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Sabotaging the railways was one of the levers of the French Resistance - an effective weapon in the fight to liberate France.
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00:091944, while the Allies were preparing the Normandy landings, the battle of the railways had already begun.
00:17Railway workers carried out acts of sabotage to destabilize the occupying Nazi forces.
00:30In the Allies' strategy for liberating France, the rail network was a top priority. It was used to paralyze the
00:37enemy's movements.
00:48War had taken away roads, fuel and tires. The Allies were forced to destroy the rail network, even though they
00:56depended on it.
00:57It was a logistical keystone. Only trains could guarantee the supply of troops who were to liberate France.
01:25This was a huge undertaking for the Allies, rebuilding a destroyed network while the fighting continued.
01:39In the eleven months between D-Day and the liberation in May 1945, the French Rail network was one of
01:45the most important stakes.
01:47The train was a weapon of war, and without it, victory would not have been possible.
01:52The
01:54the
02:35London, June 1944.
02:38The Allies finalized the details for the campaign to liberate France.
02:42The operation was imminent.
02:45At the heart of the liberation, history has often overlooked one element, the railways.
02:51They played a vital role in the campaign.
02:54The Allies knew that the Germans would use them to transport supplies, or even worse,
03:00troop reinforcements to the front.
03:02To prevent this logistical and human aid from reaching the front, the Allies came up with
03:08a radical solution, the massive bombing of French railways.
03:31Since 1943, the French Resistance Network had been carrying out acts of rail sabotage.
03:37At the time of the invasion, the Allies relied as much on resistant railway workers as they
03:43did on aerial bombings.
03:44The Resistance's job was to sabotage the railways to prevent the German trains using them.
03:50Today, the 929th day of the struggle of the French people for its liberation.
04:11In order to coordinate these large-scale operations, the Allies decided to set up a specific action
04:19plan for resistant rail workers.
04:21As soon as the invasion happened, the Intelligence and Resistance Office created by De Gaulle himself
04:27was in charge of the plan.
04:29It was a sabotage guide for railway workers written in 1943.
04:33It was called the Green Plan.
05:05Whenever something referring to the color green was mentioned in these messages, the railway
05:10resistance were to spring into action and prevent trains full of German soldiers reaching Normandy.
05:16The French Rail Network, the SNCF, had been entirely taken over by the Nazis.
05:22From the beginning of the occupation in June 1940, the Germans took full advantage of rail transport
05:28so they could send all they'd plundered from the French economy back to the Reich.
05:33It was the German generals who took all the direction of the SNCF.
05:40In each highway, there was a German general.
05:43In each position, there was a military.
05:45And on the locomotives, there was also a military that protects and protects the train from an air attack.
05:54Although the SNCF authorities collaborated with the Nazis, the rail company had many resistance fighters among its 500,000 employees.
06:06Since the beginning of the occupation, they provided the Allies with vital intelligence.
06:27From 1942 onwards, railway resistance took on another dimension.
06:33Some workers took it upon themselves to disrupt the traffic in order to hinder the Germans' day-to-day operations.
06:54Occasionally, carriages themselves disappeared.
07:17The following year, in 1943, railway workers took things to the next level.
07:23They knew that the rail network was a key tool in helping to disrupt the economic exchanges between the Vichy
07:30regime and the Reich.
07:31The disruption became more effective when they started sabotaging equipment, as discreetly as possible.
07:38It didn't matter.
07:40It didn't matter.
07:41So, there was a lot of pannes that we couldn't detect the origin.
07:45It was very classic.
07:46It was to put an air attack or a sable, for example, in a roulement.
07:51So, I'll show you here.
07:55You can see here.
07:56You can see here, the axis of the issue.
07:57At the bottom, we put oil to lubricate.
08:00And we could gêner the lubrication by putting some sable.
08:05And then, we'd refer to it, ni vu, ni connu.
08:08I didn't do it that on a sole issue.
08:10Because if there were several, it would have been a bit loose.
08:12So, there was no chance that it could happen.
08:15It could be the train.
08:16It perturbated the trains.
08:17It perturbated the function of the ferrovia.
08:28There was another method, also, who was classic.
08:31It was to gêner the lubrication of the têtes of biel.
08:34Connecting rods are the key parts of a locomotive.
08:37These metal rods transfer the movement from the pistons to the wheels.
08:42For them to function correctly, they must be constantly greased.
09:02Put a coin in the tank, interfered with lubrication.
09:07As a result, the connecting rods would block and the locomotive would come to a standstill.
09:13So, it was exactly like if you had a car engine, but once there was no fuel, the engine would
09:19So, it was still something quite risky.
09:21Because it means that once there was a pan, it had to be that the mechanic could quickly
09:25open to remove the pieces so that the pan is indetectable.
09:32In 1943, over a hundred breakdowns and derailments occurred every month.
09:37Even before France was totally occupied, railway workers stood out for their actions.
09:42They had a lot of bravery.
09:43Trains were being used to deport people.
09:46So, saboteurs would hide Jews and resistance in coal cars and water tanks on the trains,
09:52risking their own lives in order to get them to the free zone.
10:00Normally, at the beginning of the time, we would fill the temps of air totally
10:03but only in the three quarters, we could hide the clandestines inside where they had a
10:10reserve of air that allowed them to breathe.
10:12And even in some cases, the resistors had installed the planchers so that the clandestines could
10:18do the voyage without being in the three quarters.
