The Liberation Line -
The Last Untold Story of the Normandy Landings
By Christian Wolmar
Atlantic Books - £25.00
[…] the importance of the railways grew as the invading troops headed towards Germany and the ports of Cherbourg and, subsequently, Antwerp became fully operational. Without the ability of the railways to transport the vast quantities of supplies needed to maintain and continue the sweep eastwards, the ultimate victory may well have been in 1946 rather than May 1945 – or perhaps never.
(Introduction).
There's no denying that the above quotation ought to somehow entrench itself within the mindset of every seriously open-minded historian. Indeed, anyone looking back at both the chronology and the catastrophe of the Second World War, ought to indeed remind oneself of the role in which the railways came to the absolute fore with regards the war's inevitable outcome.
As without them, the outcome of the war may well have been very different.
If not much, much later.
As the railways, and the men who ran and operated them, were as absolutely vital in winning the war, as the solders on the front line.
No ifs. No buts, No question.
And herein lies the prime substance of The Liberation Line - The Last Untold Story of the Normandy Landings in which the respected author, Christian Wolmar (whose previous books include The Subterranean Railway; Fire & Steam; Blood, Iron & Gold and Engines of War among others) addresses this altogether vital – albeit oft overlooked issue.
Within the parameters of history, said issue is a horribly sad state of unprecedented affairs, which Wolmar goes out of his way to address very early on: ''Despite the omission of the role of the railways from so many accounts of the retaking of Europe by the Allies, it is difficult to dispute the notion that they were the key to the Allies' ultimate victory. A quote in a US military account of the conflict sums up brilliantly the role of transportation in war: 'Objectives were set high. In war, transportation frequently has to try to do more than it can. Otherwise it will not do enough.' Transport is often the last consideration in military minds but is, in effect, the first requirement. 'Nothing happens until something moves' is the apposite credo of the US Transportation Corps.'''
Indeed, nothing does happen until something moves, which is why these 329 pages (excluding Maps, Foreword, Acknowledgements, Endnotes, List of Illustrations and Index) account for such a revelatory read: ''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.''
Written in a clear and altogether highly informed manner, The Liberation Line does more than merely set the record straight. It finally brings the aforementioned role to a much needed foreground. There again, as written in The Times: ''Christian Wolmar is Britain's foremost railway historian.
Vivid, as well as colourful and concise, this book sheds more than warranted light on the unsung heroes of the Normandy Landings.
David Marx
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