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This is the second of two ul·ticles General di Raimondo, and all of the
on this subject by Generul G/'aY, who Italian military railway organization,
?'ecently succeeded Genaal Omm' N. were ordered to report to the Director Gen
Bmdley as the Adminish'atol' of eral to carry out the duties assigned them.
Vetemns AlJail's. In the first al·ticle, Reconstruction and operation of the Ital
which was published in the May issue ian ,Railways was governed by priorities
of the MILITARY REVIEW, the established by AFHQ, which was repre
authol' discussed the development of sented on the Italian mainland by the
the Military Railway Service through Deputy Chief Administrative Officer of
the invasion of Sicily.-The Editor: the Advanced Administrative Echelon,
advising SHAEF and the French Provi Military Railway Service, with its attached
the dates for the progressive changes ip with the exception 'that the various Com
lIIemorandum No. 24, the areas in which exercised administrative authority over
the stages would apply, and the reestab Military Railway Servic~ units and per
lishment of the French railway set-up. sonnel within their respective sections.
In view of the fact that the Director' Boundaries of Grand'Divisions and Divi
cover all of the operations in France, it Director General, and neither the Director
change some of the responsibilities of the of the Military Railway Service could be
24 and 28. The assignment of the Director the Director General, in conformity with
G,'ueral to these enlarged responsihilities policies laid down by ETOUSA and higher
St"nding Operating Procedure No, 32, time, the Direc.,tor General was made re
issued by Headquarters, ETOUSA, which sponsible for selecting the main railway
pr,'scribed the procedure for the construc lines of communications, subject to the
mi\tary railroads in the United States of the Sixth and Twelfth Army Groups,
i l'ovisions of this SOP show how the tor General was charged with providing
tin .•e, Construction of railroads ~as the rehabilitated lines, the Director General
24 MlLITARY REVIEW
became responsible for maintenance and tation program was provided in Staff
operation. Memorandum No.6, ETOUSA, 14 April
The'General Manager, 1st Military Rail 1945, which defined the responsibilities of
way Service, was responsible for com the Chief Engineer, Communications Zone,
pletion of all approved railways and addi and provided that all matters of contro
tional construction required for initial versy concerning boundaries, labor, prior
operations in support of the Sixth Army ities, and proposed plans of "far-reaching
Group. nature," would be referred to the Assis
tant Chief of Staff, G-4, for final action.
, The Commanding General, Advance
Section, was responsible for the comple Under these authorities and responsi
tion of all approved railways supporting bilities, the logistical supply by rail to
Twelfth Army Group, and the United the Armies of SHAEF, namely, the Sixt,h
States forces operating with Twenty-first and Twelfth Army Groups, arid to the
Army Group. troops under the Commanding General,
Theater Service Forces, ETOUSA, con
This circular on rehabilitation also tinued through 25 October 1945, when
stated :' Headquarters, Military :Etailway Service,
"In the support of the armies, it is was relieved of duty and returned to the
intended that Advance Section and 1st UnitEld States.
Military Railway Service have great lati- The Director General, on assumption
of duty, 12 February 1945, had divided
the European Theater into two areas,
North and South, separated by a line
approxi~ately from Cherbourg through
Paris, Coblenz, Bebra, and Leipzig. All
railroads south of that line were under the
jurisdiction of the General Manager, 1st
Militar~ Railway Service, with headquar
ters at "Lyon and subsequently at Stras
bourg. jAn railroads north of that line up
to the Southern boundary of the Twenty
first Army Group, were under the Gen
eral Manager, 2d Military Railway Serv
Diesel locomotive, 65-tons, built.principally ice with headquarters at Brussels, Bel
for the European Theater. gium.
The Director General's forces had been
tude of action and no approval from this augmented by troops from the United
headquarters will be required except for States and consisted of the following: One
major departures from approved general General Headquarters, Military Railway
plans or when new commitments of °far Service; two Headquarters, 'Military Rail
reaching nature are undertaken. Reha way Service; seven Railway Grand Divi
bilitation of other rail lines, undertaken sions; twenty-four Railway Operating
within the scope of this authority, will Battalions; eight Railway Shop Battal
not be accomplished at the expense of the ions; one Railway Transportation Com
principal network which will be considered ',pany; two Base Depot Companies; five
first priority." Railway Workshops (Mobile) and ten
Further implementation' of the rehabili Hospital Train Maintenance Sections.
