America Needed Gas for Patton's Tanks — So 6,000 Trucks Never Stopped Driving

In late August 1944, General Patton's tanks were running out of gasoline, and the railroads of northern France were in ruins. The US Army's answer was planned in about a day and a half: put nearly every truck it could find on two one-way roads and run them around the clock. This is the story of the Red Ball Express, the truck convoy system that ran from Normandy toward the front for 82 days. On August 29, 1944, it put 5,958 vehicles on the road and hauled 12,342 tons in a single day. Roughly three out of four of its soldiers were Black, in a segregated army that kept most Black soldiers out of combat. Its drivers pulled the governors off their GMC deuce-and-a-halfs, wore out 40,000 tires in the first month, and hauled 412,193 tons before the line shut down on November 16, 1944. Sources: Roland G. Ruppenthal, Logistical Support of the Armies (US Army Center of Military History); Christopher Carey, "The Red Ball Express: Past Lessons for Future Wars," Military Review (2021); David P. Colley, "On the Road to Victory: The Red Ball Express," World War II magazine; U.S. Army G-4. 0:00 The Midnight Supply Line 2:24 The Plan That Worked Too Well 6:43 Thirty-Six Hours to Mobilize 12:20 Life on the Priority Route 17:04 Running on Fumes 21:34 Broke But Didn't Break #ww2 #redballexpress #militaryhistory