The Liberation Line: The Last Untold Story of the Normandy Landings

by Christian Wolmar

'A masterful account of the unsung heroes of the battle for Normandy. Without the valiant efforts of the British and American railwaymen, the liberation of France might have had a very different outcome. A gripping tale.' Giles Milton 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.The Liberation Line tells the thrilling story of the British and American railway engineers who, in the months after D-Day, worked around the clock and in great danger to rebuild the ravaged railways of Europe and keep the Allied forces fuelled as they pushed on into Germany. As territory was taken, these soldier-railroaders were close behind, rebuilding the lines, putting up telegraph wires, replacing bridges and laying track, all the while dodging bullets, shells and booby traps. Tales of extraordinary feats and heroism abound, including how 10,000 men rebuilt a 135-mile-long railway in just three days; the reconstruction of the bridge over the Seine in two weeks while under bombardment; and the use of cigarette lighters as improvised signalling systems. Despite being critical to Allied victory, the role of the railwaymen has been largely forgotten or ignored. In a vivid and gripping narrative, Christian Wolmar brings to life this colourful cast of generals and engineers, without whose extraordinary bravery the liberation of France and invasion of Germany might well have foundered - and the course of history changed.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, World War II, Military Fiction

384 pages, Paperback

Published May 1, 2025

About the author

Christian Wolmar is a journalist, focusing on the history and politics of railways.

Reviews

[Linden · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most people don't think of railway lines when they think of the history of World War II, but the author of this book has researched their role extensively and shows that the railways were essential in winning the war. He concentrates on the time period after D-Day (6/6/1944) in France and continues to Belgium, through the Battle of The Bulge later that year. The research is extensive, and should interest anyone who wants to learn more about this relatively unknown aspect of WW II history, or the history of railroads in general. Thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for the ARC.

[Thomas George Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

One critic opined that 'The Liberation Line:' was comprised of 'unsung heroes.' I could not agree more.

Mr. Wolmar relied upon vast amounts of research to tell the story of these remarkable men who maintained and built the European railroads to win the war against the Nazis.

[Drtaxsacto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hitler did not learn the lessons of war - he got ahead of himself in the Russian campaign and like Napoleon lost his fight because of logistics. Wolman's book tells the story of how the allies put together several railroad units which landed soon after D-Day. That certainly seems logical but his story makes some sense of just how important these units were and as importantly he tells the stories of their moves across Europe.

The stories are amazing. Many of these troops were not soldiers first but railroad people from the UK and the US. And they operated to move supplies to the troops very near the front. One of the points of the author is that trains could carry a lot more materiel and then trucks could. The stories represent some amazing efforts to repair damages rails and bridges and several innovations from figuring out how to get trains off ships and on to the beach. In some cases the emergency fixes did not work, but they often did. They modified jeeps to do advance scouting on the rails.

After VE Day the rolling stock was used to bring back troops and the casualties so the remains could be repatriated (interesting thing the British troops by tradition were buried close to where they fell - but the Army offered the families of US troops killed in action transportation by home).

Wolmar is a train buff so he tells the story with vigor. It is a part of WWII that I knew nothing about so this was a great addition to my knowledge.

[Dizzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Liberation Line by Christian Wolmar is a WWII historical novel about the Railway workers who helped rebuild the transit lines, rail track, telegraph wiring, and bridge repair/replacement in the heat of WWII. The railway men did their work under constant threat, encountering sabotage, in intense battles and dodging sniper bullets. All this was needed for the success of advancing troops so that supplies (fuel, food, medicine, etc.) could be transported to the Allied troops during their advancement from D-day and forward during the European invasion in France and beyond during WWII.
The book is extremely detailed and reads like a college thesis which honestly makes it dry and cumbersome. For example, the first section of the book makes an argument for the need to bring visibility to the railway workers and it continues to make the argument for pages and pages. As a reader it made me want to say, "who is arguing that the story isn't needed?". All it would have taken was to say something along the lines of, "This is an untold story of WWII and is something we ought to recognize". Sorry for the simplification, but it felt needed.
I wanted to read this story because I enjoy WWII history and have family that was in WWII- Glider Infantry. Band of Brothers got me addicted to wanting to know more about WWII. I've read many novels about the war. I've travelled to Normandy, Belgium, and Germany to learn more about WWII. I appreciated learning about the subject of the railway workers and it's a story that I've never read before.
Note, my brother was in Vietnam and his duties required him to run communication lines and so the dangers of the job and death rates of that part of the book hit home to me.
My only constructive feedback would be to make the book read more like a novel than a college thesis.
Thank you to the publisher and author for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of the book. All opinions expressed are my own.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy to read and extremely informative narrative about one of the less glamorous sides of WWII. Will give readers an appreciation for the railroads and their purpose in the war and supply line as well as for the soldiers who operated them. A must-read for any fan of trains and/or WWII.

[Jessica (^_^) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing book about a little talked about part of the history of World War II. Great book for train and military enthusiasts.

