|
France at the onset of World War II had one of the finest rail systems in Europe. French railroads fully supported the defenses of the Maginot Line. The Great German Western Offensive unfolded so quickly, however, that the French rail system had little impact on the War. We do not yet have details, but we believe that under the terms of the World War II Armistice, the French rail system was placed under German control. We are not sure if this true at first in the unoccupied zone. The French rail system, ironically, was critical for the German war effort. The French rail system was extensively used by the Germans to ship French war booty, food and manufactured goods back to the Reich.War materials produced in not only France, but Portugal and Spain moved to the Reich over the French rail system. The French rail system as the rail system in other occupied countries played a key role in the NAZI Holocaust. Thousands of French Jews were deported over the French rail system.As the War turned against Germany, the French rail system was used to build up the Atlantic Wall. It was used to move troops, equipment, and supplies. It was also important in the German strategy to repel the invasion. And to ship military supplies for the occupation forces, especially important as the Germans began building the Atlantic Wall. The problem for the Wehrmacht was that there was no roof on Festug Europa. The Allies set about destroying the Luftwaffe. As a result the Luftwaffe by 1944 was no longer capable of depending German cities, let along French rail lines.
The French rail system was largely destroyed in the run up to D-Day. The French rail system after the Liberation proved important in supplying the Allied armies that penetrated the Siegfried line and drove into the Reich.
French railroads fully supported the defenses of the Maginot Line. The Great German Western Offensive unfolded so quickly, however, that the French rail system had little impact on the War. The rail system had facilities to support the Maginot Line which was France's primary defense. The Germans driving through Belgium allowed them to simply go around the Maginot Line. The Germans struck first at the Dutch. The British and First French Army, France's best equipped formation, moved north into Belgium to reach the Dutch. The German Panzers then strike in the Ardennes and crossed the Meuse
. They then cut across northern France reaching the Channel. This cut off the British and First French Army. After Dunkirk the Wehrmacht turned south and encountered only minor resistance as they entered Paris and crossed the Seine. The only major role the rail system played was to bring out the same rail car in which the Germans signed the World War I Armistice at Compaigne.
The French like the Germans had a state owned rail system. The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (French Railroad Company--SNCF) at the onset of World War II was one of the finest rail systems in Europe. As in Germany, it was the primary means of commerce and individual transport. The rail system was damaged, but left largely in tact as the German victory was so swift (June 1940). Transplantation and the movement of goods was disrupted by the German occupation. One source reports that the Germans destroyed nearly 350 French railway bridges and tunnels. Obtaining gasoline became virtually impossible. France had no domestic oil production and because of the British Royal Navy blockade, importing oil was no longer possible. This created hardships for the French, but also adversely affected what the Germans could exploit. The Germans were short of oil themselves and were not about to allow any diversion to France. The French rail system, however, used French domestic coal supplies and thus continued to operate throughout the occupation.
We do not yet have details, but I believe that under the terms of the World War II Armistice, the French rail system was placed under German control. We are not sure if this true at first in the unoccupied zone. The Germans were able to requisition SNCF services for the transport of German armed forces and armaments. There were commercial arrangements, but the reparations imposed upon France and the extremely adverse exchange rate meant that the Germans could use the SNCF essential without cost. The SNCF was required to turn over 125,000-213,000 wagons and 1,000-2,000 locomotives. Sources differ on the precise numbers.[Jones, pp. 115-16] and Mierzejewski, p. 84.] This was one of the many ways Stalin's decision to sign a an alliance with Hitler (NAZI-Soviet Non-Aggression Pct) would very nearly result in the destruction of the soviet Union an Soviet people. The Germans would put the French rolling stock in use for Operation Barbarossa a year after destroying the French army an occupying France.
The French rail system, ironically, was critical for the German war effort. War materials produced in not only France, but Portugal and Spain moved to the Reich over the French rail system. This of course included the sizeable production of French industry. The Germans for some reason did not use the potential of French industry. French plants generally produced at only a fraction of their potential during the War. Shipments also included Tungsten (Wolfram) from Portuguese and Spanish mines which was important for German steel production. As the War turned against Germany, the French rail system was used to build up the Atlantic Wall. It was used to move troops, equipment, and supplies. It was also important in the German strategy to repel the invasion. France did not have super highways. There were no autobahns in France. The only way of rapidly moving troops and equipment was the rails. Also Panzers had to use the rails. Panzers traveling by road from Germany would not only take much longer to reach the invasion beaches, but require significant maintenance before going into battle. And petroleum shortages were beginning to be a factor impairing the German war effort. Another factor was that the Germans did not have the trucks needed to move men and supplies into France. The Germans from the beginning of the War did not have adequate motor transport. Even at the time of Barbarossa (June 1941) were still using horse transport to move supplies and equipment. German industry did not have the capability to produce the trucks needed by the Wehrmacht. And the problem got worse as the War progressed because of the huge demand in the East and the enormous loss of equipment there. Thus the Wehrmacht in France was heavily reliant on the French rail system.