10:33And the Germans know the chemin of fer.
10:36They are German Germans who are there.
10:38And they find the hauteurs, especially when they are the miners.
10:43When they are the resistance, they can save themselves and disappear from nature.
10:46But the Germans do not.
10:47and many of them paid their lives.
10:51Many, many, many, many of them were shot by the Germans.
11:05June 5, 1944, at midnight,
11:095,000 ships left the south coast of England.
11:12Their destination was Normandy.
11:15Operation Neptune, the largest military operation in history,
11:20was underway.
11:21The liberation of France was about to begin.
11:25The French railway workers were on standby.
11:28A few hours earlier on Radio London,
11:31they heard the coded messages of the Green Plan,
11:33telling them to start the sabotage.
11:40On the night of the 5th of June,
11:42there were instructions from the BBC, coded instructions.
11:46And there were two messages.
11:48One of which was,
11:50Il fait chaud dans le canal de Suez.
11:53And the other one was,
11:55Les dés sont jetés.
11:57And the dés sont jetés meant, essentially, go and destroy the rail network.
12:02The die have been cast,
12:03brings to mind the green cloth of a card table.
12:06Following the broadcast of this Green Plan message,
12:08on June 6, the railway resistance began a series of more than a hundred acts of sabotage
12:13over the whole of France,
12:14to prevent entire divisions of German soldiers traveling to the Normandy battlefront.
12:19It was in Omberieu, in the N region, 800 kilometers from the Normandy coastline,
12:24that an exceptional act of resistance took place,
12:27carried out by railway workers and Machi resistance.
12:30It was sabotage that gave a logistical advantage to the Allies.
12:35In 1944, the site of Omberieu is a very important site.
12:39It's the junction of the roads that come from Italy,
12:42from the north of France, and from the south of France.
12:45This road is very important for the Germans, of course,
12:48for the junctions that they have to do with the Italian troops.
12:52Jackie Magdalene has been a railway worker at Omberieu all his life.
12:56On June 6, 1944, his father, Andre, also a railway man,
13:01followed the green plan instructions
13:03and sabotaged the depot of this major rail junction.
13:07The night from 6 to 7 juin 1944,
13:11at 1 o'clock in the morning, the siren sound.
13:16It was caused by the machisards
13:18who want the Germans to be able to help.
13:25The sabotage crew members
13:26across 40 roads,
13:27they come to here,
13:29they put their charge of plastic on the locomotive,
13:31and they leave.
13:32So the operation happens in half an hour,
13:34to return.
13:39My father participated in this operation.
13:42He was the chief of sabotage crew.
13:44He was charged to sabotage the locomotive located on the park.
13:46He was supported by the guys of the Maki,
13:50who were in arms,
13:51and that's how he participated in this operation.
13:54He didn't even want to talk about it.
13:58There were 80 explosions during the night.
14:02The soldiers of Omberieu croiront
14:03that it was a new attack,
14:05and the Germans also, of course.
14:06As usual,
14:08the passengers take their service
14:10to an air very astonished
14:11and see the damage
14:13of the damage.
14:1452 locomotives
14:15were neutralized,
14:16destroyed,
14:16two turning plates.
14:18And then,
14:18we learned later
14:20that these locomotives
14:22have made the damage
14:23to the German army.
14:24The reinforcements
14:25that were ready in Italy
14:26to come to strengthen
14:28the front of Normandie
14:29will never pass the border,
14:31without the locomotives
14:32capable of moving them up to here.
14:34The Omberieu junction
14:35was paralyzed for over several weeks.
14:38Mission accomplished
14:40for the resistance.
14:42On estime
14:43que la mise en application
14:44du plan vert
14:45a retardé d'environ 48 heures
14:47l'arrivée
14:48de certaines troupes allemandes
14:50sur la tête de front
14:51en Normandie.
14:54A partir du 10 juin,
14:55il n'y a plus aucun train
14:56qui peut passer
14:57la Seine ni la Loire.
14:59Par contre,
14:59les unités à pied
15:00arrivent à remonter
15:01à la vitesse de gens
15:01qui vont à pied,
15:02et en plus toujours
15:03sous la menace
15:03de raids aériens
15:04qui font que,
15:05très souvent,
15:06se dépassent presque
15:07que de nuit.
15:11Bombardement
15:12et sabotage
15:13ont aidé
15:13l'arrivée
15:14des troupes allemandes
15:15qui convergent
15:15sur Normandie.
15:17Les Allies
15:18ont gagné la guerre,
15:19mais pas encore la guerre.
15:22Pour libérer la France,
15:24le réseau d'arrivée
15:25qui a été détruite
15:26dans beaucoup de places
15:27a dû être reconstruite.
15:29Le problème
15:30avec cette stratégie
15:31c'est que
15:34quand les Britanniques
15:35et les Américains
15:36ont invadé,
15:37ils n'avaient pas
15:38un réseau d'arrivée
15:39qui les soutient.
15:41Il y a des maps
15:41de cette histoire
15:42et des petites
15:43lines ici et là
15:45qui survivent,
15:45mais il n'y avait
15:46pas un réseau d'arrivée
15:49qui était possible
15:50pour être utilisé.
15:51On estime qu'au moment
15:52de la libération,
15:53il y a 80 à 90 %
15:55du réseau
15:55qui est totalement
15:56hors d'usage.
