Скачать или смотреть The Strange Machine Behind Germany’s Retreat,

In 1944, as Allied armies advanced through Italy, retreating German forces launched a hidden war against infrastructure. Using a machine called the Schwellenpflug, or railway plow, they tore up tracks in minutes. This heavy steel device was dragged behind locomotives, ripping out wooden sleepers, bending rails, and destroying the ballast foundation. Unlike simple explosions, the damage required full reconstruction. Railways were vital in Italy’s mountainous terrain, supplying fuel, ammunition, and food to frontline units. By destroying these lines, Germany slowed Allied logistics, created supply bottlenecks, and forced engineering units to rebuild tracks under artillery fire. This scorched-earth strategy did not change the outcome of the campaign, but it bought valuable time. It allowed German forces to reorganize defenses, withdraw in better order, and delay Allied offensives. The Schwellenpflug was not a wonder weapon, but a tool of industrial warfare, showing that in modern conflict, controlling supply lines can be just as powerful as controlling the battlefield itself.