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 would have 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.

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.