16:12Les allemands
16:13qui luttent
16:14sur deux fronts,
16:14sur le front Normandie
16:16et qui doivent partir
16:17aussi au combat à l'est,
16:19vont quand même piller
16:21un certain nombre
16:21de locomotives,
16:22de matériels
16:23de la SNCF.
16:24Les résultats
16:24étaient catastrophiques.
16:26En plus,
16:27les renseignements
16:27pouvaient transporter
16:28l'argent
16:29que les troops alliés
16:30ont besoin
16:31pour libérer la France.
16:35Pour à peu près 15 000 hommes,
16:36on estime les besoins
16:38chez les alliés
16:39à 450 tonnes quotidiennement
16:40et il y a plus d'un million
16:43de soldats alliés
16:43très vite au combat.
16:45Donc la route
16:45ne peut pas supporter
16:46un tel besoin.
16:47Un camion,
16:48ça fait 40 tonnes,
16:49un wagon de marchandises
16:50en fait 80
16:51et dans un train,
16:53vous avez jusqu'à 1 000,
16:542 000 tonnes
16:55conduites par un seul homme.
16:56Le chemin de fer
16:57est un transporteur
16:58de masse absolument
16:59indispensable.
17:00C'est en fait
17:01un peu la logique
17:02qui a été mise en place
17:03depuis la guerre de 1870,
17:06c'est que le rail
17:07sert à amener
17:08au plus près du front
17:09le ravitaillement quotidien.
17:11Donc il y a un système
17:12de dépôt
17:13qui doit permettre
17:14d'accompagner les troupes
17:15au fur et à mesure
17:16de leur avance,
17:17mais sans le rail,
17:18on n'imagine pas
17:19pouvoir faire la guerre.
17:19The Americans plan
17:20to put the French rail network
17:22back in service
17:23in record time.
17:25Once the GIs
17:26had disembarked,
17:27the trains were next.
17:29American factories
17:30have been working
17:31non-stop since 1942
17:33to manufacture locomotives
17:35and carriages.
17:36The size of the operation
17:38was unprecedented.
17:40Nearly 1 000 American locomotives
17:43were brought over
17:44and stored in the UK
17:45and stored largely in kit form
17:47so that they were brought over
17:49for use in the French railways.
17:52The Allies chose
17:53the city of Cherbourg
17:54as the entry point
17:56for injecting tons
17:57of equipment
17:57into France.
17:59The capital city
18:00of the Contantin region
18:01was 80 km
18:03from the D-Day beaches
18:04and had the ideal profile
18:06to become the major
18:07rear base
18:07for the rail network.
18:10At the top of the mountain
18:12of Dural,
18:13we understand better
18:13why the Americans
18:14chose Cherbourg
18:15as the main objective
18:16of their offensive
18:17in 1944.
18:19Because we discover
18:20this immense rad
18:22artificial,
18:24the maritime
18:24the arsenal
18:26the vessels
18:27that avance
18:28in Cherbourg
18:29and near the gare
18:31of Cherbourg
18:32so we see
18:33that the distance
18:34is very low
18:35between the sea
18:36I would say
18:36is the gare.
18:39The site of Cherbourg
18:40is chosen
18:40because it is a port
18:41that allows
18:41to ride big boats
18:43and have an exploitation
18:45that we could call
18:45industrial.
18:46We need that
18:47because for several months
18:49these boats will succeed
18:50and will destroy
18:51in continuous
18:53boats and locomotives
18:54along with its freight station
18:56Cherbourg also had
18:58a huge maritime port
18:59and a large number
19:00of rail tracks.
19:01The initial plan
19:03of the Allies
19:03was to capture the city
19:04on June 15th
19:06just nine days
19:07after D-Day.
19:09But their progress
19:10was slowed
19:11by fierce German resistance.
19:28While they waited for Cherbourg
19:30to be liberated,
19:31the Allies decided
19:32to unload the first trains
19:33directly onto the D-Day beaches.
19:37It was totally improvised.
19:41It was really
19:43a lot of
19:45The first
19:46wagons
19:46and locomotives
19:47that arrived
19:47are placed
19:48on a kind of
19:50heavy boats
19:51heavy boats
19:51to climb up
19:52the beach
19:53and to go
19:54to a route
19:56or to a first
19:57railroad road.
20:01June 27, 1944.
20:05Three weeks
20:05after the invasion,
20:07the Allies
20:08managed to liberate
20:09Cherbourg
20:09after fierce fighting.
20:11The Germans knew
20:13that it would be
20:13a fatal mistake
20:14to lose
20:15the strategic port
20:16and made a point
20:17of destroying
20:18all the important
20:18infrastructure
20:19before retreating.
20:26The bridges
20:27have been dynamic
20:28sometimes
20:29on several meters
20:30long.
20:31All the roads
20:32have been
20:33either exploded
20:34or the roads
20:35have been torn.
20:36The bridges
20:36have been destroyed.
20:37There is a huge
20:38The first
20:39specialists
20:40of the American genius
20:42who discover the port
20:43have the feeling
20:43that they have
20:43for years.
20:44There are
20:45springs
20:45in the RAD,
20:47in the DARS,
20:49with access to ports
20:50in general.
20:51The port
20:52mined,
20:52so operations
20:53will have to have
20:54to destroy
20:55the waters
20:56of Cherbourg.
