The Liberation Line: The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II -- Christian Wolmar, Hardcover

The epic story of the engineers and rail workers who ensured Allied victory in World War Two, published to coincide with the eightieth anniversary of D-Day, by an award-winning expert on trains and transportation

They certainly were not soldiers, yet they suddenly found themselves in uniform, in a foreign land. But, as locomotive drivers, track-workers, conductors, porters, signalmen, and engine cleaners, they knew how to run trains. And their job was to bring them back to life.

 

The Liberation Line tells the thrilling story of the British and American railway engineers who, in the months after D-Day, worked around the clock and in great danger to rebuild the ravaged railways of Europe and keep the Allied forces fueled as they pushed on into Germany.  As territory was taken, these soldier-railroaders were close behind, rebuilding the lines, putting up telegraph wires, replacing bridges and laying track, all the while dodging bullets, shells, and booby traps.

 

Tales of extraordinary feats and heroism abound, including how 10,000 men rebuilt a 135-mile-long railway in just three days; the reconstruction of the bridge over the Seine in two weeks while under bombardment; and the use of cigarette lighters as improvised signaling systems. 

 

Despite being critical to Allied victory, the role of the railway men has been largely forgotten or ignored. In a vivid and gripping narrative, Christian Wolmar brings to life this colorful cast of generals and engineers, without whose extraordinary bravery the liberation of France and invasion of Germany might well have foundered--and the course of history changed.

Author: Christian Wolmar
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 05/21/2024
Pages: 368
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.27lbs
Size: 9.20h x 6.30w x 1.25d
ISBN: 9780306831980

Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 05/15/2024

About the Author

Christian Wolmar has written for major international newspapers and appears frequently on TV and radio as a commentator on transport issues. His previous books include the widely acclaimed The Subterranean Railway; Fire and Steam; Blood, Iron, and Gold; Engines of War; The Great Railway Revolution; To the Edge of the World; Railways and the Raj; Cathedrals of Steam; and British Rail. He lives in London, UK.