[Tony · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand the story of the logistical part of the Normandy campaign in not popularly known and the importance of rail even more so. We tend to see war - at least those of us that don't have to fight them - in terms of armies and battles not railway lines and locomotives.

But I had issues with Wolmar's book. It purports to be the story of the railwaymen and engineers who worked before and after the Normandy landings. It purports to be the story of both American and British men involved but the British are, after the initial chapter and the occasional guest appearance, very much in the shadow of the Americans. With a handful of exceptions most of the detailed discussions are about events involving American units. Now, perhaps that is because there are more American accounts.

Also for his general historical overview Wolmar seems to rely on Max Hastings' 'Overlord', Carlo D'este's biography of Patton, or Anthony Beevor. Which comes with problems. Hasting's book is old and his take has been challenged by more modern historians. Hastings has a bee in his bonnet about the British Army that Wolmar seems to have decided to echo. It conservatism gets mentioned a couple of times. Patton is portrayed almost uncritically - his breakout from Brittany is described in a way so you wouldn't know that one of the reasons he could breakout like that was because the overwhelming amount of German armour was facing the British and Canadians. And if Patton is a genius in this book, Monty is a fool. I don't think Monty's ever talked about in a positive fashion. And accusations aimed at Monty - about his ego - can be made about Patton too. It's all a bit weird.

My impression as I was reading was that - despite a very British focused bonus bit at the end of the paperback edition - this book was written with an American audience in mind. The cover shows Americans and the giveaway is that the terminology defaults to American, e.g. 'hospital cars (called ambulance cars by the British). Now, I'm not going to pretend that American wasn't the main logistic driver here, but the book basically goes: "The British were working on x in the North which I will talk about briefly in a page or two and now let's talk about the Americans for twenty pages."

Only when it comes to bridges do the British get top billing thanks to the Bailey Bridge.

It feels like a book that's general historical background is based on books written 25 years ago.

Now I might be being unfair but it is hard to tell because there is no bibliography. There are notes. But no bibliography.

Also I have a small amount of skin in this game. One of my grandads was a Royal Engineer and was in Germany into 1946 building bridges. Weirdly my other grandfather was also in Germany until 1946 and he found himself teaching bricklaying to British soldiers about to return home (and which, apparently Germans also used to get involved in.)

So, whilst I enjoyed this book I think it could have been better. Less Patton hagiography and more detail on what the British were doing. Unless, as I said, it was hard to get that information. Or someone else needs to write a book on the same subject by which is aimed less at the Americans.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always hard to beat a good World War II story1 This one is about the Allies' extremely quick work in restoring railroad lines in northern France after D-Day. The troops could not advance eastward, then through the Low Countries, then into the German homeland, without massive amounts of equipment--way more than trucks could carry.

Wolmar tells a good story, though a few times it gets bogged down into the repetitive "then they repaired the line to this city, then they repaired the line to that city," etc. The recapturing of the port of Antwerp was a huge boon, as that allowed offloading far closer to the action than the beaches of Normandy did.

Then of course there was the problem of the Rhine. No railroad bridges survived the combination of pre-Overlord Allied bombing and post-Overlord German retreat. Despite multiple German attempts to stymie Allied progress, bridges were erected and the advance could continue. A few months later, the war was won. It would not have been without the actions detailed in this book. Well worth reading.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a history professor who always asked, “How did they mobilize?” while discussing World War I. He wanted us to consider how slow it was to move the military and supplies across Europe. The same goes for World War II. The troops moved even slower without the engineers who could get the rails up and running. That is why we see so many resistance fighters blowing up railways. I’m pleased to have this book written about groups that played a HUGE part in the war effort and still get little credit. Think about how many soldiers, nurses, doctor, and the supplies of ammo, food medical supplies have to move with the front lines.

Thank you, NetGalley and Hachette Books, for an ARC.

[Ed Milner · Rating 4 out of 5]

My interest in this book was sparked because my dad who had been a signalman in England found himself in the signal box in Bayeux 3 weeks after d day
The book tells the story in a fantastic way and I have found many
details I didn't know about
Since reading it we have discovered his diary which describes the problems involved in setting up a system in a wrecked railway under extreme pressure

[Malcolm Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definately a story worth telling.I had never read anything on this topic before so was really pleased that the author had written such a comprehensive account.This will certainly appeal to railway enthusiasts.

[Herbert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Important WW II untold story. Book has the facts. But could have been more interestingly told.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

DNF - Very detailed look at railroad engineering as it pertains to WW2. Good if that is your thing.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Surprisingly interesting being as I have zero interest in trains. Well written.

[Michael G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Train nerd Christian Wolmar manages to eke out a fairly decent narrative from the construction of wartime train lines. But there's limited material here to make it particularly thrilling. Still, a good story, and it further opened my eyes to the importance of logistics in warfare, something James Holland tends to make a point of in his books, but made more real thanks to the detail provided.