20:57The transatlantic
20:58of Cherbourg
20:59completely destroyed
20:59with the
21:00bridges
21:01on the ground.
21:04Mine-sweeping
21:05began on July 1st
21:07to enable ships
21:08laden with freight
21:09to dock.
21:11At the same time,
21:12the rebuilding
21:13of the railway tracks
21:14could begin.
21:15The Allies decided
21:16that the railwaymen
21:18of the MRS,
21:19the military railway service,
21:21would be in charge
21:21of the work.
21:23First of all,
21:24they will send
21:24the personnel
21:26to recognize
21:27and see
21:28what state
21:28are the installations
21:29and what they need
21:30to build in priority.
21:31So they will
21:32get the units
21:33of construction soldiers
21:34who will then be
21:36taken by those
21:37of the genius
21:37to rebuild the installations
21:39and restore
21:39the priority axes.
21:42The port was
21:43in no position
21:44to receive the ships
21:45transporting
21:45the railway equipment.
21:47So they had
21:48to make do
21:48with what the Germans
21:49had left behind.
21:50By chance,
21:52in the ruins
21:52of Cherbourg,
21:54American rail workers
21:55came across
21:56around 50 locomotives.
21:59Beaucoup
21:59have been sabotaged
22:00or have not been
22:01undertaken.
22:02They are
22:02out of state
22:04to work.
22:05It will have to
22:06repair them.
22:07Who could
22:08recognize
22:08in this great machine
22:10the squelettic
22:12that went
22:13into repair
22:13two months
22:14before?
22:15And that is out
22:16from the ateliers
22:17all over the 9th?
22:19July 11, 1944.
22:21Only two weeks
22:23after work
22:23had started,
22:24the first train
22:25left Cherbourg.
22:49The first train
22:51made a return journey
22:52to Caronton,
22:5340 km south of Cherbourg.
22:57This resumption
22:59of rail traffic enabled
22:59battle of the
23:00French army
23:01on the
23:02French territory
23:02and by the
23:03highway.
23:04And this train
23:05does not transport
23:05any merchandise
23:06or ammunition.
23:07It transports
23:08military high-graders.
23:10This is the image
23:12of the American army
23:13on the 14th.
23:13On the 14th.
23:14On the 14th.
23:15On the 14th.
23:22This resumption
23:23of rail traffic enabled
23:24the first batches
23:25of supplies to be sent
23:26to the troops
23:27who were liberating
23:28Normandy.
23:29The pace picked up
23:30from July 20th
23:32and the port of Cherbourg
23:33was once again accessible
23:34for ships to dock.
23:38In less than three weeks,
23:40the teams of engineers
23:41had designed
23:41a special jetty
23:42adapted to railway equipment.
23:45On the other
23:46side of the small
23:47trad,
23:47we see
23:48the dig du Homet
23:49and it's the
23:50that in July
23:50the American army
23:51built this
23:52departure.
23:53This will allow
23:54the boats
23:55especially affretted
23:57with material
23:57ferroviaire
23:58to ride directly
23:59to the quay.
24:00There are rails
24:01that come to the
24:02shore.
24:03These boats
24:04are charged
24:05with locomotives
24:06and wagons.
24:07We can directly
24:09pass from these
24:10boats
24:10to the quay
24:11and bring all
24:12this material
24:13to the
24:14merchandise
24:14of Cherbourg.
24:16July 26th.
24:18Two train ferries
24:19the Lakers
24:19and the Texas
24:20arrived in Cherbourg
24:21from Scotland.
24:41To unload
24:43the railway equipment,
24:44the Americans
24:44used another type
24:45of ship,
24:47sea trains.
24:50There are huge
24:51cargoes
24:51in which
24:52there are
24:52roads
24:53at the bottom.
24:53So,
24:54the locomotives
24:55and the wagons
24:56on board
24:57as we would
24:58merchandise.
24:59We have
24:59crues
25:00that allow
25:00the locomotives
25:01that make 80
25:02or 5 tons,
25:03but they are
25:04long.
25:05there are
25:05several hours
25:06to put in
25:06a locomotive
25:07and to be able
25:09to load it.
25:10The enormous quantities
25:12of equipment
25:12to support the army
25:14had to be unloaded
25:15as quickly as possible.
25:16A frenetic pace
25:18that caused accidents.
25:28In a matter of weeks,
25:45Cherbourg
25:46had been transformed
25:47into a huge
25:48railway hub,
25:49just as the Allies
25:50had planned.
25:52All around us,
25:54there was a railway network
25:56developed by the Americans
25:57so that all this material
25:59coming to Cherbourg,
26:01this incredible
26:01tonage
26:01could be transported
26:03to the front lines.
26:04And when we
26:05travel Cherbourg,
26:06or at least
26:07on the other day,
26:08we found
26:09everywhere
26:10these vestiges
26:11of these
26:12ferrées
26:12posed by the Americans.
26:19On July 25, 1944,
26:22despite these logistical
26:24feats,
26:24the liberating troops
26:25were still being held
26:26up in Normandy.
26:28The Allies launched
26:30Operation Cobra
26:31to break German resistance.
26:34On July 25,
26:35the Americans
26:36launched Operation Cobra
26:37which made a German front
26:38that was at the end
26:40of force,
26:41not only by the fights,
26:42but also by the
26:43the difficulty
26:44to ravitailler.
