Armored Units of the Russian Civil War: Red Army

by David Bullock

By 1920 the Red Army fielded an overwhelming array of armored cars and armored trains, while tank detachments had begun forming in earnest. These armored units played an important part in consolidating the newly won Bolshevik empire in the early 1920s; as a consequence of the fact that railways were the strategic arteries that essentially controlled Russia, armored trains have never played such a significant role in military history as they did in...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1841765457
• ISBN13: 9781841765457
• Release Date: April 2006
• Publisher: Osprey Publishing (UK)
• Length: 48 Pages
• Weight: 0.40 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.2" x 7.3" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Birth of Soviet Armor

The second classic from an international team, the first covering the Whites and Allies. Here, the Red Army is examined in its earliest years, during the civil war. Dr. Bullock, a former military officer and military historian has assembled a team of experts in their fields. Features include Trotsky's famous command train, the first consolidated list of Red armored trains complete with silhouettes from A-Z. Many of these silhouettes were originally pioneered by the Ukraine's leading armor expert, Mr. Romadin. Russia's foremost author and photo collector of armor, Maxim Kolomiets, has provided several armored train photos. Tanks and armored cars are also covered in detail, depicting the Soviet's first organization and use of these on the battlefield. Features include American tanks in Soviet service, detailed patterns of markings and insignia of tanks, armored cars and armored trains. Additional information and details provided by Alexander Deryabin, son of a famous Soviet General officer. The majority of color plates are by Russia's leading armor artist, Andrei Aksenov, the center plate by England's top armor artist, Peter Sarson. Superb collector and resell value if this edition goes out of print.

A brilliant book

This volume, though slim, addresses the equipment and tactics used by the nascent Red Army during the Russian Civil War, a subject NEVER addressed in any other book I've ever come across, other than a few lines here and there. Tanks were, of course, a new technology in 1918. Invented by the western Allies, tanks found their way to Russian depots and later fell into the hands of Red Guards, who promptly used them against the Whites. This book has some rare photos of these machines and discusses their use and numbers. Definitely something you want if you are interested in the Russian Civil War specifically or armored warfare in general.