page_title: American logistics in the Northern France campaign
section_title: Railways
hierarchical_section_title: American logistics in the Northern France campaign / Railways
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of railways in use in mid-September 1944
context_page_description: American logistics in the Northern France campaign played a key role in the success of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of northwest Europe during World War II that commenced on D-Day, 6 June 1944.
  In the first seven weeks after D-Day, the Allied advance was slower than anticipated because the well-handled and determined German opposition exploited the defensive value of the Normandy hedgerow country. On 25 July, the First United States Army began Operation Cobra, the breakout from Normandy. The subsequent advance was much faster than expected and the rapid increase in the length of the line of communications threw up unanticipated logistical challenges. The logistical plan lacked the flexibility needed to cope with the rapidly changing operational situation, and the rehabilitation of railways and construction of pipelines could not keep up with the pace of the advance, and air supply had limited capacity. Major shortages developed, particularly of petrol, oil and lubricants.
context_section_description: The Overlord planners intended to use rail transport for most long-distance haulage. France had a good rail network, with nearly 36,500 miles (58,700 km) of single- and double-track lines. Like most European railway systems, the rolling stock was lightweight and loading and unloading facilities were limited, so rolling stock coming from the United States had to be specifically designed and built for the purpose of operating on the continent. Railway units were scheduled to arrive at Cherbourg, but the delay in capturing and then opening the port meant that the first units arrived over the beaches. The first rolling stock, two 150-horsepower (110 kW) diesel locomotives and some flatcars, arrived on LCTs that were unloaded over Utah Beach on 10 July.
  Later that month the seatrains USAT Seatrain Texas and Seatrain Lakehurst began delivering rolling stock to Cherbourg. The port was still too badly damaged for them to be berthed, so they were unloaded in the stream, with rolling stock transferred to barges that were unloaded on the shore with the aid of mobile cranes. While the seatrains brought in the heavier equipment like locomotives and tank cars, most rolling stock arrived on LSTs fitted with rails. By 31 July 1944, 48 diesel and steam locomotives and 184 railway cars had arrived from the United Kingdom, and another 100 steam locomotives, 1,641 freight cars, and 76 passenger cars had been captured.
  The commander of the 2nd Military Railway Service, Brigadier General Clarence L. Burpee, arrived in Normandy on 17 June, and by the end of July the 707th Railway Grand Division had the 720th, 728th and 729th Railway Operating Battalions and the 757th Shop Battalion operational. French civilian railway workers were employed whenever possible. Railway operations commenced in early July. Major General Frank S. Ross, the ETO Chief of Transportation, rode the line from Cherbourg to Carentan in a jeep equipped with flanged wheels. Immediately after Operation Cobra began, the 347th Engineer General Service Regiment was withdrawn from its work on the port of Cherbourg and set to work rehabilitating the railway lines, which had been badly damaged by the Allied Air Forces during earlier aerial interdiction bombing. It started by repairing the masonry bridge over the Vire River on the Saint-Lô line, constructing a timber trestle bridge to replace a missing span. At Coutances, it replaced a missing span of a viaduct bridge. Reconstruction of the marshalling yards at Saint-Lô was a major task, as they had been almost completely destroyed.
  On 12 August, the Third Army asked for the line to Le Mans to be opened, with 12,000 long tons (12,000 t) of ammunition and POL to be delivered over the next three days. The main line eastward from Vire to Argentan was still in German hands, and the one southward to Rennes and then eastward to Le Mans could not be restored quickly because major bridge reconstruction tasks were required at Pontaubault and Laval. Instead, a temporary route was found using a series of secondary lines while the main line was being repaired. Even this required some major bridge reconstruction work, notably an 80-foot (24 m) single-track bridge at Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët. Elements of no less than eleven engineer general service regiments worked on the lines simultaneously. When Major General Cecil R. Moore, the ETO Chief Engineer, flew over the Saint-Hilaire bridge site at 18:00 on 15 August, he saw a sign on the ground in white cement that read: "Will finish at 20:00." The first train loaded with POL left Folligny at 19:00, crossed the bridge at around midnight, and, after many delays, rolled into Le Mans on 17 August. Thirty more trains followed at half-hour intervals.
  With only single-track lines in use, the lines between Avranches and Le Mans soon became congested, and a shortage of empty freight cars developed. The rail yards at Folligny and Le Mans were badly damaged, and considerable reconstruction work was required. Getting the main line east of Rennes in use required the repair of the bridge at Laval, which was compl
caption: Railway lines in use in mid-September 1944
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