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In military contexts, a train is the logistical transport elements accompanying a military force. Often called a supply train or baggage train, it has the job of providing
materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specif ...
for their associated combat forces when in the field. When focused on provision of field
artillery Artillery is a class of heavy military ranged weapons that launch munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during siege ...
and its ammunition, it may be termed an artillery train. For
siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...
s, the addition of
siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...
s to an artillery train was called a siege train. These military terms predate, and do not imply a railway
train In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
, though railways are often employed for modern logistics, and can include
armoured train An armoured train is a railway train protected with armour. Armoured trains usually include railway wagons armed with artillery, machine guns and autocannons. Some also had slits used to fire small arms from the inside of the train, a facili ...
s. For
armies An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
, this historically usually referred to forces employing wagons, horses, mules, oxen, camels, or even elephants. These can still be useful where difficult weather or topography limit use of railways,
truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...
s,
sealift Sealift is a term used predominantly in military logistics and refers to the use of cargo ships for the deployment of military assets, such as weaponry, vehicles, military personnel, and supplies. It complements other means of transport, such a ...
, or airlift. The
United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
''Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms'' defined the term "train" as:


History


Antiquity

In the
Ancient Macedonian army The army of the Kingdom of Macedon was among the greatest military forces of the ancient world. It was created and made formidable by King Philip II of Macedon; previously the army of Macedon had been of little account in the politics of the Gr ...
, restrictions were placed on the size and composition of the baggage train by
Philip II of Macedon Philip II of Macedon ( grc-gre, Φίλιππος ; 382 – 21 October 336 BC) was the king ('' basileus'') of the ancient kingdom of Macedonia from 359 BC until his death in 336 BC. He was a member of the Argead dynasty, founders of the ...
and his son
Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
. Carts were generally forbiddenwith the exception of carrying essential items such as
siege engine A siege engine is a device that is designed to break or circumvent heavy castle doors, thick city walls and other fortifications in siege warfare. Some are immobile, constructed in place to attack enemy fortifications from a distance, while oth ...
s, tents, plunder or acting as
ambulance An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport. Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
sbecause they were considered to impede the army's speed and mobility. Throat-and-girth harnesses of the period would cause choking if too much weight was being pulled, the carts themselves were liable to break down, and they could not travel in rough or hilly terrain. Instead, supplies were carried by the soldiers themselves, the servants accompanying them, and
pack animal A pack animal, also known as a sumpter animal or beast of burden, is an individual or type of working animal used by humans as means of transporting materials by attaching them so their weight bears on the animal's back, in contrast to draft ani ...
s.
Horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s and mules were the primary pack animal in the Macedonian army, each capable of carrying (excluding the weight of the
pack saddle A pack saddle is any device designed to be secured on the back of a horse, mule, or other working animal so it can carry heavy loads such as luggage, firewood, small cannons, or other things too heavy to be carried by humans. Description Idea ...
itself); after the conquest of
Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
these were supplemented by the use of camels, which could carry . Neither oxen or ox carts were used as they were slower, had less endurance, and their hooves ill-suited for long distances compared to horses and mules.Engels, D. W. (1980). Alexander the Great and the Logistics of the Macedonian Army. United Kingdom: University of California Press. p. 14-16 The individual Roman legionary carried his possessions and tools on a forked pole across his shoulder when on the march. However tents, equipment and bulk supplies were transported by separate train detachments composed of mules and wagons under the control of camp servants.


18th Century


Russian army

In common with most European armies of this period the Russian army relied primarily on the short-term employment of civilian contract drivers to provide transport and supply services. However following reforms in 1760, organised siege train "parks" were raised to furnish wagons and other support for the heavy guns and mortars of siege artillery.


American Revolutionary War

The
Noble train of artillery The noble train of artillery, also known as the Knox Expedition, was an expedition led by Continental Army Colonel Henry Knox to transport heavy weaponry that had been captured at Fort Ticonderoga to the Continental Army camps outside Boston d ...
, also known as the Knox Expedition, has been highlighted as one of the incredible feats of logistics of the entire
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
. From November 17, 1775 to January 25, 1776, Colonel
Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following the ...
transported 60 tons of artillery and other ordnance from
Fort Ticonderoga Fort Ticonderoga (), formerly Fort Carillon, is a large 18th-century star fort built by the French at a narrows near the south end of Lake Champlain, in northern New York, in the United States. It was constructed by Canadian-born French milit ...
to the Siege of Boston, a distance of approximately . The arrival of these cannons helped end the siege in an American victory. Conversely, historian R. Arthur Bowler argues that the failure of General
John Burgoyne General John Burgoyne (24 February 1722 – 4 August 1792) was a British general, dramatist and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1761 to 1792. He first saw action during the Seven Years' War when he participated in several bat ...
's Saratoga campaign of 1777 was in particular a result of mismanagement of the baggage train. Although the collection of supplies had begun in January, it was not until early June when the British hurriedly contracted for 400 horses to pull their artillery and 500 two-horse carts with drivers to haul supplies. Although American forces evacuated Fort Ticonderoga on July 6, the wagon train didn't start to arrive until mid-July, preventing Burgoyne from making an immediate pursuit. It was early August when Burgoyne finally took possession of Fort Edward on the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
, by which point only 180 of the contracted wagons had arrived. Not until September 13 had sufficient reserves been collected to allow the army to continued on, though continued problems with insufficient supplies and horses led to the disastrous
Battle of Bennington The Battle of Bennington was a battle of the American Revolutionary War, part of the Saratoga campaign, that took place on August 16, 1777, on a farm owned by John Green in Walloomsac, New York, about from its namesake, Bennington, Vermont. A r ...
. Ultimately, Burgoyne erred in assuming he could acquire enough horses and vehicles while moving through hostile territory; diverting too many horses to pulling the army's too-large artillery train; and failing to reign in his officers from appropriating horses and vehicles for personal use.


