![Tachanka in Huliaipole Museum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ef/Tachanka_in_Huliaipole_Museum.jpg)
A tachanka ( ukr, тачанка, rus, тача́нка, pl, taczanka) was a horse-drawn
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
, usually a
cart
A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by one or a pair of draught animals. A handcart is pulled or pushed by one or more people.
It is different from the flatbed tr ...
(such as
charabanc
A charabanc or "char-à-banc" (often pronounced "sharra-bang" in colloquial British English) is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It has "ben ...
) or an open wagon with a
heavy machine gun
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...
installed in the back. A tachanka could be pulled by two to four horses and required a crew of two or three (one driver and a machine gun crew). A number of sources attribute its invention to
Nestor Makhno
Nestor Ivanovych Makhno, The surname "Makhno" ( uk, Махно́) was itself a corruption of Nestor's father's surname "Mikhnenko" ( uk, Міхненко). ( 1888 – 25 July 1934), also known as Bat'ko Makhno ("Father Makhno"),; According to ...
.
Etymology
At least two plausible hypotheses account for the origin of the word ''tachanka''.
Vasmer's
etymological dictionary
An etymological dictionary discusses the etymology of the words listed. Often, large dictionaries, such as the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and ''Webster's'', will contain some etymological information, without aspiring to focus on etymology.
E ...
suggests that the word derives from Ukrainian ''netychanka'' ("нетичанка"), Polish ''najtyczanka'', a type of a
marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
named after the town of Neutitschein, present-day
Nový Jičín
Nový Jičín (; german: Neutitschein) is a town in the Moravian-Silesian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 23,000 inhabitants. The historic centre of Nový Jičín is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument reservatio ...
in the
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
. Another account references a
Ukrainian diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
or endearing form of the word ''tachka'' ( ukr, та́чка, meaning "wheelbarrow'"). Still another etymology postulates a contracted form of the word ''tavrichanka'' - used for rugged carriages known in Southern
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
and
Crimea
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
, and derived from the name "
Taurida
The recorded history of the Crimean Peninsula, historically known as ''Tauris'', ''Taurica'' ( gr, Ταυρική or Ταυρικά), and the ''Tauric Chersonese'' ( gr, Χερσόνησος Ταυρική, "Tauric Peninsula"), begins around the ...
" for this area. However the latter derivation remains dubious: the ''tavrichanka'', a large, rugged agricultural carriage, has a completely different design.
Adoption
![Taczanki PIC 1-P-2965-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Taczanki_PIC_1-P-2965-18.jpg)
A regular civilian horse cart could be easily converted to military use and back. This made the tachanka very popular during the
Great War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
on the
Eastern Front, where it was used by the Russian cavalry. The use of tachankas reached its peak during the
Russian Civil War
, date = October Revolution, 7 November 1917 – Yakut revolt, 16 June 1923{{Efn, The main phase ended on 25 October 1922. Revolt against the Bolsheviks continued Basmachi movement, in Central Asia and Tungus Republic, the Far East th ...
(1917–1920s), particularly in the peasant regions of Southern
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
and
Ukraine
Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...
, on fronts where fluid
mobile warfare
Mobile warfare () is a military strategy of the People’s Republic of China employing conventional forces on fluid fronts with units maneuvering to exploit opportunities for tactical surprise, or where a local superiority of forces can be real ...
gained much significance. With up to 4 horses abreast pulling a tachanka, it could easily keep up with cavalry units and support them with mobile firepower.
Tachanka tactics were centered around taking advantage of its speed to surprise the enemy. Tachankas, before the introduction of the tank or automobile to the battlefield, were the only way to provide high-speed mobility for the heavy, bulky machine guns of World War I. The speed of the horse-drawn cart would be used to move the machine gun platform to a favorable firing position, and then the enemy would be fired upon before they had a chance to react. Since the machine gun pointed towards the rear of the cart, the tachankas also provided effective suppressive fire onto pursuing enemy cavalry after raids and during retreats. Ukrainian anarchist leader Nestor Makhno pioneered the use of the tachanka en masse during the Russian Civil War. Makhno's forces relied so heavily upon the use of the tachanka that one Makhnovite referred to himself and his fellow troops as "a republic on tachanki". The
Revolutionary Insurrectionary Army of Ukraine
The Revolutionary Insurgent Army of Ukraine ( uk, Революційна Повстанська Армія України), also known as the Black Army or as Makhnovtsi ( uk, Махновці), named after their leader Nestor Makhno, was a ...
used tachankas mainly against enemy cavalry. Makhnovists also used tachankas to transport infantry, thus improving mobility of the army (about 100 km each day). Tachankas soon became used by the Red Army, with the famous example of
Vasily Chapayev
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev (russian: link=no, Василий Иванович Чапаев; 5 September 1919) was a Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.
Biography
Chapayev was born into a poor peasan ...
.
Later, it was adopted by a number of armies, notably the
Polish Army
The Land Forces () are the land forces of the Polish Armed Forces. They currently contain some 62,000 active personnel and form many components of the European Union and NATO deployments around the world. Poland's recorded military history stret ...
which used it during the
Polish-Soviet War. Initially mostly improvised, with time the Polish Army also adopted two models of factory-made ''taczanka''s, as they were called in Poland. They were used during the
Invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
of 1939 to provide cavalry squadron support. They were attached to every cavalry HMG squadron and HMG company of infantry.
