Russian artillery in 1914

[Ladislav]

Hi John!

Most of this military cargoes was imported by Vladivostok it is correct?

Ladislav

[John Gilinsky]

WRONG. Archangel, Northern Russia by far saw the greatest amount overall of Allied munitions shipments to Russia during the war and excluding the post Revolutionary period. Huge amounts of Allied munitions lay undistributed due to backlogs, railway car shortages, railway workers work stoppages and foodstuff priority shipments in more southerly latitudes.

[Ladislav]

Hi John!

And you know modells guns imported to Russia from Japan. Which companies in Japan produced this guns?

With regard Ladislav

[bob lembke]

Hi John!

And you know modells guns imported to Russia from Japan. Which companies in Japan produced this guns?

With regard Ladislav

Ladislav;

I have seen German photos of large Japanese guns captured by the Germans,emplaced or at least found in pits, with packing cases on the scene with Japanese characters written on them, suggesting that the guns were recently obtained. The guns were about 24 cm, with a medium-length barrel. But as to manufacturer or exact caliber, I have no idea.

Bob Lembke

[bob lembke]

Does anyone have any resources on the number and type of artillery the Russians used in 1914, especially in Galicia?

Returning to the original topic, the discussion seems to have been limited to the artillery of the field army, although no one seems to have explicitly stated that. The Russians had immense numbers of guns (much of it old junk) in their fortresses; at one fortress the Germans captured 1300 guns and 900,000 shells. I have an account by a German Feuerwerkoffizier (what my grand-father was) who had the task of salvaging useful ammunition from a captured fort, and he got out 100 trains of ammunition, two trains a day. The Germans adopted some Russian heavy artillery of a modern and useful type into their units on the Western Front, and happily fired off this tremendous amount of ammunition onto the French and British.

There was another type of Russian 76.2 cm gun that the Germans found useful, in limited quantities. The Russians had a light "parapet gun", a light field gun that could be easily man-handled about the parapets of the Russian forts to be deployed and fired on assaulting infantry. The famed Storm Battalion Rohr, originally formed to test a new (unsuccessful) model of German Krupp 37 mm infantry gun, adopted this gun, somewhat modified (e.g., putting on better German optical sights), and they found it probably the most successful infantry gun they used in their close support battery, although they tried at least four different guns, from 37 mm to 105 mm. (They were forced to donate the Russian guns to a newly formed Bulgarian storm battalion, much to their annoyance.)

Bob

[Ladislav]

Hi Bob!

This fortress where Germans captured 1.300 guns called Kowno. Its correct? And do you know which origin was this guns if only russian or british , french, american and japan too?

With regard Ladislav

[bob lembke]

Hi Bob!

This fortress where Germans captured 1.300 guns called Kowno. Its correct? And do you know which origin was this guns if only russian or british , french, american and japan too?

With regard Ladislav

Kowno was one of the forts where the Gemans took a great amount of ammo and guns. I think that 900,000 shells were taken at two different forts. But it would take me a bit of time to look thru my materials to be sure that Kowno was the one I was remembering. There were several others; in most cases, but not all, the Russians did not bother to blow up their magazines. My grand-father may have been at Kowno, still working on that question.

Aside from remembering that photo of a captured Japanese gun and Japanese packing cases, I have no specific information as to non-Russian artillery captured in the east by the Germans.

Bob

[Ladislav]

Hi Bob!

You have right it was system of fortresses, which was captured by german in ofensiv 1915. But Russian tried systematic evacuated all what was possible from this fortresses.

With regard Ladislav.

[John Gilinsky]

Hi John!

And you know modells guns imported to Russia from Japan. Which companies in Japan produced this guns?

With regard Ladislav

Cannot right now if ever help you with Japanese munitions companies for WWI supplying Russia. However for American, Canadian and some British I MAY in the distant future.

John