Railway, Road, and Water Transport of the Kyrgyz SSR in the Early Years of World War II

The various types of transport in the republic that grew during the years of Soviet power—railway, road, and water transport—had to quickly transition to a military footing in an extremely challenging environment, ensuring timely and uninterrupted transportation for military and economic needs. By the order of the People's Commissariat of Railways of the USSR from June 24, 1941, train movements across the entire Soviet Union were switched to a special military schedule, civilian transportation was reduced, and priority was given to the movement of military units, military cargo, and strategic raw materials.

Rail Transport
The volume of railway transportation in Kyrgyzstan during the first period of the war increased almost twofold compared to peacetime. This increase was mainly due to the dispatch of military units, ammunition, strategic raw materials, ores, coal, oil products, uniforms, equipment, and food supplies to their destinations.

Here are the data characterizing the changes in the freight turnover of the railway transport of the republic for the years 1940—1942 (thousand tons):
1940 1941 1942
Arrivals 1286 1261 917
Departures 1974 2096 1901

The structure of transportation changed. The delivery of high-quality coal and coke to the Kyrgyz SSR decreased from 236 thousand tons in 1940 to 133 thousand tons in 1942, timber materials from 191 thousand to 96 thousand tons, and oil—almost by half. At the same time, the dispatch of fuel from the "Kyrgyzugol" trust for the industry and transport of neighboring republics increased from 967 thousand to 1002 thousand tons, and mineral construction materials from 195 thousand to 249 thousand tons.

Overall, the volume of railway transportation in the republic for 1942 was low. There were significant delays of trains at technical and intermediate stations. In the first half of 1942, 106 trains were dispatched from the Pishpek station with schedule violations. Particularly large delays occurred on access roads during loading and unloading operations and in washing repairs, disrupting the schedules for the dispatch and movement of trains.

To ensure stable transport operations, measures were taken to enhance the unloading of wagons, eliminate excessive downtime, and increase accountability among clients. The Frunze, Jalal-Abad, and Osh regional committees and regional executive committees established daily control over the operation of the railways and loading and unloading enterprises, providing them with necessary assistance in labor and transport, as well as allocating warehouse space and sites.

Road Transport
The war also brought significant changes to the operation of road transport. The fleet of cargo vehicles in the national economy of the republic decreased due to their supply for army needs from 5799 in 1941 to 1682 by the end of 1942, or by 3.4 times, with the most technically sound and complete vehicles being withdrawn. At the same time, due to the relocation of productive forces and population to the East, the overall volume of cargo transportation significantly increased.

The situation with the supply of fuel and tires worsened. The downtime of all cargo vehicles and buses of the People's Commissariat of Transport of the republic in 1941 due to the lack of rubber amounted to 62,674 machine-days, and due to the lack of fuel—3,364 machine-days. There was also a severe shortage of drivers. In the autumn of 1942, there were an average of 42 available drivers for every 100 vehicles.

The driver availability in the Jalal-Abad region was 33%, and in the Tian Shan region—26%.

The condition of the roads was no better. The road work plan for 1942 was completed only by 59.2%, including new construction at 21.9%. This was largely explained by the wear and tear of road machines and mechanisms. Of the 32 graders, 21 were operational in the republic as of March 1942, including 8 heavy ones (5 of which were under military jurisdiction). Out of 11 motor rollers, 8 were in operation, and out of 24 trailers—16. The iron and snowplows were completely out of service. The construction of the crucial highway Frunze—Susamyr—Osh, which began in 1940, was frozen by a government decision and postponed to the post-war period.

Transport workers, overcoming the difficulties of war, timely delivered cargo to military units, defense enterprises, and the national economy. In 1941, the republic's road transport carried 5,460.1 thousand tons/km of cargo compared to 5,401.6 thousand tons/km in 1940. In 1942, transportation slightly decreased due to a reduction in the average annual number of vehicles, significant downtime due to the lack of rubber, and fuel shortages, amounting to 2,238.4 thousand tons/km, or 61.5% of the plan, and 6,989.6 thousand passenger-kilometers—46.2% of the plan.

During the war, horse-drawn transport—horses, oxen, and camels—acquired exceptional defense and economic significance.

Horse-drawn transportation was widely used not only in urban public utilities, local and cooperative industries, and construction organizations but also at defense enterprises, mines, and quarries. In 1942, over 223 thousand tons/km were transported by horse-drawn transport through the system of the People's Commissariat of Transport, or 74.9% of the plan.

The level of operation of the Issyk-Kul Shipping Company of the People's Commissariat of River Fleet of the USSR improved. In 1941 and the first five months of 1942, the steamers "Five-Year Plan," "Issyk-Kul," "Soviet Kyrgyzstan," "Kirov," and "Komsomol" transported 86.5 thousand tons of cargo: food, timber, livestock.

The passenger transportation plan for 1941 was fulfilled at 118%, and for January—May 1942—at 181%.

Growth of the Military-Industrial Potential of Kyrgyzstan in 1942