American Railway Operation Battalionsin ETO During World War IIThe USATC in WW IIOrganizationest July 1942N. AfricaItalyS. FranceMiddleEastEuropeRailway Grand Division250-450 miles of railRailway Shop BattalionRailway Operating BattalionRecruiting for the USATCin WW IIThe need for the MRSSupply Problems• Patton’s Third Army – required an average of 350,000 gal/day• The Red Ball Express – consumed 300,000 gal/day itself• 28 Aug – Patton’s fuel allocation falls 100,000 gal short• 31 Aug – No fuel arrives, Patton grinds to a halt• Increased use of larger caliber artillery adds to supply problemsThe need for the MRSRailway Infrastructure DestroyedRailway Infrastructure DestroyedOperation Overlord was sustained by rail and pipelines constructed by Allied Engineers, extending inland from the Normandy beachhead, the French Port of Cherbourg, and Vannes and St. Nazarre on the south shore of BrittanyU.S.-BUILT WORLD WAR I LOCOMOTIVES at the roundhouse in Cherbourg.American flat cars being unloaded from an LST onto a specially constructed rail pier headAmerican LST lower bow ramp equipped with rails for unloading railroad rolling stockPositioning LST on temporary quay for unloading rail carsFlat cars rolled onto panel track; note bumpers of English designTransition ramp for taking rail cars from LST hold onto sections of panel trackAllied rail support system extended all the way across northern France by Mid-September 1944, just three months after D Day.By VE Day in May 1945 the Allied rail system extended in Germany, mostly on restored right-of-ways.The solid lines indicate rail lines restored prior to mid February 1945 while the dashed lines indicate those restored between mid February and May 1,
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