The French Resistance played an important role in disrupting German use of the French rail lines. After the fall of France (June 1940), Gen. Charles de Gaulle in London formed a special staff ordered to organizing, directing, and supplying resistance units that began to form spontaneously. Churchill also provided support. At first the French people were stunned by the German victory an resistance was minimal. This escalated as the German occupation continued as was extended to the unoccupied Vichy zone (November 1942). The German decision to begin conscripting French workers for war work in the Reich was a primary reason for the growth of the Resistance (1943). At the same time German reverses in the East, North Africa, and Italy convinced many French that the Germans could be defeated.
The French rail system as the rail system in other occupied countries splayed a key role in the NAZI Holocaust. Thousands of French Jews were deported over the French rail system.
A French court in Toulouse ordered the State and the National Railroad Company (SNCF) to pay $80,000 to a Jewish family whose members were delivered to the World War II transit camp at Drancy, outside Paris. Jews there were deported to NAZI death camps in Poland. This was the first court case in which SNCF had been found liable for their role in the deportation of French Jews. The suit was brought by two brothers in 2001. They were arrested by the Gestapo and transported to Drancy in 1944, where they remained until it was liberated when the Allies reached Paris (August 1944). a few months later. According to the plaintiffs' lawyer, Ré mi Rouquette, the Toulouse court found that the state did nothing "when it had a chance to" and that the railway did not object and in fact billed the state for third-class travel despite using freight and cattle cars to deport the Jews. [Bernard]
NAZI propaganda trumpeted Festug Europa--Fortress Europa. This was the Atlantic Wall that the NAZIs bragged could never be breached. The German focus in 1941 was on Operation Barbarossa, the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Wehrmacht was shifted east. Despite failing to achieve victory in the Battle of Britain, the Luftwaffe was also shifted east, relieving pressure on hard-pressed Britain. At first during 1941-42 the NAZIs concentrated on protecting the harbors. German artillery, anti-aircraft guns, and armor were positioned beginning in 1942 along the French coast. German armored divisions are transferred to France. Only in late 1943, however, with defeats in Russia and North Africa and the increasing build up of Allied forces in Europe did Hitler give real priority to the Atlantic defenses. Hitler's Atlantic Wall is perhaps the most massive fortified position in history. more extensive even than France's Maginot Line. It was a formidable obstacle that Allied planners had to confront. Construction was ordered by Hitler in Führer Directive No. 405. The French rail system played an important role in both the construction of the Atlantic Wall and in plans to defend it against invasion.
The Chief of Staff to the Supreme Allied Commander (COSSAC) assumed operational direction of French partisan and underground movements capable of supporting the D-Day invasion (fall 1943). Both SOE and OSS operations thus were subordinated to COSSAC. When General Eisenhower was appointed Supreme Commander, the resistance coordination passed to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) which absorbed COSSAC. SHAEF wanted use the French Resistance, but here there were dangers. The Resistance had to operate in great secrecy. Thus there were difficulties communicating a coordinating operations. The strength and deployment was difficult to assess as was exerting control and command. And it all could change very quickly. The NAZIs were make an intense effort to root out and destroy the resistance. German arrests could very quickly uncover Resistance cells. In addition, direct attacks on German soldiers would result in horrific retributions on civilians. SHAEF thus decided to use the Resistance as a adjunct to Allied military actions rather than a key component. As a result the Resistance was used primarily to collect and transmit intelligence, sabotage (war industries, transportation lines, and communication links (telephone and telegraph lines). Of special importance to the Wehrmacht was the French rail system. SHAEF in 1944 instructed the Resistance to accelerate its sabotage of the rail system. The Resistance focused on German troops and supply trains. Operatives cut tracks, destroyed bridges, and damaged locomotives. These efforts were conducted at the same time that the Allies unleashed their growing air strength on the rail system.
