16, 1916, the armored division departed for the Southwestern Front, where it joined the 11th Army. At the end of December, it was planned to be used in a joint offensive operation with one of the rifle divisions. In preparation for this, on December 20, 1916, 15 Jefferies participated in a training attack to break through an obstacle at an old Austrian position. The obstacle consisted of four rows of stakes, densely braided with barbed wire. The armored cars successfully completed the task, breaking through the obstacle in 45 to 60 seconds, leaving passages for infantry. However, to prevent the enemy from taking countermeasures against the new equipment before the general offensive of the Southwestern Front, the use of the Jefferies was postponed. During the 11th Army’s offensive that began on June 16, 1917, the Special Purpose Armored Division was not used to break through barbed wire. However, acting as regular armored cars, the Jefferys provided significant assistance to the 17th Army Corps, covering its retreat during the German breakthrough on Tarnopol. Thus, on July 7, near the Lis’i Yamy tract (northeast of Tarnopol), the vehicles of the 1st Squad, commanded by Ensign Inozemtsev, attacked the Germans and, under heavy artillery fire, sealed gaps in our infantry lines, delaying the enemy advance for three and a half hours. That same day, the 2nd Squad, commanded by Staff Captain Alekseevtsev, and the 3rd Squad, commanded by Staff Captain Ustinov, fought from 4:00 PM near Cape Yezerna, covering the evacuation of equipment. As darkness fell, having broken through the fire-engulfed Jeziorna and destroyed the ammunition depot that they had been unable to remove, the vehicles retreated to Tarnopol. On July 8, 1917, all three squads covered the crossings on the Seret River and the Tarnopol-Novo-Zalozhitse highway. Lacking contact with the infantry, which retreated without offering any resistance, the armored cars held off the Germans from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., continuously attacking them, firing at them point-blank, and preventing their advance. The division’s vehicles also evacuated the wounded from under fire, as well as machine guns and artillery pieces abandoned by the retreating troops. During the two-day battle, two armored cars were destroyed by German artillery fire, and three were blown up by their crews (they were unable to be withdrawn to the rear due to breakdowns). On July 18, the 1st Squadron supported units of the 122nd Infantry Division during their attack on Grzymałów. The vehicles entered the town, helped the infantry drive out the enemy, and pursued them for 1.5 kilometers. The primary reason for the Jeffery’s effectiveness in the July battles was its increased cross-country ability and maneuverability (due to the front and rear wheel steering) compared to other types of armored vehicles. This was particularly noticeable during the battles of July 7–8, 1917, when rains made the dirt roads virtually impassable. However, serious flaws in the Jeffery’s armor and armament also emerged. For example, the fighting compartment became extremely hot from the engine located within, and the horizontal field of fire of the machine guns was only 15 degrees. On October 2, 1917, after testing the Jeffery, in the presence of members of the Southwestern Front headquarters, it was decided « to abandon the use of these vehicles for special-purpose missions and instead use them for the tasks of ordinary armored cars. Due to the unsatisfactory placement and design of the embrasures, this could only be accomplished with at least two such armored cars operating simultaneously. » Following the October Revolution of 1917, the Special Purpose Armored Division was Ukrainized and incorporated into the armed forces of the Central Rada, the government that had declared Ukraine’s independence. However, the Central Rada was unable to retain power for long, and the Jeffery armored cars were passed around. Most of them ended up in the Red Army and were assigned to newly formed armored detachments.