All photos source smolbattle, Warhistory.livejournal
Historical Background :
By the end of the 1910s, it became clear that the the motorization of armies was inevitable. In Russia, the problem was complex and urgent because of the underdevelopment of the local automotive industry.
As elsewhere, the military administration traditionally did not trust new technologies. In Russia, it was relying on the railway and the cartage, the Russian road network being almost non-existent and the climatic conditions extreme.
At the same time, the defeat against Japan,the economic crisis and civil unrest of 1906 – 1907 claimed expenses for other important tasks. However, the military administration closely monitored the development of this problem abroad, performed tests of some types of mechanical engines, vehicles (charron for exemple), the use of which for military purposes, it seemed, had promised to bring quick benefits with low costs.
From1906 on, the Russian Empire unproductive customs policy conducted to high tax the import of spare parts, as well as machines for their production.This situation, according to the legislators, was decided to promote the development of domestic engineering. But at the same time the import of finished vehicles was low taxed.
The result was a predominance of foreign, primarily German, vehicles, while reducing the production of russian cars. As a result, at the beginning of the first world war,the automotive situation became critical: lack of spare parts for cars did not allowed to use them effectively in the armed forces.
However, the Russian army at the same time contributed to the development of the domestic automotive industry by constantly placing orders for motor vehicles with local companies. The inability of Russian industry to fully meet the army needs was due to their low technological level.
The military motorization was part of the reorganization of the Russian Imperial Army. In 1909 the Minister of War created an Automotive branch, whose role was to provide equipment for this motorization. It should be pointed out that we are talking here only of trucks and passenger cars administratively attached to the railway battalion.
In the budget for 1910, the Treasury allocated 245,000 rubles and then 14,0000 more for the transport of troops by vehicles. During the third International Automobile Exhibition from 15 to 27 may 1910, in St Petersburga new Russian manufacturer emergedwith the Russo-Baltic company located in Riga (Latvia), then in the Russian Empire, originally constructing railway wagons. This company later played a significant role in the motorization of the Russian army.
Finally, on 16 may 1910, an order was signed for the formation of the 1stcompany of automobile(two years later renamed the company of military and automobile) under command of captain Piotr Ivanovitch Sekretev, who later played a major role in the formation of the 1st automobile machine-gun company.
In July 1911, successfull tests were carried out for the use of military trucks. The utility of these machines was demonstrated, but the endurance of individual components and assemblies was also tested. During autumn 1912, a second test was conducted. The Commission had acquired 354 trucks and 42 passenger cars. These vehicles were assigned to the newly formed car company at the railway battalion.
These tests provided a wealth of experience in the motorization of the army and allowed the military leadership to formulate a clear understanding of the use of nomenclature, types and number of vehicles required. It became obvious that the army needs not only universal but also highly specialized vehicles.
The practice of using a new type of troops required a corresponding theory and regulatory. The creators of the theory and basics of combat use of vehicles are professor of General Staff Academy V.G. Boldyreva, with his 1911-1912 Academy lectures « The car and its tactical use », the captain V.O. Kapel with his « car service in the army », the Colonel Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zlatolinsky with his « The car and other types of mechanical traction as applied to military purposes », which studied the mechanization not only in terms of mobility and traction of different weapons but also in terms of combat vehicle.
The final result will be the creation of the 1st machine-gun armored car company
The first automobile machine-gun company :
A few days after the beginning of the First World War, in East Prussia, the Germans already used weapons mounted on improvised armored vehicles. This is confirmed by a photo and order No. 35 of cavalry general Zhilinsky, commander of the northwest front, who prescribes the instructions to combat these armored vehicles.
For their part, the Russians also improvised. Captain Bazhanov of the 25th Infantry Division, in Iksterburge near Königsberg, armed an Italian SPA truck with two machine guns and armor plates recovered from German guns.
But this is just improvisation and on the official plan, things are moving. On August 17, 1914, War Minister V.A. Sukhomlinov ordered the colonel of the life Guard chasseur regiment Alexander Nikolayevich Dobrzhansky to create and command a « machine-gun armored car battery « , later renamed company.
The creation was very fast in just a month and a half. The transformation of civilian vehicles was carried out in the Izhora (Izhorski) factories in Kolpino under the supervision of Colonel Dobrzhansky himself and the engineer A. Y. Grauen.
The company was formed from:
Four sections of two so eight armored cars called Russo-Balt type C on the chassis of the Russo-Balt C24 / 40 passenger car, armed with three 7.62 mm maxim machine guns.
A section of auto-guns with an auto-gun on German chassis of 4t. Mannesmann-Mulag, armed with a 47mm French Hotchkiss naval gun and two maxim machine guns. Two auto-guns on German chassis Benz and English Alldays armed with a 37mm maxim nordenfelt automatic gun unarmored due to lack of time.
Support vehicles: 17 cars, seven trucks, an ambulance, a reconnaissance car and 14 motorcycles.
The lessons learned from the first battles led to a reorganization and strengthening of the company. In December 1914, the Russo-Balt armored cars were sent to the Warsaw workshop to reinforce their chassis and suspensions. Two other Mannesmann-Mulag auto-guns (but on a 3t chassis, armed with a 37mm maxim nordenfelt automatic gun) and two auto-guns on 3t chassis. (Equipped with a 37mm maxim nordenfelt automatic gun and a maxim machine gun) were built at the Izhora factory during the winter.
The new vehicles arrived on March 22, 1915. The company was then reorganized with four sections with two armored cars and one auto-gun each. The first Mannesmann Mulag auto-gun had been destroyed in the fighting on 12 February 1915.
platoon n° | vehicles | number | Engine number | Chassis number |
1 | Russo-Balt type C | n°1 | n°530 | n°1530 |
2 | Russo-Balt type C | n°3 | n°542 | n°1542 |
3 | Russo-Balt type C | n°5 | n°534 | n°1534 |
4 | Russo-Balt type C | n°7 | n°539 | n°1539 |
The company was inspected by the Tsar on 12 October 1914 in Tsarskoye Selo (there are several pictures of this event), and went to the front on 19 October 1914 under command of the 2nd Army. His baptism of fire happened on 9 and 10 November 1914 in the region of Lodz with a terrible efficiency. The company was then to fight to cover the retreat of the 2nd Army. In December 1914 it covered the sixth corps retreat at Lovech. The company fought almost without rest (except for a three-month rest between September and November 1915 for vehicle repair). In September 1916 it was integrated into the 1st Armored Division and then, following rumors of German landings, it was sent to Finland at the disposal of the 42nd corps until the summer of 1917. It was then brought back to St Petersburg following the unrest and in October 1917, a few days before the revolution, it was sent to Dvinsk (Daugavpils, Latvia) in order to slow down the German offensive. After the disorganization of the army following the revolution, the troops and equipment of the 1st Armored Division surrendered to the German troops in the spring of 1918. The Packards were found in the streets of Berlin in March 1919. Other vehicles will find themselves In the hands of the Red Army during the Russian Civil War.