19th Century


French Army

In 1800 a permanent ''Artillery Train'' was created, with permanently enlisted and uniformed drivers under military discipline. The success of this corps led to a similar regimental ''Wagon Train'' being created by Napoleon in 1806 to provide transport and support services for his
Imperial Guard An imperial guard or palace guard is a special group of troops (or a member thereof) of an empire, typically closely associated directly with the Emperor or Empress. Usually these troops embody a more elite status than other imperial forces, i ...
. ''Wagon Train Battalions'' were created in 1811 to standardise existing supply arrangements for the army as a whole.


British Army

Until the mid-nineteenth century the British Army had relied primarily on hired civilian drivers to provide transport services as needed. A
Royal Waggon Train The Royal Waggon Train was the name originally given to the Supply and Transport branch of the British Armed Forces, which would eventually become the Royal Logistic Corps. Origins and the Royal Waggoners In 1793, Revolutionary French Forces inva ...
had been created in 1802 to ensure logistic support but it had been down-sized after 1815 and disbanded in 1832. The ad-hoc employment of non-disciplined contract workers had clear limitations and during the
Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
a permanent organisation ''The Land Transport Corps'' was created as an integral part of the regular army; to be renamed as ''The Military Train'' in 1856 and in 1888 as the ''Army Service Corps''.R.M. Barnes, page 104 "A History of the Regiments and Uniforms of the British Army", First Sphere Books 1972


American Civil War

During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
, both the
Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
and Confederate armies tried to keep the size of their wagon trains in check to improve the tactical mobility of their forces.United States Army Logistics, p. 206 This was measured as a ratio of the number of wagons per soldiers, with the idealized number according to
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
being of 12.5 wagons per 1,000 soldiers.United States Army Logistics, p. 208 However, Napoleon benefitted from a densely populated Europe where food was plentiful. In the more sparsely populated South, where armies were more reliant on supply lines, the ratio was between 25 to 35 wagons per 1,000 men (a similar ratio was maintained after the war out on the American frontier).Hess, E. J. (2017). Civil War Logistics: A Study of Military Transportation. United States: LSU Press. "Wagon Trains" In general, the Confederates managed a lower ratio compared to Union forces, although this was borne out of necessity instead of choice.United States Army Logistics, p. 208 A distinction was made between the general supply trains, which carried sustenance, ammunition and
forage Forage is a plant material (mainly plant leaves and stems) eaten by grazing livestock. Historically, the term ''forage'' has meant only plants eaten by the animals directly as pasture, crop residue, or immature cereal crops, but it is also used ...
for the entire force, and an individual unit's baggage train, which carried a ready supply of ammunition, hospital stores, rations, forage and personal effects. While the size of the former varied depending on how many soldiers needed to be supported and was organized by
division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
, restrictions were commonly placed on the latter. For example, prior to the start of the
Army of the Potomac The Army of the Potomac was the principal Union Army in the Eastern Theater of the American Civil War. It was created in July 1861 shortly after the First Battle of Bull Run and was disbanded in June 1865 following the surrender of the Confede ...
's Peninsula campaign, the limit was set at 4 wagons for every
army corps Corps (; plural ''corps'' ; from French , from the Latin "body") is a term used for several different kinds of organization. A military innovation by Napoleon I, the formation was first named as such in 1805. The size of a corps varies great ...
headquarters; 3 wagons for every division or
brigade A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. B ...
headquarters; 6 wagons for every full
regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...
of infantry; and 3 wagons for every squadron of cavalry or artillery battery.United States Army Logistics, p. 208United States Army Logistics, p. 207 In terms of the general supply train,
Rufus Ingalls Rufus Ingalls (August 23, 1818 – January 15, 1893) was an American military general who served as the 16th Quartermaster General of the United States Army. Early life and career Ingalls was born in the village of Denmark in what is now Maine ...
believed 7 wagons for every 1,000 men was needed to carry rations, forage and other materiel, and another 4 wagons per 1,000 men to carry cartridges. The standard Army wagon in good condition could haul 4,000lbs of supplies across good roads when pulled by a full team of six mules. However the usual load was 2,400lbs, including forage for the team, or less than 2,000lbs with a 4-mule team. Mules were preferred over
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
s as they were cheaper, required less forage and had superior endurance. When operating as part of a wagon train, the typical rate of travel was between 12 to 24 miles per day, although the latter was only possible under ideal circumstances and poor conditions could result in much slower travel times. A wagon train could also stretch for many miles: with a 6-mule team and wagon taking up approximately 12 yards of space, a train of 800 wagons moving in single column, at an easy gait and with a normal interval between wagons, occupied 6 to 8 miles of road.


See also

*
Military supply chain management Military supply-chain management is a cross-functional approach to procuring, producing and delivering products and services for military materiel applications. Military supply chain management includes sub-suppliers, suppliers, internal inf ...
* Ammunition train *
Wagon fort A wagon fort, wagon fortress, or corral, often referred to as circling the wagons, is a temporary fortification made of wagons arranged into a rectangle, circle, or other shape and possibly joined with each other to produce an improvised milit ...


References

Military transport Military logistics {{Mil-stub