26:45They tried to keep
26:46the maximum,
26:47but once it breaks,
26:48it breaks down
26:49in large numbers.
26:50And there,
26:50the Allies
26:50who are entirely
26:51motorized
26:52will be able
26:52to get into the bridge.
26:54This breakthrough
26:55enabled the troops
26:56to advance
26:56towards Brittany.
26:58This was a new challenge
27:00for the soldiers
27:00of the MRS.
27:02Now they had to work
27:03in sync
27:03with the advance
27:04of troops
27:05not just in Normandy,
27:06but in Brittany,
27:07and above all,
27:08towards Paris.
27:10It was imperative
27:12that rail supplies
27:13should arrive within
27:13less than 100 km
27:15of the front line.
27:16To keep up this pace,
27:18the soldiers laid
27:19temporary tracks.
27:21But it was a very wet summer
27:22in 1944.
27:23The hastily laid tracks
27:26just didn't hold.
27:28There,
27:29where the roads
27:29have been reconstructed
27:30sometimes at the height,
27:31we assist
27:32to the phenomena
27:32provoking
27:33by the heavy rains
27:34that chase the ballast
27:36which had been put
27:37too quickly
27:37and badly
27:38had been tossed.
27:40So it's the catastrophe.
27:41The trains derail,
27:42and the opposite effect
27:43of what we wanted
27:44is that,
27:44instead of losing time,
27:45we lose even more
27:46because we have to take it
27:48and put it in place.
27:53At the liberation,
27:55because of the bombardments,
27:56there were a lot of
27:57tronçons of the road
27:58to repair
27:58and we didn't have the time
28:00to put the road
28:01correctly.
28:01It often lacked the ballast.
28:03We didn't have the time
28:04to do this work.
28:05The ballast
28:06has two main functions.
28:08The first,
28:09it's to distribute
28:10a little bit
28:11the charge of the trains
28:12on a larger surface
28:14and it's also
28:15the function
28:15to stabilize the road.
28:17When a train passes,
28:18there are quite important efforts
28:20on the rails,
28:21the road won't move.
28:22If we didn't have
28:22these walls,
28:23the road would be
28:24at every passage of the train.
28:27The other interest
28:27of the ballast,
28:28or at least the way
28:29we build it,
28:30is that it allows
28:30a good drainage of the water.
28:31Because if there's not that,
28:33the rain will stagnate
28:35and we risk
28:36that there are
28:36traverses in wood
28:37and that's exactly
28:39what happened in 1944,
28:41since the Normandie
28:41was at the time
28:43a place where
28:43it was a lot of rain.
28:45As well as building
28:46stable tracks,
28:48the engineers also had
28:49to rebuild the rail infrastructure
28:51that locomotives needed
28:52to fully operate.
28:54These steam engines
28:54required a huge amount
28:56of water.
28:58In a locomotive,
28:59there are 4 to 6 tons
29:00of carbon
29:01for 20 tons of water.
29:02And a train
29:03that makes a big race,
29:05that makes 200 or 300 km,
29:06will stop several times
29:07to take the water,
29:08but not the carbon.
29:09The carbon takes it
29:10at its start point
29:10and it takes 250 km
29:13while the water
29:13uses 2 or 3 times
29:19in the normal times,
29:21every station
29:22had a hydraulic pump.
29:23But bombing
29:24and sabotage
29:25had put most
29:26of these pumps
29:26out of action.
29:28So they had to be rebuilt.
29:31In the meantime,
29:32the American soldiers
29:33had to be resourceful.
29:36We have an anecdote
29:38of a locomotive
29:39that was removed
29:40with a supply of water
29:41that was attached
29:42to the facilities
29:45of locomotives.
29:46Imagine that
29:47this small supply
29:48that must have
29:49a limit limit
29:50to which we want
29:51to fill the reserve
29:52of the locomotive
29:53which should be 15
29:54or 20 m3
29:55to fill.
29:55So we will have
29:57hours and hours
29:58to fill.
29:59So we will stop
29:59at the river.
30:01We will stop
30:01to call the firefighters
30:03to fill the locomotive.
30:04The bombshells
30:05are improvised
30:07that we would
30:07be able to use
30:08for better use.
30:09At the depots
30:09of Olnoy,
30:10this installation
30:11of water
30:11in a lot of
30:14large boats
30:15will be used
30:16until spring.
30:22Despite their
30:23resourcefulness,
30:24the American military
30:25found it hard
30:26to keep pace
30:26with the Allied troops,
30:28who were advancing
30:29sometimes several
30:30hundred kilometers
30:30a day.
30:33This was the case
30:34of the Third Army
30:35under General Patton.
30:37After Operation Cobra,
30:39the division advanced
30:40to Angers,
30:41then Laval
30:41and Le Mans.
30:42On August 12th,
30:43they were forced
30:44to stop due to lack
30:45of supplies.
30:46Patton was furious.
31:05To fulfill Patton's request,
31:0811 regiments of engineers
31:10worked day and night,
31:11ignoring the threat
31:12of German snipers.
31:13The zone had only just been
31:15liberated and wasn't
31:16completely secure.
31:18After five days
31:19of intensive work,
31:20a first convoy
31:22of 22 trains
31:23arrived at the
31:23station of Le Mans.
31:26For the drivers,
31:27it was a real
31:28exploit,
31:29because they rode
31:30on this line
31:31without a signal
31:33or communication system.