The problem for the Wehrmacht was that there was no roof on Festug Europa. The Allies set about destroying the Luftwaffe. As a result the Luftwaffe by 1944 was no longer capable of depending German cities, let along French rail lines. As Supreme Commander Eisenhower demanded control over all Allied air forces took control of the strategic air forces (April 1944). Eisenhower directed the 8th Air Force and Bomber Command to redirect their operations to France. This was a difficult decision because with the P-51 fighter escorts the Allies were inflicting damage on both the Luftwaffe and German war industries. Under Eisenhower targeting shifted to destroy the Luftwaffe and Luftwaffe facilities in France, the German petroleum industry, and to disrupt rail communications, especially rail lines supporting the German forces manning the beach defenses. Here the Allies had to bomb lines leading to both Pas de Calais and Normandy so as not to reveal where the landings would take place. The Wehrmacht depended heavily on the French railroads to move men and equipment. Bombing rail lines was not very effective as the Germans became very expert in rapidly replacing rails--easy to do with slave labor. Destroying locomotives, rail junctions with maintenance facilities, and bridges was much more effective. After hitting these facilities hard in April, Eisenhower ordered the Allied air forces to sever the bridges over the Seine, Oise, and Meuse rivers (May). These attacks were largely successful so that at the time the Allies landed, the French rail system was near collapse. Which meant that the beach defenses were largely cut off from supply depots in Germany.
The Western Allies on June 4, 1944 in a daring amphibious and airborne operation opened the long awaited second front on the Normandy beaches which as become known as D-Day. The invasion of Normandy, code named Overlord, was the single most important battle fought by the Western Allies in World War II. It was made possible by arguably the most successful military deception campaign in history. The opening of the second front finally relieved pressure on the Red army in the east. The D-Day invasion, however, meant much more. On the outcome of the battle hinged no less than the future of democracy and Western civilization in Europe. Failure at Normandy would have meant that the future of Europe would have been settled by the titanic struggle in the East between Hitler and Stalin, certainly the two most evil men in European history. An invasion of France had been the primary goal of American military planners and President Roosevelt since the entry of America into the War in December 1941. Churchill was less convinced. And largely at urging, the first joint Allied offensive was in the Mediterranean. The invasion was an enormous risk. All Allied victories in Europe were achieved by the weight of underwhelming superiority of men and material to badly over stretched German forces. In France, the Allies faced some of the strongest units in the German Army who would until several weeks into the battle be able to amass far superior forces. The Allies had to plan on naval and air superiority to protect the initial beach lodgements until powerful land forces could be landed and deployed. For over two years the Allies had been building a massive force in England which on June 6 was unleashed on Hitler's Fortress Europe. The Allies struck with the largest armada ever assembled. First paratroop landings inland and then at after dawn came British, Canadian, and American landings on five Normandy beaches. It was a complete surprise, an incredible accomplishment for an operation of this scope and magnitude
The Allies followed up Overlord with Operation Dragoon, landings along France's Mediterranean coast (August 15). The Dragoon force moving north joined up with southern advance from the D-day landings near Dijon (mid-September). Operation Dragoon in addition to the amphibious landings included a glider landing (Operation Dove) and a deception (Operation Span). A major accomplishment of Dragoon was the seizure of Marseilles and its important port. The Allied advance after Operation Cobra which destroyed the German 7th Army slowed as the Allies moved into Belgium an northern France and approached the borders of the Reich (September). The major problem was gas (petrol) and other supplies. Allied units consumed enormous quantities of supplies, much greater quantities than comparable German units. Marseilles and the southern French railways became an important conduit of supplies because of the limited port access the Allies had at the time in northwestern Europe. The Allies brought back the Port of Marseilles and its railroad trunk lines back into service despite the destruction sustained by Allied bombing and German demolition. The southern supply route became very important to the Allies as they prepared to penetrate the Siegfried Line (West Wall) and enter the Reich. The southern route delivered about a third of Allied supplies.
Bernard, Ariane, "Railway fined For Holocaust deportations." New York Times (June 7, 2006).
Jones, Joseph (1984). The Politics of Transport in Twentieth-Century France (McGill Queens University Press, 1984).
Mierzejewski (2000). The Most Valuable Asset of the Reich: A History of the German National Railway Vol. II (1933-1945) (The University of North Carolina Press: 2000). p. 84. ISBN 080
Navigate CIH World war II Section:
[Return to Min World WarII French economy page]
[Return to Main World War II French page]
[Return to Main World War II land logistics and transport page]
[Return to D-Day air campaign]
[About Us]
[Biographies]
[Campaigns]
[Children]
[Countries]
[Deciding factors]
[Diplomacy]
[Geo-political crisis]
[Economics]
[Home front]
[Intelligence]
[POWs]
[Resistance]
[Race]
[Refugees]
[Technology]
[Totalitarian powers]
[Bibliographies]
[Contributions]
[FAQs]
[Images]
[Links]
[Registration]
[Tools]
[Return to Main World War II page]
[Return to Main war essay page]
[Return to CIH Home page]
