Armoured trains of Poland Armored train s of Poland mostly date to the World War I period . Many of them were modernized over the next two decades , and took part in most military conflicts of the Second Polish Republic , namely the Greater Poland Uprising , the Polish - Ukrainian War , the Polish - Bolshevik War , the Silesian Uprisings and the Polish September Campaign in World War II . Armored trains were also used by the Polish Armed Forces in the West as well as in the post - war period by the Polish Railroad Guards ( " Straż Ochrony Kolei " ) and the People ' s Army of Poland . 1918 – 1939 . The first use of armored trains by Polish forces dates to late in World War I and the Russian Civil War period ( 1918 – 19 ) , when Polish Armed Forces in the East ( Polish I Corps in Russia and other units ) operated seven different armored trains ( six improvised and one captured ) . From 1918 through 1920 the newly created Polish Army received about 90 armored trains , mostly from workshops in Kraków , Nowy Sącz , Lwów ( Lviv ) , Warsaw and Wilno ( Vilnius ) . Many of them were classified as improvised , and consisted of regular trains and wagons armored with metal gates , cement and sandbags ; the soldiers called them " mobile trenches " . Some equipment came from the Austro - Hungarian 3rd Armored Division , whose equipment was acquired by a unit of the Polish Military Organization . Several armored trains fought supporting the Polish forces in the Greater Poland uprising ( 1918 – 9 ) and the Polish - Ukrainian War ( 1918 – 19 ) . The armored trains saw major action in the Polish - Soviet War ( 1919 – 21 ) . Approximately 50 armored trains participated in that conflict on the Polish side ; on average , about twenty were in active service at any given time . Sixteen armored trains supported the Polish insurgents during the Third Silesian Uprising . In 1921 the armored trains forces were reorganized into 6 divisions , each composed of two trains , attached to train engineers regiments ( 1st in Kraków , 2nd in Jabłonna ( Legionowo ) and 3rd in Poznań ) . In 1924 the 3rd Regiment was disbanded , and the remaining armored train divisions were transformed into the Armored Trains Training Division in Jabłonna ( Legionowo ) . The Training Division , in 1925 renamed to Educational Division , in 1927 was reorganized into the 1st Armored Train Division . In 1928 the 2nd Armored Train Division was formed in Niepołomice . Each division had 6 trains . In 1929 , the Polish Engineering Force was reorganized , with the 1st and 2nd Train Engineer Regiments being transformed into Train Bridges Battalions . In 1931 the modernization of armored trains was finished with similar armament installed on most units . The trains were classified as either " light " or " heavy " . " Light " trains had two artillery and one infantry wagons , and World War I - era Austro - Hungarian or Russian weapons ( two to four 75mm guns , eight to sixteen heavy machine guns , and two anti - aircraft heavy machine guns ) . " Heavy " trains had a better engine ( Ti3 ) , 100mm guns in addition to the 75mm pieces and gun turrets for the heavy machine guns . The trains were also accompanied by several light tanks ( FT - 17 s or tankette s ) . Each train had its own supply train that contained living quarters , kitchen , workshop , a compartment for the wounded personnel , and supplies . Together , a train ( combat and supply ) had a crew of 8 officers , 59 warrant officers and 124 regular infantrymen . Around the mid - 1930s , revisions to Poland ' s tactical and strategic doctrines meant that armored trains , previously considered a high - quality force , begun to be seen as increasingly obsolete on the battlefield . 1939 – 1945 ( WWII ) . The ten trains of the 1st and 2nd Armored Trains Divisions were mobilized in late August to early September , and received numbers 11 – 5 ( 1st Division ) and 51 – 5 ( 2nd Division ) . With the exceptions of trains 14 and 15 which finished forming on 3 September and were assigned to the reserves of the High Command , all other trains finished forming before the start of hostilities on the 1st September . The 2nd Division also fielded a lightly armed training armored train , although it was not supposed to be used in the frontline combat . The command of the Land Coastal Defence decided to field improvised trains to bolster its defenses . The first was ready before the war began , two others were finished during the hostilities . They used weapons from the Riverine Flotilla of the Polish Navy and the unfinished ORP Orkan and Huragan destroyers . The first train was destroyed after four days of fighting on the 4 September , the second , less than a day after it entered service ( it entered service on the 3 September and was destroyed on the night of 3 to 4 September ) . The last train , " Smok Kaszybski " ( Kashubian Dragon ) entered combat on the 7 September , and was operational till the 12 September . On 20 September , during the siege of Warsaw , two improvised armored trains were formed ( Nr . 1 and Nr . 2 ) . Not much is known about their combat operations ; the first train entered service on 22 September , and the second a day later . The following armored trains fought with the Polish Army in the September Campaign : During the Polish September Campaign , Polish armored trains took part in roughly 90 clashes with the German units . They played a significant role in several encounters , most notably , no 53 made an important contribution to the Polish victory in the Battle of Mokra , and no 54 was used very successfully in the defense of Silesia . Armored trains were responsible for destroying or damaging several dozens of armored vehicles , including tanks , shot down or damaged three airplanes , and inflicted numerous infantry casualties . Only two trains ( no 11 and 55 ) were destroyed in direct combat by the German land forces , and only no 13 was destroyed by the German air force . Remaining trains were abandoned and destroyed by their own crews when they ran out of munitions and could no longer retreat . The successful role of the armored trains , considered obsolete by both Polish and German strategists , caused the revision of that judgment by both sides . About a dozen Polish armoured trains in Britain were formed by the Polish Armed Forces in the West , and were assigned to patrol the British railways in 1940 . They saw no combat , and were disbanded by July 1943 . 1945 – 1952 . After the war , in the People ' s Republic of Poland , Railroad Guards ( Straż Ochrony Kolei ) used four armored trains from 1945 to 1950 . In 1947 , a Train Artillery Division was formed , and disbanded in 1952 .