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‘Dmitry Donskoy’ - Armored train

Also Called ‘The Sea’ Armored Train

Before August 11, 1918 it was called the “Marine Battery No. 2”  Bronepoezd (Armored Train)

Before approximately September, 1919 it was called the "Marine" Bronepoezd (Armored Train)

Finally named the ‘Dmitry Donskoy’ Bronepoezd (Armored Train)

White Forces South of Russia

Dmitry Donskoy" ("Marine Battery No. 2", "Marine" armored train, “Sea” armored train)

 "... In Yekaterinodar, the formation of a new armored train called" Marine Battery No. 2 "(later the light armored train" Dmitry Donskoy ") began on August 11. 47mm gun, and one landing car. The commander of the "Marine Battery" was appointed Captain 2nd Rank Markov. The personnel of the "Marine Battery" was formed mainly of naval officers and aviation officers who served machine guns.

The materiel was in poor condition due to the negligence of the Reds. The stock of shells was very limited, and one could count on replenishing it only by capturing shells from the enemy. The casings had to be reloaded several times, and from this came the spells. It was difficult to eliminate the spells, because at that time there were no mobile artillery workshops in the Volunteer Army ... "

This is how A.A. Vlasov history of the creation of this armored train. In the second half of August, he took part in the attack on Armavir from the side of the Kavkazskaya station. After the capture of Armavir by the Volunteer Army on September 3 - 4, the "Marine Battery", together with the "Officer" armored train, took part in the raid on the "Konokovo" station on September 5. And already on September 6, an armored train first came to Tuapsinka, to the Andrei-Dmitrievskaya station of the Armavir-Tuapse section to defend Armavir from the Taman Army advancing from the west.

When the Taman army entered Armavir on September 13, the "reserve" of the 1st "Marine Battery" was withdrawn along Tuapseinka to Stavropol, and the armored train itself fought back to Stavropol for the next month and a half, holding back the Taman offensive.

Senior Lieutenant Makarov was appointed commander, and the combat strength was reinforced with an armored platform with a naval 100 mm gun.

On October 14, in a battle at the crossing, the Base "Sea" armored train was ambushed, derailed and abandoned by the team. Makarov was mortally wounded (see the description of this battle). Later, the armored train was repulsed by the troops of General Wrangel from the Reds at the station in Stavropol.

Subsequently, the Marine armored train under the command of Colonel Maralin fought in the Black Earth Region and in the Ukraine, where it received the name "Dmitry Donskoy". In September 1919, the armored train was located near Kursk. In November 1919, "Dmitry Donskoy", then operating on the Kharkov-Sevastopol line, received 3 new armored platforms of the Golyakhovsky system with 3 dm guns in rotating turrets and a machine-gun platform.

The armored train "Dmitry Donskoy" went through the Civil War to the very end, and was left in Kerch, in November 1920, during the evacuation of the last white units.

However, the old combat unit of "Dmitry Donskoy" was not abandoned, and even survived the new composition. The Dmitry Donskoy armored platform, which had exhausted its resource in gun barrels and undercarriage, and was previously decommissioned, became part of the For Holy Rus armored train hastily created during the retreat in early 1920 and ended its combat path near Novorossiysk on March 13, 1920.