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Vestes Bellica Military history archive

Vestes Bellica

Scenes of War - Railways and Transport

Railway and track construction. Undated original photo.
Railway and track construction. Undated original photo.
Track construction by soldiers. (Railway Construction Company). Undated large-format photo.
Track construction by soldiers. (Railway Construction Company). Undated large-format photo.
Track construction with civilian workers under guard, probably in the West. Original undated - contemporary - photo.
Track construction with civilian workers under guard, probably in the West. Original undated - contemporary - photo.

In the occupied territories the German railway had 24,000 km of standard-gauge and 4,000 km of narrow-gauge track. Between 8,000 and 9,000 locomotives and approximately 18,000 railway wagons were available. The railway formations included about 178,000 persons in 1918, among them 75,000 civilian railway employees. Prisoners and inhabitants of the rear-area regions were employed for the extensive construction work. By mid-1918 there were on the various German theaters of war 7,760 standard-gauge and 940 narrow-gauge locomotives; the number of available railway wagons is reported as approximately 180,000.

Troop and material transport by light railway. Contemporary photo card. Dated: 05.09.1915.
Troop and material transport by light railway. Contemporary photo card. Dated: 05.09.1915.
Transport of wounded and other soldiers by light railway. Original photo card, undated. Around 1915/16.
Transport of wounded and other soldiers by light railway. Original photo card, undated. Around 1915/16.
Laying the tracks for a narrow-gauge railway. Original photo card, dated on the reverse: 28.08.1917.
Laying the tracks for a narrow-gauge railway. Original photo card, dated on the reverse: 28.08.1917.
Track construction by soldiers behind the front. Undated contemporary photo card.
Track construction by soldiers behind the front. Undated contemporary photo card.
Railway wagon set on fire by an aerial bomb. Original photo card. June 1918. Western Front.
Railway wagon set on fire by an aerial bomb. Original photo card. June 1918. Western Front.

Estate of a member of the railway troops. Bridge construction in the East. 1916.

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