31:35The trains
31:35were sometimes
31:36overcharged,
31:37so when there was a
31:38rampant,
31:38they couldn't jump,
31:39they had to go
31:40to take their
31:41drive.
31:42All this is the risk
31:42that the following train,
31:44having no signal
31:45or communication
31:46with the front,
31:47they would be
31:47on the risk of accidents.
31:51I think the man
31:52who most understood
31:53the role of the railways
31:54was General Patton.
31:56He built the line
31:57through from Avrance
31:58down southwards
32:00for about 100 miles
32:02and got it built
32:03kind of within
32:04three or four days,
32:05because he realised
32:06that without the support
32:07of that line,
32:09his move to Paris
32:10would be halted.
32:13Thanks to the rail network,
32:15Patton galloped
32:15towards Paris.
32:18Three days later,
32:19700 kilometers away,
32:21a second invasion
32:22took place.
32:24On August 15th, 1944,
32:26two months after D-Day,
32:28260,000 Allied soldiers
32:30launched their assault
32:31on Provence.
32:33Eisenhower,
32:33who will arrive in Normandy,
32:35would like to have
32:36a departure in Provence
32:37to take the Germans
32:38in the tunnel,
32:39and initially,
32:39the departure in Provence
32:40should have happened
32:41at the same time
32:41as the departure in Normandy.
32:44For logistical reasons,
32:45the Allies
32:46put off the Provence
32:47landing until August 15th,
32:49Allied troops
32:50advanced easily
32:51through the region.
32:53Hitler had ordered
32:54his troops to fall back,
32:55except in Toulon
32:56and Marseille.
32:58The Führer was well aware
33:00of the power of combined
33:01port and rail strength.
33:05Hitler, in fact,
33:06orders a return
33:08towards the Jura,
33:09in any case,
33:10north of Lyon,
33:11except for the guards
33:12of Marseille
33:12and Toulon,
33:13which are called
33:15fortresses,
33:15which must be held
33:16until the last time.
33:20The Germans
33:20are locked up
33:21in these fortresses,
33:22which were prepared
33:23for several months
33:24in advance,
33:25and must be held
33:25if possible
33:26for more than a year.
33:28But Marseille and Toulon
33:30were liberated
33:30in two weeks.
33:34The victory was
33:35especially important
33:36because it enabled
33:37engineers to get
33:37straight to work.
33:40The railways had to be
33:42put back into action
33:43as quickly as possible
33:44to support the liberation
33:45effort.
33:47In Provence,
33:48the Allied troops
33:49advanced quicker
33:50than planned.
33:51The rail network
33:52was not as dense
33:53as in Normandy.
34:07What's more,
34:08the tracks in the south
34:09were in better condition.
34:13In the south,
34:15they suffered less
34:15from bombardments
34:16than in the north.
34:17Of course,
34:18all the roads
34:18on Rhône
34:19have jumped.
34:20It's going to have
34:21to rebuild them.
34:21Like most of the roads
34:23on secondary rivers.
34:27To rebuild these bridges,
34:29the military engineers
34:30used prefabricated
34:32easily transportable
34:33structures
34:33called Bailey Bridges.
34:37Larger structures
34:38require the engineers
34:40to come up with
34:40some ingenious ideas,
34:42such as at the
34:43Meyron Viaduct
34:44in Aix-en-Provence.
34:46On va avoir parfois
34:48des réutilisations
34:51complètement improvisées.
34:52On a l'exemple
34:53de ce canon allemand
34:54qui était sur
34:55un énorme châssis
34:56métallique.
34:57On a démonté le canon,
34:59on a enlevé les roues
34:59et on a utilisé le châssis
35:00pour en faire
35:01une travée de pont
35:02pour permettre
35:02aux trains de passer.
35:04Bien entendu,
35:05une locomotive
35:06ça pèse 120 tonnes
35:07à peu près.
35:08Les wagons pèsent 20 tonnes.
35:09Les wagons de voyageurs
35:1050 tonnes.
35:11Alors là, il faut passer
35:12très doucement.
35:13Ça craque,
35:13ça plie,
35:14mais ça passe quand même.
35:15Les réseaux de voyageurs
35:17en Provence
35:18étaient rapidement
35:18en action.
35:21Mais afin d'attendre
35:22le temps
35:23avec les troupes,
35:24les Alliés
35:24pouvaient rébuilder
35:26les lignes
35:26en une direction.
35:29Donc,
35:29à éviter des accidents,
35:31reconstruire le système
35:32de signalisation
35:33a été une priorité.
35:35Si on veut engager
35:36plusieurs trains
35:37sur une même ligne,
35:38il faut un système
35:39de communication
35:40entre les gares
35:41pour dire, attention,
35:42j'envoie un train
35:42de la gare de départ
35:43pour prévenir la gare d'arrivée.
35:45Parce que si on envoie
35:4610 trains
35:46et on ne sait pas
35:47les stationner
35:47dans la gare d'arrivée,
35:48ça va poser un problème.
35:50Les soldats
35:51du SIGNAL CORPS
35:52arrivent leur propre.
35:53Cette unité américaine
35:55spécialisée
35:56en restaurer
35:56des systèmes de communication
35:57et des informations
35:58de information.
