A German Improvised Armored Car Model 1914, captured by the Frenchs.
Verdun, France, June 1915
An unknown German Armored Car M1914 belonging to the cavalry, captured by the French during the Battle of Woebre, and exhibited in the courtyard of the citadel of Verdun, France, June 1915.
I am finishing a text about this unknown German Panzerauto.
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Un desconocido Coche Blindado M1914 alemán perteneciente a la caballería, capturado por los franceses durante la Batalla de Woebre, y exibido en el patio de la ciudadela de Verdún, Francia, junio de 1915.
Estoy terminando un texto sobre este desconocido Panzerauto alemán.
Great find. German armored cars of 1914 is one of least known subjects of WW1 armored cars. All new info about them can now come probably from new photos, probably no new written info will appear. Waiting for your text about this "new" Panzerauto!
ReplyDeleteAlbert (Warsaw, Poland)
Hi Albert,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your comment. Certainly there is an absolute lack of knowledge about the first improvised German armored cars of 1914. I have spent several years collecting information on this issue and also on the armored cars of the rest of the belligerent countries, trying to reconstruct their history in those first months of 1914. Unfortunately, the incentive of the centenary of the Great War has barely contributed new information in this regard. The large online access libraries have been sparing in the graphic information and not very generous in the written information, marketing with the information. I am convinced that many of those responsible for these libraries have preferred to omit information so that their ignorance about this matter would not be revealed. It would be pathetic to post successively photographs with the title "unknown armored car". Or the most unfortunate case of confusing the origin or name of the vehicle, as I have seen in many official websites. In both cases, the most convenient thing is not to "upload" the information to the Network. I hope you tell me how your work is going on the Belgian Armored Cars, I am very interested in your opinion.
Cordially,
Jose Luis
José Luis Castillo
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Hola Albert,
Muchas gracias por tu comentario. Ciertamente existe un absoluto desconocimiento sobre los primeros coches blindados improvisados alemanes de 1914. Yo llevo varios años recopilando información sobre esta cuestión y también sobre los coches blindados del resto de los países beligerantes, intentando reconstruir su historia en esos primeros meses de 1914. Desgraciadamente el aliciente del centenario de la Gran Guerra apenas ha aportado nuevas informaciones al respecto. Las grandes bibliotecas de acceso on-line, han sido parcas en la información gráfica y poco generosas en la información escrita, mercadeando con la información. Tengo el convencimiento de que muchos de los responsables de dichas bibliotecas, han preferido omitir información para que no quedase en evidencia su desconocimiento sobre esta materia. Resultaría patético publicar sucesivamente fotografías con el título de "coche blindado desconocido". O el caso más lamentable de confundir el origen o nombre del vehículo, como he podido comprobar en bastantes webs oficiales. En ambos casos, lo más cómodo es no "subir" la información a la Red. Espero que me cuentes como va tu trabajo sobre los Coches Blindados belgas, me interesa mucho tu opinión.
Cordialmente,
José Luis
José Luis Castillo
Dear José,
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for your reply.
I am currently working on an article about German armored cars of 1914 and this post was a great surprise for me. You are the world's leading expert on WW1 armored cars, no doubt about it! I don't know yet where and when my article will be published (in Polish for sure, maybe later in English, if anyone wants to publish it), but I wantel to collect all available info on 1914 German armored cars both on the Western and Eastern front.
What is notable is the fact the photo in this post shows the only example of a German armored car of 1914 used against the French, all other known vehicles were used in Belgium.
Work on my book on Belgian armored cars on the Western front progresses slowly (not much free time), but I have all the books and articles I need and all I have to do is write. I think around 50% of the text is ready. I'd like to finish the book in 2019 and we'll see when it will be published (probably 2020 or 2021).
When do you think your first book on early WW1 armored cars will be published?
Very best regards,
Albert