German Railways in the East

[GregSingh]

Makeshift field railway bridge over the valley of Moch in large Don bend in the year 1942
Any ideas where this is?

I am now 99% sure that photograph shows Michnowo (Михново) brigde on Ostrogoshsk-Jewdakowo railroad.
Looks very similar to this one:

Michnowo bridge 1942

Source of this photo:
"Report from the travel to the German's railway pioneers operating area, southern front, 13.9. - 16.10.1942" by Finnish Army Major, engineer U.Kivikuru.
Member of this Forum kindly located the document for us in the Finnish National Archives (folder number T 22470/124).

Here are some details about the project.

It had been referred to as Gniloje - Jewdakowo railroad. Gniloe (Gniloye / Гнилое) is a small village near Ostrogoshsk, where new railroad started (0.0km) - it can be found on the German map I uploaded earlier.
It had length of 28.5km and construction was divided into four sections with different German unit responsible for each one:
Bauabschnitt I - Eisenbahn-Bau-Kompanie 126 (EBK 126)
Bauabschnitt II - 3./Eisenbahnpionier-Regiment 6 (3./6)
Bauabschnitt III - Brücken-Bau-Bataillon 37
Bauabschnitt IV - 4./Eisenbahnpionier-Regiment 6 (4./6)

3000 pioneers and Org.Todd members were involved, together with 10000 Soviet POWs.

8 bridges were built, longest - Petrenkowo bridge had 462.2m, Michnowo brigde was second with 181.8m

Responsible for the whole project - construction manager Major Grambow.

[Der Alte Fritz]

Wow that is a huge project. They had obviously decided that this was going to be a major defensive line along the Don bend. That is around half the EBP force in the HG Sud area.

[Dann Falk]

I agree it appears that both photos show the same bridge. But looking closely, one can see this bridge is a new RR bridge in a new location and not a rebuilding of a destroyed bridge. This “makeshift field railway bridge” appears to be on a bypass line, meaning it was thought to be faster/easier to build a new bridge, and rail line, in a different location than to rebuild the original one.

At least that is what I see...

[GregSingh]

I am not 100% sure myself, although the whole Ostrogoshsk-Jewdakowo railroad seems to be exactly "makeshift bypass line" as proper line existed, but was too close to a front line to use it.

[Sergo66]

Michnowo brigde was second with 181.8m
https://digit.wdr.de/entries/26096?inde ... &qt=search
https://digit.wdr.de/entries/26095?inde ... &qt=search
https://digit.wdr.de/entries/26094?inde ... &qt=search

[Sergo66]

Coordinates the Michnowo brigde 50.761203,39.319971
https://maps.google.ru/maps?q=50.761203 ... 5&t=h&z=16
https://maps.yandex.ru/-/CVGl6XYO

[Der Alte Fritz]

duplicate

[Der Alte Fritz]

Are you sure.? All the photos have the same caption

42-11-02_Petrenkovo_Behelfsbrücke_Belastungstest

but there are three pictures like this in the series:

[GregSingh]

Good find and nice photos.
Yeah, description on web page https://digit.wdr.de is wrong. They labelled both bridges Petrenkowo, but one is Petrenkowo the other Michnowo bridge. That with two locomotives on is Petrenkowo bridge.

And coordinates of Michnowo bridge provided by Sergo66 are spot on! Earthworks are clearly visible today.
Petrenkowo bridge was further to the west.

Photo from the Finnish report.

Petrenkowo bridge 1942

[GregSingh]

Location of Petrenkowo bridge is more difficult to find. Bridge was above stream and a road.
Coordinates of the middle of the Petrenkowo bridge are 50.786110, 39.152574

And that was its location based on map from Major U.Kivikuru report.

Position of Petrenkowo bridge

[Sergo66]

Construction of Soviet POWs railway Gniloje - Jewdakowo. In the photo-section passing through the village of Petrenkovo. Top right is the Church of the Holy Spirit
http://bvf.ru/forum/showpost.php?p=2268 ... stcount=15

[Der Alte Fritz]

Serg066 has some cracking photos of the construction:



I am staggered by the work undertaken to get this railway line built. NO wonder the needed 10,000 locals to do the digging.

[GregSingh]

NO wonder the needed 10,000 locals to do the digging.

Major U.Kivikuru report has some numbers:

Bauabschnitt I - Abtrag 138,000 m3, Auftrag 74,000 m3
Bauabschnitt II - Abtrag 123,000 m3, Auftrag 41,000 m3
Bauabschnitt III - Abtrag 169,000 m3, Auftrag 171,000 m3
Bauabschnitt IV - Abtrag 269,700 m3, Auftrag 32,500 m3

So it's 699,700 m3 dug out, but only 318,500 m3 filled.

[Sergo66]

"Report from the travel to the German's railway pioneers operating area, southern front, 13.9. - 16.10.1942" by Finnish Army Major, engineer U.Kivikuru.
Member of this Forum kindly located the document for us in the Finnish National Archives (folder number T 22470/124)

If you can read this report? How to find? Good to see the photos in good quality

[Sergo66]

Strassen Bau Gniloje - Jewdakowo 1942