Tachanka

A tachanka (Russian and Ukrainian: тачанка) was a horse-drawn cart (such as charabanc) or an open wagon with a heavy machine gun mounted on the rear side.

Vasmer's etymological dictionary suggests that the word derives from Ukrainian netychanka ("нетичанка"), Polish najtyczanka, a type of a carriage named after the town of Neutitschein, present-day Nový Jičín in the Czech Republic.

Still another etymology postulates a contracted form of the word tavrichanka - used for rugged carriages known in Southern Ukraine and Crimea, and derived from the name "Taurida" for this area.

[citation needed] The use of tachankas reached its peak during the Russian Civil War (1917–1920s), particularly in the peasant regions of Southern Russia and Ukraine, on fronts where fluid mobile warfare gained much significance.

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.

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.