One obvious means of hampering the military operations of the Germans was
the cutting of railroads, so as to interrupt and overthrow on-coming
trains. This method was resorted to by bands of volunteers, calling
themselves “The Wild Boars of Ardennes,” and “Railway Destroyers.” Here
again the invaders incurred great odium by announcing that, on the
departure of a train in the disaffected districts, the mayor and
principal inhabitants should be made to take their places on the engine,
so that if the peasants chose to upset the conveyance, their surest
victims would be their own compatriots.
—_Annual Register_, 1870.