Poem ~ Guns On Rails - Wednesday, 31 March 1915

Armoured rail gun and crew  - A sketch by Jamie. (Freikorps Armored Train armed with one 7.62-cm Flak L/30 (russ 02) 'Eisenbahnflak' Rheinmetall). Taken from an original image that can be seen at: http://armoredcars-ww-one.blogspot.co.uk/2013_12_01_archive.html

Fighting methods had been devised,

Since the previous century's fights -

Using tactics of existing transports,

To carry trains of armed batteries.

Such technology saw gunnery action

In the field - from America's Civil War

Of 1861, into the Franco-Prussian

Conflicts, to see fighting in Boer Wars.

The heavy rail cars, like mobilised

Medieval castles  - of turreted guns

And metal boxes - led to adoptions

Of nations, as in Germany of 1915.

Though limited by their laid tracks,

Of iron roads - armoury of rail cars,

Could quickly provide transport for

Artillery firepower, across the country.

Such heavy rail stock vulnerability, lay

In the ability of enemy sabotage -

With mechanical methods of designs,

Of a wagon's needs to absorb recoils.

Such Krupp-built firepower devised

An attack on Thursday 25 March, '15

Of German rail power into Belgium -

Aiming their missiles from a distance.

The target village of Vlamertinghe,

Lay between Poperinghe and Ypres -

Being open to lively bombardment,

Likely from one such armoured train.

Damages and loss to the Belgium

Village were downplayed - but not

To say there was none made - most

Likely to have suffered civil destruction.

This coincided with Canadian troop

Movements, driving out to Ypres -

On 17-mile trip from Steenstraat to

Vlamertinghe - by Double Decker bus.

by Jamie Mann.

Anon.,1915. German Armoured Train. The Daily Telegraph, [online] 31 Mar. P.7. Col.2. Available at: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11499977/Daily-Telegraph-March-31-1915.html [Accessed:  31 March 2015].

Source.,1915. Railway Gun. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railway_gun [Accessed: 29 March 2015].

Source.,1915. Armoured Train. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armoured_train [Accessed: 29 March 2015].

Mann, J., 2015. 100 years Ago - Poems by Jamie Mann. [letter] (Personal communication, 31 March 2015). 

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/ww1-archive/11499977/Daily-Telegraph-March-31-1915.html

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