Conduct railway communications enemy scale guerrilla operations during the Second World War offered the colonel the olden days, the saboteur bomber.His ideas were supported by the head of TSSHPD (Central Staff of the partisan movement) Lieutenant General Ponomarenko, who gave them to Stalin and received approval for their implementation.
large-scale guerrilla sabotage was called "Operation Rail War".It was decided to hold it in front of the most important strategic battle of Kursk.On the eve of the Battle of the balance of forces opponents were approximately equal.The outcome of the battle is largely dependent on how well will be a maneuver troops to use the reserves and, most importantly, to provide conditions for supplying the army with everything necessary.
"Rail war" - was prepared by the event.The guerrilla training centers and schools, increased the number of trained professionals and trainers demolition.
for disabling the entire railway infrastructure of the enemy on the scale in which it was planned, it was required a huge amount of the explosives and detonators, which was not the guerrillas.Purchasing groups carried out with the help of long-range aviation forces.
"Rail war" planned to implement on the front, which extends thousands of kilometers from north to south, and seven hundred and fifty kilometers from west to east depth.Carry out sabotage assumed in three stages, each of which was to last for fifteen to thirty days.
"Rail war" began in 1943, the 3rd of August.Communications enemy simultaneously attacked seventy-four thousand guerrillas.
Ponomarenko, using ideas Starinov subsequently developed its own plan of subversive activities.Ponomarenko thought that risky strikes on enemy echelons inappropriate.According to him, it was enough to cause pinpoint strikes at the railroad, undermining rails using small charges.Thus, it was planned to create a shortage of railroad tracks from the Germans and the collapse of the transport system to the Kursk battle.
Starinov, in turn, defended his point of view, arguing that the enemy echelons of strategic purpose.Besides that destroyed rails just enough to recover in comparison to the completion of the damage caused by the collapse of the train.This would lead to a much more widespread destruction and interruptions in the movement.
As a result, old man was sent to the headquarters of the Ukrainian and Ponomarenko continued to implement its plan.
Not without the traditional Soviet formalism.Ponomarenko set for guerrilla groups in the number of a specific plan undermined the rail.It should be noted that this approach has brought more harm.The order mentioned undermining not only the basic, but also spare parts, as well as poorly or not at all protected paths.As a result, many commanders prefer to blow up minor ways unexploited branches.
Thus the Germans learned quickly enough to restore the "point of damage," which, I must say, there were usually no more than 30-35 centimeters.They invented the "railway bridge", which is superimposed on the destroyed site.Lack of web offset with the Nazis used rarely Belgian, Dutch branches.
Thus, the "rail war" in the first phase caused by different estimates more damage of the Red Army than the Germans.
During the second and third phase of the leadership of the guerrilla movement has taken into account the error.This time not carried out single "point" explosions, and blew up the rails in large areas, destroying ties.In December 1943, the third stage.
Despite the mistakes, "Rail war" has reduced the main cargo that came from Europe to the East, more than 30%.