36:01On n'a pas le temps
36:01de remettre en place
36:02des poteaux,
36:03donc il arrive même
36:04qu'on fasse dérouler
36:05des câbles
36:06le long de la voie
36:06posés à même le sol
36:07pour transmettre
36:08les signaux
36:09et pour pouvoir faire
36:10circuler les trains.
36:15Si le système
36:16n'était pas
36:17en opération,
36:19ils devraient
36:19temporairement
36:20utiliser
36:20l'ancienne
36:22comme
36:22le pilote.
36:25Le système
36:26du bâton-pilote
36:28permet de résoudre
36:29le problème
36:29des voies uniques.
36:31Ça existe par exemple
36:32dans l'automobile,
36:33on met des feux rouges
36:34alternés
36:35quand il y a un chantier.
36:36Le problème
36:37d'un train,
36:37c'est qu'il lui faut
36:38des centaines
36:38de mètres pour s'arrêter.
36:41Quand il se voit
36:41nez à nez,
36:42c'est trop tard.
36:43Il ne reste plus
36:43qu'à se rentrer dedans.
36:45Un mécanicien
36:46qui part,
36:47on lui donne un bâton
36:48qui existe
36:48en exemplaire unique.
36:50Il n'a qu'un bâton
36:51par la ligne,
36:51il prend le bâton
36:52avec lui
36:52donc il sait
36:53qu'il est le seul
36:54à le voir.
36:55Un train ne peut pas
36:56circuler sans
36:56le bâton-pilote.
36:58À l'arrivée
36:58à la gare B,
37:00il remet le bâton
37:01et le bâton
37:02sera donné
37:02à un conducteur
37:03d'un train
37:03qui ira donc
37:04en sens inverse.
37:05C'est très simple,
37:07c'est très vieux.
37:07Ça date
37:08des débuts
37:08du chemin de fer
37:09dans les années
37:101810-1820.
37:13D'un coup,
37:15un grand nombre
37:15de renouvellement
37:16de renouvellement
37:16a reçu
37:17des forces
37:17avec le MRS
37:18pour rébuilder
37:19le réseau.
37:21En même temps,
37:22les comptes officielles
37:22ne mentionnent pas
37:23ceci,
37:24la partenaire
37:24a évoqué
37:25des problèmes.
37:27Les Américains
37:29imaginent tout
37:29faire tout seul.
37:30Ils ont prévu
37:31de tout faire tout seul.
37:31Ils ont amené
37:32leur conducteur de train,
37:34leur équipe,
37:34le service du génie.
37:36Tout doit se faire
37:36sans l'aide des Français
37:38qui ne comprennent pas
37:38pourquoi on les maitrise.
37:39Ils ont même le sentiment
37:40qu'on les considère
37:41presque comme des collabos.
37:58En France,
37:59le chemin de fer
38:00roule à gauche.
38:01C'est-à-dire que
38:02les locomotives
38:02et la signalisation
38:04sont implantées
38:04pour circuler à gauche.
38:05Aux États-Unis,
38:07on a une exploitation
38:08où on roule à droite
38:09et donc les Américains
38:11arrivent en disant
38:12on va rouler à droite.
38:13Ils n'écoutent pas
38:13les Français qui leur disent
38:14mais non, tout est fait
38:15pour rouler à gauche.
38:16Ils leur disent,
38:17laissez-nous faire
38:17et ils font rouler
38:18leur premier train à droite.
38:19C'est une vraie catastrophe
38:20parce que rien n'est prévu.
38:22Vu des Français
38:22qui voient arriver
38:23des Américains
38:25qui jouent les gros bras
38:26et qui, dans certains cas,
38:27donnent le départ des trains
38:28au pistolet.
38:29Donc c'est très mal vu
38:30des Français.
38:42A few days before,
38:44Parisian railway workers
38:45went on strike.
38:47Officiellement,
38:48ils la font
38:49pour exiger une hausse
38:50de salaire,
38:51mais dans les faits,
38:51le but, c'est d'empêcher
38:53les Allemands d'utiliser
38:54le rail pour se repiller.
38:55Tout au long de l'été,
38:56il y a des grèves
38:57dans les ateliers,
38:59dans les dépôts
39:00de la région parisienne
39:01et à partir du 10 août 1944,
39:04un ordre est donné
39:06par la CFTC et la CGT
39:08de se mettre en grève.
39:13Cette grève bloque
39:14complètement le retrait
39:16des troupes allemandes
39:16par le rail,
39:17depuis la gare de l'Est,
39:18depuis la gare du Nord.
39:19Ils sont obligés
39:19de partir uniquement
39:20par la route,
39:21ce qui va encore freiner
39:23leur retraite.
39:24Pendant ces jours
39:25de grève,
39:26les cheminots aussi
39:27défendent les emprises
39:29ferrovialles,
39:29les ateliers et les dépôts
39:31par crainte de destruction
39:32par les Allemands
39:33dont on pensait
39:34qu'ils étaient tout à fait
39:36capables et susceptibles
39:37de faire sauter
39:37tout ce qui restait
39:39dans la capitale
39:40et en particulier
39:41dans le domaine ferroviaire.
39:44Le mouvement,
39:45started by the railway
39:46workers,
39:47turned into a general
39:48strike
39:48and fed into
39:49the Paris uprising.
39:51On the 25th,
39:52Paris was liberated.
39:55Four days later,
39:56the first train arrived
39:57at the Batignolle station.
