The Liberation Line

Until learning of this book reviewed within Saturday's Journal, I was unaware to the extent that the Allies had relied upon the railroads in Western Europe during the eleven months from D-Day to V-E:

Fair Use:

War lends itself to cinematic grandeur—a platoon of tanks rumbling across the windswept desert, fighter jets streaking in formation toward their target, battleships slicing through the ocean.

Then there are the trains, plodding, monotonous, carrying troops and supplies onward. The most famous military train in movie history is not an asset but a casualty, plunging from a bridge on the Burma Railway into the River Kwai.

In “The Liberation Line,” Christian Wolmar rescues military railways from obscurity, highlighting their decisive role in the Allies’ march across Western Europe that began 80 years ago next month. The dramatic battles of the European campaign only partly explain why the Allies defeated the Nazis, Mr. Wolmar contends—wars are won, in his view, by the tyranny of logistics.

I admit ignorance in that I held that Gen. Patton relied upon trucks and highways to keep his Army supplied. There are enough war histories encompassing all media to note the Red Ball Express. In his move Westward, Hitler used railroads for troops and supplies, and of course as part of "scorched earth" with his retreat, attempted to destroy them.

As this book apparently points out, Hitler was only partly successful, and the Allies capitalized on that.