Railways in German occupied Eastern Europe

Railways in German occupied Eastern Europe
With H.G.W. Davie
Part of Railways Week on WW2TV

By 1942, Germany controlled most of the railways of Europe as far east as the Caucasus mountains. The question is how did they organise and manage this vast network and harness it to Germany's war aims? Also given the German's racial philosophy, how did they operate the railways in Eastern Europe, vital for their war against the Soviet Union? The story of Germany's Eastern railways is one of contradictions and controversary which reveals some surprising elements of the chaotic nature of German rule in the Ostraum, a story carefully concealed after the end of the war.

H.G.W. Davie is Visiting Research Fellow at the East Centre, University of East Anglia and researches the role of logistics in the Red Army during the German-Soviet War 1941-1945. This talk is based on part of his 2017 paper The Influence of Railways on Military Operations in the Russo-German War 1941-1945 published in the Journal of Slavic Military Studies.

You can read the paper on his website here:

Or the original journal article here:

His previous show on WW2TV

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[paulmeilak]

It goes to show how important the 4 shop is. Planning, capacity and engineering are so important in getting stuff from one point to another point. Great presentation.

[trevorhill]

My favourite subject, the DRG/DRB. I'm a railway modeller in HO scale, my collection is mainly DRG/DRB and any other European rolling stock of RIC standard in what is known 'Epoch 2' in railway modelling terms. Loads of books on the subject in my big bookshelf too.

[rich_john]

Great show, I love these less covered subjects of shows some of these issues behind the scenes which can directly effect the success of the war 👏👏

[nonamesplease]

Excellent! A crossover show for rail fans and WWII afficionados. Keep the great shows coming.

[maul]

Woody/Hugh. Thanks for an interesting and somewhat complicated presentation! Never knew that railways could be so complicated! Thanks, Bob

[davidlavigne]

This was a very illuminating presentation. I can't wait to listen to H.G. W.s next talk. This was highly informative. I'll have to give his article a read.

[dexterscott]

Great episode! There is a historical debate over whether Hitler had a "long term plan" or merely seized opportunities. The slides here that note the Germans didn't start closing the Polish Gap until February 1941, that the DRB did not study the Soviet railways because they were not regarded as an enemy state, and most of all, that the German Army made little preparation for sustained logistics, makes one think there was no long-term plan.

I really appreciated the historiography discussion! I read Creveld back in the 80s but didn't know his work had been superseded.

[gagamba]

@1:04:44 Wow! Those are great examples, especially the fifth bullet point. How did the Yanks pull that off? (Yes, not a WWII topic, but that's a talk I'd like to hear. RailwayTV, please.)

In my readings of the German use of Soviet rail, in addition to destroying signalling the Red Army's scorched earth destroyed locomotive sheds that were used to keep these out of the harsh winter and the distance between water towers in the USSR was much greater than in Germany.

[orlandofurioso]

I second gagagamba9198s comment but go further to say that the bulleted points at the 1 hour 4 minutes+ mark and related discussion was the best part of the presentation. Very well done. And who knew? Very, very, very few. Great to learn this today.

[jonathanmarsh]

Thank you, Hugh and Paul, for that excellent presentation. I was having to listen in 10 minute chunks, such was the volume of information being supplied, but by the end was feeling very much more enlightened! Paul's overview comment at 1.12 just about summed it up for me, too!
Now I'm off to read the original paper!
Thanks again, gentlemen!

[scottgrimwood]

What a great show to start railway week! I really appreciated the historiography being included in the presentation.

[therealuncleowen]

Oh dear, this topic won't be Thomas the Tank Engine.
Glossary based on presenter's pronunciation to my ears:
General Ghurka - War criminal who headed Eastern European railways for the Nazis. Presumably he carried a long hooked knife as part of his kit?
Schanker - German railway firm which still exists today. Name was more fitting during the war.

In all seriousness this topic is awesome. This is the kind of stuff I wondered about for decades but never thought to try to study in depth. Similar to an earlier episode about how British rail supplied the USAAF and RAF bases. Difference being of course, massive Allied efforts always inspire feelings of pride. German efforts always, sooner or later, inspire feelings of, oh that's terrible because there's always some war crime underpinning their efforts.
Yes, yes, one could say the Allied bombings of Germany and occupied Europe had some nasty war crimey aspects. Nothing in war is ever perfect, but the Allies were fighting to free Europe while the Nazis were fighting to rule Europe and wipe out people they considered subhuman. I'll go to my grave grateful that the Allies succeeded.

[lascargroup]

Glad the Romanian Railways (Calea Ferată Română) gets a mention. Control over lines of communication a key aspect of the Tighina Agreement turning over Transnistria to Romania.

[marks_sparks]

Fantastic by Hugh. Really learned a lot and enjoyed the mythbusting of the post war narrative created by the Wehrmacht generals. Look forward to his take on Stalingrad.

[jimwalshspace]

another superb presentation by hugh and woody. thank you

[cenccenc]

Awesome subject. More on logistics please.

[lascargroup]

Wow! A reference to the Romanian Railwyas in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 too!

[Chiller]

Very informative presentation. Fortunately I suppose for the Soviets and hence the Allied cause the German failure to operationalize the railway system and the efficacy of sabotage efforts combined to deprived the German troops of the logistical support they required. It is a fascinating viewpoint that posits that the true failure on the Eastern front was the profound lack of logistical organization and coordination. When one contrasts this failure with the successes of say industrial mobilization of the US toward the war effort or the extensive logistical planning prior to Normandy or the massive relocation of Soviet industrial production eastward beyond the Urals the myth of German efficiency and precision looks pretty shaky. A real game changer of a talk I think.

[NetTopsey]

Saying the Nazis could have succeeded in Operation Typhoon just by having a better grip on the railways is one of the more interesting assertions I've heard. I'm not arguing that it couldn't have made the difference, but it really brings home the arrogance of the "Kick in the door and the whole rotten structure will come down" attitude that seems to have pervaded the Wehrmacht and the Nazi regime if they didn't even plan for a question as elementary as "What if the Communists wreck the railroads while they retreat?"

[alanhare]

Would like you to do a podcast on the battleships of dday, so little is known about it