The Armed Strength of the German Empire; Prepared for the Intelligence Division of the War Office Volume 1 (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1888 edition. Excerpt: ...carrying power of the truck, as many as 3 ammunition wagons being carried on a truck 30 ft. 6 in. long. The maximum length for a military train is 110 axles, but if possible they should not have more than 100 axles. If loaded with stores over 176 tons, they should not exceed 66 to 80 axles, and no train should carry more than 313 tons. Break wagons must always be supplied. The carriages of a troop train are arranged in the following order: --(1.) The locomotive and tender. (2.) The guard's van with light baggage. (3.) The carnages for men, with those for officers in the centre. (4.) Wagons for saddlery, if necessary. (5.) Wagons for horses. (6.) Trucks with guns, carriages, &c. For the resulting number of trains for the various units of troops, see Chapter XI, Part II. Every troop train of the field Army carries with it 10 long and 10 short baulks, 24 chesses, and 20 crampions, to permit of the erection of temporary unloading stages, or to increase defective platform accomodation. (d.) Transport of Large Bodies of Troops. For the transport of large bodies of troops and their concentration on the frontier, the Chief of Field Railways, on receipt of orders from the Chief of the Great General Staff, issues a general plan of transport (Generelle Transport-Disposition) based on the order of battle of the troops, the distribution of the garrison troops, the orders of the Chief of the Great General Staff as to the zones of concentration of the Armies, the detraining stations, the lines of march, and the points fixed for magazines and transfer stations, the terminal stations resulting from those orders, the distribution of the railway net into lines and the timetables on these fines, the arrangements for the trains carrying reservists...