THE .MILITARY RAILWAY SERVICE 2.5
i
Beginning in North Africa in the sum- tails of successfully carrying them out.
Iller of 1943, and continuing through North Any intermediate commander, not trained
Africa, Sicily, Italy, Southern France, in railroad operations, has a tendency to
and ultimately throughout the European interfere with and nullify the operation
Theater, the Di,rector Genenil assumed of the railroads.
responsibility for the security of railroad Then too, it is my firm belief that the
property and goods in transit. This respon Director General should be charged with
sibility was met with Military Police Bat the rehabilitation of railroads, as well as
talions assigned to his command for that their maintenance and operation. That
purpose. By VE-day, then, in France, function can only be exercised properly
there were in addition to the sixty Mili when the Military Railway Servic~ is a
tary Railway Service units above enumer separate major command. The engineer
ated, a total of fourteen Military Police ing profession has many highly technical
Battalions assigned in the Military Rail phases, and possibly the railroad engineel'
way Service. The force actually consisted
of approximately 37,000 officers and men,
in seventy-four units.
At'the beginning of this discussiO!:J, I
intimated that there were a great many
deviations from approved practices in the
handling of the Military Railway Service
in World War II, and I should like to point
out specifically what they are and briefly
explain them.
Field Manual 55-50, "Military RalJ
roads and the Military Railway Service,"
published 27 March 1944, indicates that
Mobile repair 'shop of Military Railway
between the Military Railway Service and as was tr,\ed, to place the responsibility
the COrps of Engineers. for guarding track and movement of
I believe that the Chief lof Transporta freight in cars on the Base Section Com
tion should be ~harged wIth the flow of . manders.
traffic and that he should indicate what The railroads" as they must be opel;ated,
percentage of the total traffic to be moved are an inter-theater operation and cannot
shall be moved by rail, truck, air, and under any circumstances be broken down
waterway. But I do not believe that any: . into intra-theat.er control or direetion.
one but the Director General and hIs Full administration, with particular refer
forces should be charged with the respon ence to the peisonnel and utilization of
sibility for rehabilitation, operation, and personnel, should rest wholly and solely
maintenance of railroads in a Theater of with the Military Railway Service. The
Operations. I thoroughly agree with the placing of individual officers and men, as
provisions of that order of the Secretm:y well as the plans of the Director General,
of War in 1862 which specified "that no must be fulfilled as a part of his sole
officer, whatever may be his rank, will responsibility, for he alone knows their
interfere with the running of the cars as capabilities and capacities, and where to
directed l;>y the Superintendent of the road place a man to get the most from his past
and that anyone who so interferes will be experience.
dismissed from the service for disobeyance In order that the Military Railway
of orders." Service may not be unwieldy as to organi
zation, it should utilize the services of
The Military Railway Service is organ other branches of the Army to the fullesl1
ized with high echelons ~f experienced extent, such as General Courts-Martial
railroad construction and maintenance jurisdiction, hospitalization and evacua
officers who know how to repair and main tion, machine records servicing for per
tain track and engines, and I see no differ sonnel accounting, all fiscal transactions.
ence between rehabilitating engines and and supply of common items. But the
cars or rehabilitating track, bridges, and Military Railway Service should be
buildings. The responsibilities for that charged, as was done in World War II,
should not be divided, but should be placed with the planning for, and the execution
strictly and securely on the shoulders of of, all strictly railroad matters 'incident to
the Military Railway Service and its performing the rail transportation require
experienced railroad engineer officers. ments of the Commander in Chief. To
I likewise believe that the only way to share that responsibility with anyone else
protect against thievery of shipments over is to cause' confusion and, in some in
the railroads is the plan developed arid stances, failure, and since the very large
utilized by us throughout the entire cam percentage of haul should and must be
paigns in the Mediterranean and European performed by the railroads, they should
Theaters, namely, to assign to the Military be permitted to exercise their responsi
Railway Sm'vice sufficient battalions of bilities in a manner which will insure
Military Police, under the Director Gen complete and thorough success. They can
eral's command and direction, and to not be successful, and they cannot fulnj!
charge the Director General with the safe their mission, if they are operated on les-;
deliv~ry of all freight. It is impossible, than a theater level.