Wagons of the World War

Railways in the great war
When trains become a weapon

Railways played a considerable role during the First World War. In August 1914, military convoys and requisitioned commercial trains were used to transport the mobilized men swiftly.

Then, as war set in for the long run, delivering supplies of food, equipment and munitions to the troops became one of the main concerns of commanders, who were attentive to them at every level. Railway networks were also used for medical evacuations (carrying the wounded from the theatre of operations to hospitals at the rear) and to transport soldiers on leave.

As the war ground on, manufacturing sites sprung up, staff numbers increased and wagon models were developed to adapt to the demands of warfare. Railways were of key strategic importance

Rail transport was modernized, but the tracks ran above capacity. Transport remained slow (30km/hour on average), making journeys long. Further problems came on top of these track issues: the many convoys were major targets for German aircraft, the size of some stations made loading and unloading certain wagons difficult, and the incompatibility of certain locomotives with wagons led to many problems.