I dare say that few of us who are interested in WWII history have not heard about the Red Ball Express. This was a system of around the clock supply by truck that was created to try to keep up with the rapidly moving US Army after the breakout from the Normandy beachhead.

In warfare, you are only as successful as your supply line. It matters not what equipment you have or how brave or experienced your soldiers might be. If you are unable to provide these troops and equipment with material and fuel/food, then all of that will be for naught. This was the scenario in August of 1944.

Patton's Third army was on the move against a routed German Army and moving at such a pace that the normal lines of supply were unable to keep up with him. Most gravely needed was fuel for his armored columns and ammunition. As the French rail system had been so thoroughly damaged by Allied and Partisan bombing that it was not usable, a plan was devised to provide a continuous movement of supplies from the main supply base at St.Lo to near the front lines.

This was done in a 'racetrack' manner with outbound supplied on one set of roads, all going one way and for military traffic only, and another for returning trucks. Along the way, emergency repair stations and places to refuel trucks were set up. All available trucking was used, a number that came to nearly 6,000 vehicles. Despite glitches (as this had never been tried), it was an incredible success, delivering hundreds of thousands of tons of materials.

Pat Ware covers the entire operation and to some extent, those that followed, several of which were even more of a success than the original Red Ball Express. He delves into the reasons for starting the program, how it was worked out with all involved, a look at the men who drove and repaired and directed the trucks (most of whom were black soldiers). Then the book goes into other similar operations, a good look at all the different vehicles used, and some stats on all of this. It is followed by an appendix that provides vehicle specifications.

All of this is profusely illustrated with mostly period images (a few in color) as well as color photos of some very nicely preserved vehicles.

It is a book that I found to be exceptional and I think that you will as well.

November  2007

Review book courtesy of  Casemate Publishing, where you can order your copy of this and many other superb books.

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