40:00At the end of August 1944,
40:0318,000 men and 5,000 prisoners
40:05of war started working
40:07on the renovation
40:07of the rail network
40:09throughout France.
40:10The Dreux and Chartres lines
40:11were opened in both directions.
40:14In spite of these successes,
40:16the network was unable
40:17to keep up with the troops
40:18who had started their campaign
40:19eastwards.
40:20At the beginning of September,
40:22the front line came to a halt.
40:25From September,
40:26the armed forces
40:27are on the integrity
40:28of the front,
40:29by the lack of fuel
40:30and by the lack
40:31of ammunition.
40:33The improvisations
40:34that were made
40:35in August
40:36end up reaching
40:37their limits.
40:38The distances are too long.
40:39The cars are too tired.
40:40Three months after D-Day,
40:42Cherbourg was still
40:43the only launch pad
40:44for rail supplies.
40:47And it was 600 km away
40:49from the eastern front.
40:53A l'origine,
40:55les Alliés avaient prévu
40:56de libérer
40:57plusieurs ports
40:58en eau profonde
40:59pour compléter Cherbourg.
41:00Mais la percée
41:01ayant été exploité
41:02très rapidement,
41:04il n'a pas été possible
41:04de libérer
41:05les ports de Bretagne
41:06comme c'était initialement
41:07envisagé.
41:08Et lors de leur remontée
41:10le long de la Manche,
41:11ils libèrent des ports
41:12qui sont ravagés,
41:14qu'il est difficile
41:15de remettre en état
41:16parce que les services
41:17du génie
41:17ne peuvent pas être partout.
41:18Ils sont déjà en train
41:19de rétablir les voies ferrées,
41:20de reconstruire des ponts.
41:21Ils ne peuvent pas non plus
41:22être sur les ruines
41:23du Havre et de Rouen.
41:24Donc, on s'en remet
41:25toujours à Cherbourg.
41:35Cherbourg devient
41:36la clé de voûte
41:37de la logistique américaine.
41:38Entre 15 000
41:39et 20 000 tonnes de matériel
41:40sont déchargées
41:41tous les jours.
41:42Pour les Américains,
41:43il va falloir optimiser
41:45le réseau ferroviaire français
41:46en Normandie.
41:47Donc, on va créer
41:48les grandes gares de triage
41:50au sud de Cherbourg
41:51et aussi dans le Calvados
41:53de manière à pouvoir
41:55stocker ces wagons
41:56en attente de partance
41:57pour le front.
42:10Envers doit régler tous les problèmes,
42:12parce que lui, il sort
42:12à tout près du front,
42:13il aura un débit considérable,
42:15ce qui fait qu'on n'aura plus besoin
42:16des ports bretons,
42:17on n'aura plus besoin
42:17même de Cherbourg.
42:19Septembre 4,
42:20Antwerp
42:21a été capturé.
42:22Mais la joie
42:23a été short-lived.
42:24Le port était intact
42:25mais inaccessible.
42:27Pour éviter les Alliés
42:28d'utiliser
42:29les armes allemands
42:31qui étaient en train
42:31de se situer
42:32sur les banques
42:32du rive Scheldt,
42:33qui donnaient accès
42:34à la porte.
42:37Hitler, qui a tout compris,
42:39sait que le temps
42:40que les bouches de l'Escot
42:41sont allemandes
42:42envers est inutilisable.
42:43Il ordonne
42:44de tenir ses bouches
42:45jusqu'au dernier orum.
42:47Les Allemands
42:47vont s'y retrancher.
42:49Hitler a essayé
42:50de acheter le temps.
42:51Mais l'outcome
42:52était inévitable.
42:54Après 85 jours
42:55de lutte,
42:55l'estuer
42:56du rive
42:57de l'Escot
42:59en 8 novembre 1944.
43:02Grâce à l'accès
43:02à la porte d'Antwerp,
43:04les trains
43:04pouvaient les troupes
43:06et les apparaître
43:06jusqu'à Berlin.
43:08La France
43:09a été libérée
43:10en 8 novembre 1945
43:11quand l'Allemagne
43:12a surrendered.
43:13Mais l'essentiel
43:14rôle du riveau
43:15et la libération
43:16est souvent
43:16oubliée.
43:19Le rail a été essentiel
43:21dans le débarquement.
43:22En tout cas,
43:22le débarquement
43:23et la libération
43:24de la France
43:24s'est fait
43:25à un rythme
43:26qui n'aurait pas pu être
43:27possible s'il n'y avait pas eu
43:29de l'Escot
43:31de l'Escot
43:36de l'Escot
43:43de l'Escot
43:57C'est estimé
43:57qu'il y a moins
43:582,229
44:00travailleurs
44:01de la route
44:01ou déportés
44:03pendant la guerre
44:04pour actes
44:05de résistance.
44:06Très bien
44:06le rôle
44:08qui a joué
44:08dans la guerre,
44:09la résistance
44:10a également aidé
44:10à fosterer
44:11aux travailleurs
44:11un sens de
44:12belonging
44:13à la SNCF,
44:14qui a été créé
44:16seulement avant
44:17la guerre
44:18qui a été créé
44:44en France.
44:45Les anciennes compagnies,
44:46c'est le profit,
44:48c'est la région,
44:48c'est l'économie.
44:49Mais la SNCF,
44:50c'est la France.
44:55Sous-titrage
44:57...
44:57...
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