[Natufian]

Nazi Germany in 1941. The logistics element of the german army relied on trains extensively to bring supplies up to the front. Given the distances involved, the quantity of supplies required and the state of Soviet era roads, there wasn’t any other serious option.

Interestingly, if Hitler had treated the Ukrainians better after they were occupied, they wouldn’t have had so many serious problems with logistics once the Ukrainian partisans started attacking their railroads.

[odawg]

From Wikipedia: It is widely and incorrectly believed that Imperial Russia chose a gauge broader than standard gauge for military reasons, namely to prevent potential invaders from using the rail system. In 1841 a Russian army engineer wrote a paper stating that such a danger did not exist since railways could be made dysfunctional by retreating forces.[citation needed] Also the construction of the Warsaw–Vienna railway in 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in) was precisely so it could be connected to the Western European network, in that case to reduce Poland's dependence on Prussia for transport. Finally for the Moscow - Saint Petersburg Railway, which became the benchmark, the choice of track gauge was between 5 ft (1,524 mm) and the wider 6 ft (1,829 mm), not standard gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in).[6] Despite this the difference in gauge did play a role in hindering invading armies, especially in World War II (see Operation Barbarossa#Faults of logistical planning); it was just not selected with that in mind.