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The German National Railway in World War II

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I have owned the German text version of this book for many years. I was glad to see the English version come out. It is not a history of the DR or a all inclusive book about the DR. If you want a detailed history you would want to read "The Most Valuable Asset of the Reich: A History of the German National Railway Volume 2, 1933-1945" as that book is very detailed about the DR history in WW2.

The German National Railway in World War II is a great book showing the everyday people who worked and used the DR. There are many great photos covering a wide range of subjects dealing with war time railroading. I highly recommend this book.

Could have been better.More research on Military Men in charge of the railway system.Only one out there,so if interested in German Military history,no choice but to buy.Maybe later a better informative book will be published

THE GERMAN NATIONAL RAILWAY IN WORLD WAR II
JANUSZ PIEKALKIEWICZ
SCHIFFER PUBLISHING LIMITED, 2008
HARDCOVER, $45.00, 194 PAGES, PHOTOGRAPHS, DIAGRAMS, ILLUSTRATIONS, BIBLIOGRAPHY


As much as the defeat of Germany was achieved by force of arms from the Allied nations, defeat also came from within. Germany wasn't adequately prepared for war in 1939, and the early victories were achieved through the relatively new tactics of blitzkrieg, modern equipment, superb training, leadership, ineptitude of the enemy, and plain good look.

Significantly, Germany's ill preparedness for war manifested itself in the first months of the war and by December, 1940, was readily apparent in the German transport which was buckling under the demands of the German military forces. This was no more apparent than with the Reichbahn, the German railways, an amalgamation of the former state railway systems.

The Reichbahn was forced to absorb a vast network of railways in varying condition, and locomotives and rolling stock that were often imcompatible. As there were few common designs, the new railway system was burdened by operational problems, increased and often duplicated costs and a maintenance headache of mammoth proportions.

Much of the plant and equipment was built in the late 19th Century and the early 1900s and hadn't been modernized because of World War I, the chaos of the Weimar Republic, and the Depression. As much as a massive modernization program was begun, with a view of upgrading track and other facilities, the construction of standardized locomotives and rolling stock, it wasn't completed by the start of the war in 1939. This problem grew as the war progressed as they advanced deeper into the Soviet Union. Because of the restricted loading gauge and the increased demands of the German forces, the Reichbahn was forced into a never ending cycle of building more locomotives and rolling stock to achieve the task.

With the invasion of the Soviet Union, the demands on the railways reached crippling proportions, culminating in the coal shortage during the winter of 1941-1942. There was no shortage of coal, but a lack of coal wagons which had been appropriated by the Wehrmacht and due to the chaotic conditions at the railheads behind the front; these wagons were simply tipped off the tracks to allow space for the trains.

It was clear such a situation couldn't continue otherwise the rail system would soon collapse. Albert Speer (Minister for Armaments and Munitions Production) and Erhard Milch (Director of Air Armament & State Secretary in the Air Ministry) were charged with setting the railways right, and with brutal efficiency they cleared out the railway administration, sacking the incompetent heads of the railways and throwing out the rule book. To alleviate some of the operational problems, longer and heavier trains were run at faster speeds. An accelerated program of converting the Russian broad gauge system to the German standard gauge system, the construction of longer passing loops and new railway yards was set in motion.

The railways had to compete for labor, cope with the burden of transporting people to concentration camps, which coincidentally often had priority over trains heading for the front. Until the Allied bombing campaigns against the railways increased in 1943, the system held together. Most aiming points for these raids were on the town centers, where the central railway stations and yards were situated, so as the bombing tempo increased, so did the damage and disruption.

By mid-1943, the Allied bomber offensive was causing very real disruption for the railways. Although damage could be repaired relatively quickly by experienced crews, damage was becoming cumulative in some areas where bombing was frequent. Of added concern, were the rising casualties amongst train crews, mechanical and maintenance staff along with the various administrative branches that kept the trains running. While the personnel strength reached over 1,500,000 by the end of 1943, the replacement of skilled personnel wasn't easy; as a consequence the standard of maintenance gradually declined and the accident rate which had been on the rise since the start of the war, worsened.

Fortunately for the Deutsche Reichsbahn, Allied air support for the invading forces diverted much airpower away from German targets, however day and night bombing of German cities continued to pummel the railway system. Though the railways operated right till the collapse of the Third Reich, the ability to adequately supply German military forces in the chaos of the collapse was no fault of the railway crews and staff who performed herculean efforts to keep the trains running.

The Second World War made the greatest demands on the German Reichsbahn. Year after year, great quantities of war material were transported and almost always delivered. At times, the trains rolled over nearly the entire continent of Europe. This heavily illustrated book documents the everyday life along the German rail lines on many war fronts. This is the finest book of its kind in English for both the railroad student as well as the military historian.



Lt. Colonel Robert A. Lynn, Florida Guard
Orlando, Florida

When I bought this book I expected to see many pictures of tanks on flat cars, for example panzers IV and panthers and king tigers over freight cars with four or six axles, but for my disappoinmet this books is more focused on the partisan's actions, than in the railroad as a useful tool of military transportation. Finally I must say the quality of paper is very good.