Armament
Despite a certain degree of standardisation, the tachanka's armament was, in most cases, improvised. In Russia, the
PM M1910
The Pulemyot Maxima PM1910 (PM M1910) (Russian: Пулемёт Максима образца 1910 года, ''Pulemyot Maxima obraztsa 1910 goda'' – "Maxim's machine gun Model 1910") is a Heavy machine gun that was used by the Imperial Russian A ...
heavy machine gun
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light machine gun, light, medium machine gun, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require weapon mount, mountin ...
was often used. The Polish cavalry of the Polish-Soviet War often used all kinds of machine guns available, including the
Maxim
Maxim or Maksim may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine
** ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition
** ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition
*Maxim Radio, ''Maxim'' magazine's radio channel on Sir ...
,
Schwarzlose MG M.07/12,
Hotchkiss machine gun
The Hotchkiss machine gun was any of a line of products developed and sold by Hotchkiss et Cie, (full name Société Anonyme des Anciens Etablissements Hotchkiss et Cie), established by United States gunsmith Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. Hotchkiss moved ...
and
Browning machine gun Browning machine guns are a family of machine gun designs by John Browning, a prolific weapon designer.
These include:
* M1895 Colt–Browning machine gun, based on a design dating to 1889, was the first successful gas-operated machine gun to ent ...
. The late models of standardised tachankas of the Polish Army were all equipped with
Ckm wz.30
Ckm wz. 30 (short for ''ciężki karabin maszynowy wz. 30''; "heavy machine gun 1930 Pattern") is a Polish-made clone of the American Browning M1917 heavy machine gun. Produced with various modifications such as greater caliber, longer barrel and ...
, a Polish modification of the M1917 Browning machine gun which was also suitable for
anti-air
Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based, ...
fire.
Cultural references
One of the songs glorifying the
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
during the Russian Civil War was called
"Tachanka". The concluding lyrics, roughly translated, run:
:''And to this day, the foe has nightmares''
:''Of the thick rain of lead,''
:''The battle-chariot''
:''And the young machine gunner.''
Tachankas can be seen in the classic Soviet films such as ''
Chapayev
Vasily Ivanovich Chapayev or Chapaev (russian: link=no, Василий Иванович Чапаев; 5 September 1919) was a Russian soldier and Red Army commander during the Russian Civil War.
Biography
Chapayev was born into a poor peasan ...
'' and ''
The Burning Miles
''Miles of Fire, The Burning Miles' or The Fiery Miles' (russian: Огненные вёрсты, Transliteration, translit. Ognennye versty'') is an early Ostern, Red Western filmed by Samson Samsonov in 1957. Often considered the earliest ...
''. A modern variant of tachanka can be seen in a cult Russian film ''
Brother 2
''Brother 2'' (russian: Брат 2, translit=Brat 2) is a 2000 Russian crime film. It is the sequel to the 1997 film ''Brother''. Much of it is set in Chicago.
Plot
The film opens with Danila Bagrov being interviewed on television with two fr ...
''.
In the video game ''
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
''Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege'' is an online tactical shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on December 1, 2015; the game was ...
'', there is a playable Russian operator by the name of Alexsandr "Tachanka" Senaviev, who operates a
DP-27 light machinegun (which was originally on a tripod and had a bulletproof glass shield), and an incendiary grenade launcher.
See also
*
Tachanka (song)
"Tachanka" (russian: Tачанка), sometimes labelled "Song of the Tachanka" (russian: Песня о Тачанке, Pesnya o Tachanke) is a Soviet revolutionary song from the late interwar period, composed by Konstantin Listov and written by ...
*
Aerosan
Aerosani (both singular and plural; russian: aэросани, literally aerosled) is a type of propeller-driven snowmobile, running on skis, used for communications, mail deliveries, medical aid, emergency recovery and border patrolling in northern ...
*
Caracole
The caracole or caracol (from the Spanish ''caracol'' - "snail") is a turning maneuver on horseback in dressage and, previously, in military tactics.
In dressage, riders execute a caracole as a single half turn, either to the left or to the r ...
*
Chariot
A chariot is a type of cart driven by a charioteer, usually using horses to provide rapid motive power. The oldest known chariots have been found in burials of the Sintashta culture in modern-day Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, dated to c. 2000&nbs ...
*
Carroballista
Carroballista was an ancient, cart-mounted ballista, a type of mobile field artillery. According to the Roman author Vegetius (''Epitoma rei militaris'' II.25), each legion had 55 ''carroballistae'' (one per ''centuria'') which were arrow/bolt-sho ...
*
Drive-by shooting
A drive-by shooting is a type of assault that usually involves the perpetrator(s) firing a weapon from within a motor vehicle and then fleeing. Drive-by shootings allow the perpetrator(s) to quickly strike their target and flee the scene before ...
*
Horse artillery
Horse artillery was a type of light, fast-moving, and fast-firing artillery which provided highly mobile fire support, especially to cavalry units. Horse artillery units existed in armies in Europe, the Americas, and Asia, from the early 17th to t ...
*
Portee
*
Technical (vehicle)
A technical, in professional military parlance often called a non-standard tactical vehicle (NSTV), is a light improvised fighting vehicle, typically an open-backed civilian pickup truck or four-wheel drive vehicle, mounting a machine gun, an ...
References
External links
{{commons category
''Sounds of the Soviet Union's'' "Tachanka" folk song MP3 file (sung in Russian)Polish Tachankas Carts
Cavalry
Military vehicles of Ukraine
Russian words and phrases
Russian inventions