Military Engineers and the Bailey Bridge
Reading about the war in Italy, it becomes very evident just how important military bridging was and is. Italy is crosscut by rivers, big and small, as well as streams and canals. The water flow varies widely throughout the year and can rise very quickly, as it can in any mountainous region. This creates major obstacles to movement, especially for larger vehicles like tanks and self-propelled artillery, as well as the trucks and other vehicles needed to supply an army. Of course that didn’t only apply to Italy; bridging was also important in other sectors. But in Italy it was especially crucial (over 3000 fixed bridges were built by Fifth and Eighth armies).
Troops could often cross a water obstacle without a bridge, but they needed a bridge for armour to follow-up and aid the attack. So, infantry and engineers had to work together. Infantry established a bridgehead (often with the help of rafts and storm boats piloted by engineers) which controlled territory on the other side of the river, thus allowing engineers to throw a bridge across without being shot up or bombed too badly. Then, that bridge would allow the tanks and other support vehicles to cross the river to help out the infantry. That also allowed supplies like ammunition and food to be supplied and for casualties to be evacuated to facilities farther behind the active front.
In the Second World War, the Allied engineers had a number of types of bridges to choose from depending on the requirements of the job. But the go-to bridge tended to be the widely used and famous Bailey Bridge (designed by civil engineer Donald Coleman Bailey). The reason for this was its versatility – it could be made to span various lengths and carry various loads, depending on the needs of the mission.
The Bailey bridge was actually constructed from a basic set of panels and related hardware and supports (pins, tie plates, etc.) used to attach the panels to each other. They were of a standard size (ten feet by five feet) and weight (about 600 pounds) and were relatively easy to construct, being made out of standard steel and with relatively large tolerances in production. That way they could be made by all sorts of manufacturing companies in Britain, the Commonwealth countries and the United States. They could also be transported to the site in standard size trucks (or lorries) and man-handled by a crew of six to ten men.
The panels could be joined together in multiple configurations of widths and heights, with the resulting bridge going by names such as single-single, single-double, etc., all the way up to triple-triple. The first term indicated the number of panels used for a girder and the second term indicated the height of the bridge in stories.
There were, of course, cross pieces (transoms) for flooring, which were ultimately “skin-decked” with wood, referred to as chess (rather appropriate term, considering chess is a war game). Various I-beams, braces and stringers were used to complete the structure and give it strength.
The bridge was built piece by piece and ultimately launched across the span on rollers. The launching was done by both men and machines, including tanks and bulldozers. Often, all this was done at night or under smoke to prevent the enemy from shelling or shooting at the bridge and its builders during construction. Naturally, that didn’t always work out, so bridges were built under fire at times.
A bridge could be put across a span of 100-200 feet in a short time, often under a day. I should note that the bridge could also be carried to the river on a modified tank, which could drive into the (presumably not deep) water, the bridge then lowered, with the tank then driving away.
The bridges were given rating classes to indicate how much weight they could safely carry. For example a Class 9 could carry trucks of about 3 tons, while a Class 40 could carry a heavy tank (about 40 tons). Often a footbridge was built along the side of the Bailey, to allow infantry to cross a river while vehicle traffic took the roadway.
Over time the Bailey bridge took many forms – from a floating Bailey (resting on pontoons) to a suspension bridge Bailey, using panels to build the high towers from which the suspension cables hung. Baileys could also be used in stages, to cross a wide river where the spans had been destroyed but the piers in the river remained. Individual lengths of Bailey bridge could then go from pier to pier, until there was a level crossing spanning the river. There were also two-way Baileys, railroad Baileys, Bailey rafts, Baileys that could be raised for river traffic – as I say, it was a very versatile design.
Of course Baileys weren’t the only bridge types. For example, there were also smaller foot bridges and floating bridges. The latter were made with equipment that could either be used as a pontoon for a bridge or a raft or other small boat to carry men and equipment across a water obstacle. Plus, in a pinch, improvised bridges might be thrown across a smaller stream or river, built from materials on hand.
Bailey bridges were kept in use for a long time after the war and are still used in some places. I worked for a geological exploration company in my early twenties, that owned a Bailey bridge to use in resource explorations in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. I thought that was pretty cool and so did my dad.
- “Without the Bailey Bridge, we should not have won the war. It was the best thing in that line that we ever had.”, Field Marshal Lord Bernard L. Montgomery
- “one of the three pieces of equipment that most contributed to our victory in Europe”, General Dwight Eisenhower
One More River To Cross: The Story of British Military Bridging.
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Some further reading, that you might like:
A Ride on the Kettle Valley Rail Trail
U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GBG8JE0
U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01GBG8JE0
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B01GBG8JE0
India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B01GBG8JE0
The trail passes through a great variety of geographical and geological regions, from mountains to valleys, along scenic lakes and rivers, to dry near-desert condition grasslands. It often features towering canyons, spanned by a combination of high trestle bridges and long tunnels, as it passes through wild, unpopulated country. At other times, it remains quite low, in populated valleys, alongside spectacular water features such as beautiful Lake Okanagan, an area that is home to hundreds of vineyards, as well as other civilized comforts.
The trail is a nice test of one’s physical fitness, as well as one’s wits and adaptability, as much of it does travel through true wilderness. The views are spectacular, the wildlife is plentiful and the people are friendly. What more could one ask for?
What follows is a journal of two summers of adventure, biking most of the trail in the late 1990s. It is about 33,000 words in length (2 to 3 hours reading), and contains numerous photographs of the trail. There are also sections containing a brief history of the trail, geology, flora and fauna, and associated information.
After reading this account, you should have a good sense of whether the trail is right for you. If you do decide to ride the trail, it will be an experience you will never forget.
A Drive Across Newfoundland
U.S.: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NMR9WM8
U.K.: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07NMR9WM8
Germany: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07NMR9WM8
Japan: https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B07NMR9WM8
Canada: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07NMR9WM8
Australia: https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B07NMR9WM8
India: https://www.amazon.in/dp/B07NMR9WM8
Newfoundland, Canada’s most easterly province, is a region that is both fascinating in its unique culture and amazing in its vistas of stark beauty. The weather is often wild, with coastal regions known for steep cliffs and crashing waves (though tranquil beaches exist too). The inland areas are primarily Precambrian shield, dominated by forests, rivers, rock formations, and abundant wildlife. The province also features some of the Earth’s most remarkable geology, notably The Tablelands, where the mantle rocks of the Earth’s interior have been exposed at the surface, permitting one to explore an almost alien landscape, an opportunity available on only a few scattered regions of the planet.
The city of St. John’s is one of Canada’s
most unique urban areas, with a population that maintains many old traditions
and cultural aspects of the British Isles. That’s true of the rest of the
province, as well, where the people are friendly and inclined to chat amiably
with visitors. Plus, they talk with amusing accents and party hard, so what’s
not to like?
This account focusses on a two-week road trip in October 2007, from St. John’s
in the southeast, to L’Anse aux Meadows in the far northwest, the only known
Viking settlement in North America. It also features a day hike visit to The
Tablelands, a remarkable and majestic geological feature. Even those who don’t
normally consider themselves very interested in geology will find themselves
awe-struck by these other-worldly landscapes.
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