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The Liberation Line: The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II
The Liberation Line The Untold Story of How American Engineering and Ingenuity Won World War II Author:Christian Wolmar 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... more » 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.« less