What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
score:48
The overall answer is that the Soviets were not rich in railways and destroyed much of it as they retreated. The Germans anticipated this, and had railway commandos rebuild much of the Soviet trunk lines and some feeders to standard gauge. They also maintained several of the wide gauge lines if captured intact and with enough rolling stock. Some efforts, primarily in 1942, were hindered either by the inability of the commandos to keep up with the front, or by the low capacity of a wide gauge line.
Upvote:1
One problem was the substandard roadbed in Russian railways limited the weight of trains that passed over them - this included rail bridges and trestles. The Germans often had to substantially fortify roadbeds and trestles even before changing the rail gauge. Another problem has been referred to here - which is that German trains required more frequent stations for water and coal. Not all coal is the same. In Germany, over 90 percent of coal is low-energy lignite, so German locomotive design were dictated by this and had very large fireboxes to generate enough heat from lignite. Even when better grade Polish bitumen coal was available, the German locomotive design resulted in very inefficient usage of the better coal, meaning the German locomotives (the two main types were the 52 and the 42) needed refueling more often than Russian locomotives which were designed with smaller fireboxes because most Russian coal from the Donbas is bitumen.
Upvote:12
Actually, the problems were worse than just rebuilding the railroads to narrow the gauge. Soviet stations, where trains were refuelled were too far apart for German engines - the larger Soviet engines carried more fuel and water and could go farther.
The Germans had to rebuild the railroad to a narrower and also create new stations along the path to support their supply effort.
Upvote:17
The Germans changed the gauge from Russian to German and could then use their own equipment. "Die Eisenbahnpioniere" at lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de shows Wehrmacht military railroad engineers changing the gauge. Reichsbahn personnel, civilians and forced laborers were also used to change the gauge.
Upvote:27
It was more of a nuisance, than a reason for defeat. The part of a track that is hard to build is the bed. To narrow a track, all you have to do is pull out the spikes, move the rail and drive the spikes back in again.
The bigger problem for the Germans was that the rail system in Russia is a hub-and-spokes design where all roads lead to Rome, meaning Moscow. The Germans didn't need rail lines going to Moscow. They needed rail lines going to Berlin. In other words, the big problem was not the gauge of the railroads, it was their direction.
More post
- 📝 What did medical treatments for fractured or broken bones cost in 1900-1915?
- 📝 Has there ever been a mass migration of factories comparable to the USSR's in WW2?
- 📝 When and how did the concept of posthumous reward and punishment enter ancient Judaism?
- 📝 Did modern soldiers try to miss their shots?
- 📝 Presidents of the French Tribunate from 1799 to 1807
- 📝 at what point did Europe overtake the Arabic World and India in math and science?
- 📝 How did knights who required glasses to see survive on the battlefield?
- 📝 What is the exact reign years for Japanese Emperor Keiko, Emperor Seimu, Emperor Chuai, Empress Jingu and Emperor Nintoku?
- 📝 Historical Statistical Analysis on the Length of Court Proceedings in the US?
- 📝 What happened to General Eugen Müller after WWII?
- 📝 What are some government expenditure reports from the Middle ages?
- 📝 What were the major imports and exports of Germany and France from 1850-1915?
- 📝 Where were Hindus and Sattagydia in the late Achaemenid Empire?
- 📝 How many proofs does History require?
- 📝 After the fall of Constantinople, were the Christians who lived in the Ottoman Empire treated fairly?
- 📝 What are modern theoretical approaches towards history?
- 📝 Was anyone blamed for Japan's defeat at Tai'erzhuang?
- 📝 Did Martin Luther ever say "The prosperity of a country depends ... "?
- 📝 What was the area of Nazi Germany at its height?
- 📝 When was the first secular society?
- 📝 Did Nazi leaders consider continuing guerrilla warfare after the collapse of Germany?
- 📝 If the UK received the highest amount of Marshall Aid, why was it broke?
- 📝 What were the Lines of Ne Plus Ultra in the War of the Spanish Succession?
- 📝 Why didn't the Great Awakening spread to the Spanish Colonies?
- 📝 What was El Greco's relationship with the Spanish Inquisition?
- 📝 How did the accounting and capital organization system work in communist countries like the USSR? Did ideology justify or undermine the system?
- 📝 In XIXth century lower classes families, was it common for kids to witness their parent's intercourse?
- 📝 Why didn't Japan expand into Ezo?
- 📝 What factors contributed to Korea's Modernization?
- 📝 Switzerland's political isolation after World War II
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What did Germany do in World War II about the different rail gauge in the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What was the reason for Soviet troops to withdraw from Yugoslavia in World War II?
- 📝 Did Churchill and Roosevelt know about the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, or the following secret pacts between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union?
- 📝 What did Germany do after World War II to recover so successfully that it became more prosperous than its WW2 victors?
- 📝 Why did the Soviet Union not "grant" Inner Mongolia to Mongolia after World War Two?
- 📝 What was the ratio women to men after World War 2 in the Soviet Union
- 📝 What goods did Germany trade during World War II, and with whom?
- 📝 Why did Germany decide not to restore the Hohenzollern dynasty to the throne of a German Empire after the defeat of Hitler in World War Two?
- 📝 Why did World War I victors let Germany pay reparations in German Marks and gave it the option to default via inflation?
- 📝 After World War II, what happened to the Soviet industrial facilities that had been evacuated?
- 📝 What effect did the Mafia have during World War 2?
- 📝 What did the Jews during the First Jewish-Roman War know about other anti-Roman revolts?
- 📝 How much did the western world know about the Soviet Union pre-WWII?
- 📝 Did the Soviet Union get a net border gain from China during World War II?
- 📝 What did the post world war two civilian food ration consist of in the UK?
- 📝 What did Kennedy know about Soviet missiles during the Cuban missile crisis?
- 📝 What capabilities did Southern soldiers in the American Civil War have to get news about the North?
- 📝 How did a criminal trial in the Soviet Union work after World War 2?
- 📝 How many rapes did the Wehrmacht commit in the Soviet Union during World War II?
- 📝 What did Russia do about Caucasus oil after the collapse of the Soviet Union?
- 📝 Given the concern about Soviet oil in World War II, why is so little mention made of captured Soviet coal reserves?
- 📝 What did Hitler say in Mein Kampf about the possibility of other nations allying against Germany in response to her aggression?
- 📝 Why didn't Imperial Japan attack the Soviet Union during World War 2?
- 📝 Why did Britain and France not declare war against the Soviet Union when it invaded Poland in WW2?
- 📝 How did such a relatively minor event as the assassination of an archduke start World War I?
- 📝 Did the Soviets excel in one area of weaponry during World War II?
- 📝 How did the Nazis plan to defeat America during World War II?
- 📝 Why did the German army execute so few soldiers in World War I compared to most other armies?
- 📝 Why did Chamberlain act to appease Hitler leading up to the outbreak of World War 2?
- 📝 What was the longest a World War II submarine stayed at sea without being resupplied at a port?