Chapter 57

Wilhelm feigned a look of distress. "I'm thinking about how to transport your country's minerals to mine quickly and efficiently. With such large quantities to transport, trucks are not feasible; we can only rely on railway transportation."

Since taking power, the mustached Wilhelm had prioritized military preparations, placing greater emphasis on railway construction. He unified and consolidated various railway companies, establishing the German Railway Company, which was later renamed Deutsche Bahn in 1937. After pledging loyalty to Wilhelm, the former Director General of the German Railway, Julius Dorpmüller, became the Minister of Imperial Transportation. The entire railway system began to develop more precise plans for wartime transportation.

During the swift Polish Blitz in 1939 and the Battle of France in 1940, the German Railway successfully fulfilled its tasks, including transporting troops and evacuating civilians. Since Germany had not yet initiated a full-scale mobilization, many modern trains continued to serve domestic and passenger transportation purposes. At times, the German Railway even employed outdated locomotives for wartime missions. The acceptance and adaptation of the Polish and French railway systems posed no significant challenges since they shared standard track gauges and relatively modern technology.

In Poland, the Germans established the Eastern Railway, which operated on the same level as the German Railway. On the western front, while the railways were primarily under the jurisdiction of the respective countries, the German West Railway Transportation Department (ETRA) was established in Paris to oversee local railway operations.

Up until 1941, the German Railway seemed to be operating smoothly, but then Barbarossa arrived. Considering the logistical challenges of attacking the Soviet Union, the Germans devised the Otto Plan, which involved extensive expansion of the Eastern Railway. The construction was completed by June 15, just one week before the invasion of the Soviet Union. To facilitate military movements for the attack on the Soviet Union, the German Railway and the Eastern Railway secretly deployed 34,000 trains from February 25 to June 23, transporting personnel, equipment, and supplies for 141 divisions to the Soviet-German border. The German Army High Command commented that the railway system's performance exceeded their expectations.

However, while the German Railway's performance surpassed expectations, the condition of the Soviet railway system failed to surprise the German military. Compared to the well-organized railway networks in the West, the Soviet railways were generally primitive. The most concentrated (relatively speaking) railway hubs in the Soviet Union were located in Moscow, Leningrad, and Donetsk. On the borders, only four double-track railways could potentially be utilized by the German army: from the Neman River to Leningrad, from the Bug River via Orlsha to Moscow, from the Bug River via Klimontow to Donetsk, and from the San River to Odessa. These east-west railways intersected with six north-south railways, but in the vast territories of western Soviet Union, they remained sparse.

Additionally, due to incomplete intelligence about the Soviet Union, the German Railway severely underestimated the primitiveness of the Soviet railway system. The Germans only knew that the Soviet railways had broad gauge tracks. It was only after invading the Soviet Union that they discovered the state of the railway system resembled that of World War I. Most of the railways (except for the line from Kharkov to Moscow) were built on soft sandy foundations, and the sleepers were also relatively soft pine wood. For example, the German standard rail had a carrying capacity of 49 kilograms per meter, while the Soviet standard was 38 kilograms per meter. The German railways used 1,600 sleepers per kilometer, whereas the Soviet railways used 1,440. The Germans secured the rail tracks with screws and washers, while the Soviets used long nails directly. Similarly, most of the Soviet railway bridges were virtually useless and required reinforcement to transport tanks and other heavy equipment, not to mention the outdated railway signaling equipment, which was mostly relics from World War I.

The German General Staff demanded the occupation of as much of the Soviet railway network as possible and hoped for minimal destruction when the Soviet forces retreated. Fortunately, they achieved both objectives due to the rapid advance of the German army and the unpreparedness of the Soviet forces. The railways mostly fell intact into German hands, although the German Railway held a pessimistic view, considering the dilapidated infrastructure as worthless. To cope with the pressure, Germany established the Eastern Operations Office in Warsaw, attempting to coordinate railway transport efficiency on the Soviet front.

Although the number of trains dispatched daily from Germany to the front increased from 600 to 900, the actual amount of supplies reaching the front lines was minimal. As the Russian winter arrived, the Eastern Railway finally collapsed. The Central Army Group received a minimum supply of 75 trains per day, but in reality, it was no more than 40 trains, and at times as few as 25 trains. The Northern Army Group received an allocation of 30 trains, but only around 10 trains were received.

It wasn't until the spring of 1942, when Speer took over the German Railway, that the system regained its strength under his vigorous management.

Wilhelm, of course, wanted to be prepared in advance and solve these problems early. "Transporting minerals here is troublesome, and shipping finished products back is also a difficult matter. With the existing means, it's too challenging. Unless..."

"Unless what?" Tukhachevsky asked eagerly, wanting to know Wilhelm's solution.

"Unless we can unify the railways," Wilhelm said calmly, revealing his plan. "But your country's railway system is not compatible with Europe's. If we can modify your railways to match the same gauge as Europe's, then transporting minerals would be convenient."

"!!" Tukhachevsky raised an eyebrow slightly. He was no fool and understood the implications of having standardized railway gauges. Once the railway gauges were unified, it would not only facilitate the transportation of minerals now but also strategic supplies in the future!

Not giving Tukhachevsky much time to contemplate, Wilhelm continued, "Ideally, this railway should stretch from the border all the way to the Ural Mountains. This way, various minerals from the Urals can be continuously transported." In the future, the German army could also advance along this railway, and the supply aspect would be exceptionally convenient.

As for whether the Soviets would agree, Wilhelm was uncertain.

Perhaps when the Soviets finished reviewing the blueprints for the "super battleship" and realized they lacked the capacity to build it, they would consent. After all, at first glance, it seemed like the Soviets would benefit greatly from constructing such a "super battleship." They only needed to extract minerals from the mountains and transport them to Germany, and in the near future, they would receive a "super battleship."

Where else could such a favorable deal be found? Apart from Germany, no other country would be willing to do it! Would the UK, France, or the US agree? That remained to be seen.

After pondering for a while, Tukhachevsky shook his head. "Although Your Highness Wilhelm's proposal is good, we don't have the extra funds to modify the railways. Furthermore, if this railway is modified, our trains on other rail networks would no longer be able to operate on this line, which would be inconvenient for us."

"That's simple," Wilhelm said casually. "In that case, let's build a dedicated ore transportation line from the Ural Mountains to the border, connecting it to Europe. That would be convenient. As for the investment in this railway, of course, it would be covered by your side. However, you can consider using the ore as compensation and leave it to us to handle."

During this era, building railways was not difficult. It wasn't like constructing modern high-speed trains; there was no need for advanced seamless steel rails or ballastless tracks. Moreover, it didn't require large sums of money for relocation compensation. In the Soviet Union, if they said they needed land, they would immediately obtain it!

Therefore, the only remaining expense was for constructing the railway, and if the Soviet Union lacked funds, they could use ore as a form of payment!

However, Wilhelm knew that it was impossible for Tukhachevsky to make an immediate decision on such a significant project. "General, you can go back and discuss this," Wilhelm said. If the Soviet side did not agree to build the railway, he would have to resort to Plan B and use containers instead, which would still improve efficiency significantly.

The meeting ended on a mutually satisfying note.

Tukhachevsky boarded the plane, carrying outdated designs of armored reconnaissance vehicles, tanks, trucks and other equipment. On the plane, he learned a shocking secret from Natasha's mouth: Germany had successfully developed a 150-ton super tank!