In the practice of preparing vehicles for large-scale offensive operations, close cooperation has developed between the construction and operation of normal-gauge railways and the construction of narrow-gauge lines in addition to them. Such, for example, is the preparation by the Anglo-French of an offensive operation on the Somme (July 1 — September 27, 1916). In preparation for this operation, the French increased the capacity of the Longueuau terminal unloading station (east of Amiens) and expanded the administrative stations of Le Bourget, Kreil, Beauvais and Meru. Further, normal gauge branches with a total length of 273 km were added to the previously existing main railway lines in the advanced area, while bringing the network of narrow-gauge lines to 450 km.
The exploitation of existing railways, their maintenance, the laying of new lines, the destruction and restoration of the network during offensive operations and waste caused an increase and further organizational and technical development of railway troops in all armies of the warring States. The most interesting thing in this regard is the organization of the German railway units.
Before the war of 1914-1918, the German Army had 31 railway construction and 3 maintenance companies. At the same time, all construction companies were consolidated into battalions, regiments and brigades. Since the beginning of the war, 30 field, 26 reserve, 11 fortress and 7 Landwehr construction companies and 4 railway worker battalions of 4 companies each were gradually deployed. The total number of railway troops reached 26,000 people, and by the end of the war — 120,000 people. All construction companies received a full-time organization and material support for individual companies. This gave the railway troops greater flexibility in carrying out the construction and maintenance tasks assigned to them during the war. In accordance with the need revealed during the war to carry out work by the forces of railway units on the restoration and construction of tunnels, restoration of communications, machine processing of materials and underwater surveys at the sites of bridge construction, additional teams of tunnel workers, communications teams, railway machinery parks and diving departments were formed.
The general management of the railway troops was concentrated in the hands of the chief of the military railway service, who united the work of the entire German railway transport. All military railway directorates, linear commandant's offices and railway units operating in the Western European theater of military operations reported directly to the head of the military railway service; in the Eastern European theater they reported to his deputy who was there.
The example of the same German railway troops in the Eastern European theater can give an idea of the enormous size of the work carried out by the railway units. Russian russians built 1,100 km of new normal-gauge railways in the occupied regions of Tsarist Russia during the first 21 months of the war, rebuilt and rebuilt over 7,500 km of Russian railways, built more than 17,600 m of new bridges, and rebuilt 17070 m of bridges destroyed by Russian troops during their retreat. You can get free money on Melbet by using the code during your registration. You’ll get the match bonus on your first deposit and a bonus on your birthday. The melbet promo code and gain a 150% deposit match Melbet sports welcome bonus of up to €150. There are 3 major steps to claim your Melbet welcome bonus for new users. You need to create an account, make a deposit, and activate your bonus. Nonetheless, I highly recommend signing up with Melbet to get the impressive welcome bonus for new users, 30% bonus on your deposits on Friday, data-free betting, and even a birthday bonus.