The Red Ball Express and the Women Who Ran It

Prior to the D-Day invasion, the Allied armies worked to destroy transportation infrastructure on the European Continent in order to pin down the Germans and prevent them from easily accessing supplies. After the invasion, however, as Allied troops advanced through France, the U.S. Army had to determine its own avenue for transporting supplies to the front lines. One of the solutions was the Red Ball Express, a system of trucks, largely driven by African American soldiers, which ran around the clock. Behind the scenes, the Women's Army Corps worked to keep these truck drivers informed regarding the advancing front line and new obstacles in their path.

Photo Caption: A Red Ball Express convoy of 2 1/2 ton trucks weaves through a French town in 1944. Note the convoy flag and large Red Ball insignia on the front of the truck. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V3395).

Establishing the Red Ball Express

On August 21, 1944, the U.S. Army created the Red Ball Express to move supplies to the advancing armies. Trucks started rolling on August 25 and ran continuously for 81 days. Although there would eventually be six additional express routes used in the European Theater of Operations (ETO), the Red Ball Express became symbolic of them all.

Over 3,000 trucks were requisitioned from Communication Zone units in order to keep the Red Ball Express moving. At its peak, 140 truck companies and over 6,000 vehicles were used. Narrow roads meant two-way traffic was not supported, so one-way restricted roads were enforced. As a result, the route was marked with red balls, a railroad symbol meaning "express cargo, do not slow down or delay". Each truck in the Red Ball Express was marked with the same red ball symbol, and those without authorization were rerouted off the restricted roads. Loaded vehicles going towards the front ran on the northern route, while unloaded returning vehicles used the southern route, making the round trip up to 54 hours long.

<p>Tech 5 Holmes kneels beside a 3/4-ton vehicle with a sign on the hood denoting "Road Patrol" for the Red Ball Express route in France, September 1944. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V1148).</p> — Tech 5 Holmes kneels beside a 3/4-ton vehicle with a sign on the hood denoting "Road Patrol" for the Red Ball Express route in France, September 1944. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V1148).

Priority Supplies

Fuel, ammunition, water, and food were all supplies transported on the Red Ball Express, but it was fuel that was probably the most important. Carried in 5-gallon Jerry Cans, the Red Ball Express delivered up to 800,000 gallons (or 160,000 individual Jerry Cans) a day when at its height. However, without a reliable way to return empty Jerry Cans, this system proved not to be sustainable. Patton's Third Army was rendered stationary when fuel delivery dropped from 400,000 to 31,000 gallons a day.

Luckily, two pipelines were laid as Allied armies advanced, lessening the dependence on Jerry Cans. The 4-inch and 6-inch pipelines pumped fuel into fuel dumps, meaning trucks no longer had to carry fuel the entire length of the supply route.

<p>Soldiers fill lines of Jerry Cans in France during the Red Ball Express, 1944. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V1213).</p> — Soldiers fill lines of Jerry Cans in France during the Red Ball Express, 1944. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V1213).

Quartermaster Truck Companies

The Transportation Corps was a brand new branch of the Army during World War II. Prior to its establishment, the mission of transportation was carried out by the Quartermaster Corps, and quartermasters continued to provide support during the war. Many Quartermaster Truck Companies provided the drivers and vehicles needed to make these express routes happen, including the 4049th QM Truck Company in which served Tech 5 Joseph Williams.

As with many soldiers in Quartermaster Truck Companies, Williams was an African American man serving in a segregated Army. 80% of drivers in the Red Ball Express were African American. Relief drivers, however, were pulled from every unit in Europe on a priority basis, including three infantry divisions. This need for drivers meant that the Red Ball operation was racially integrated despite a segregated army.

According to Tech 5 Williams' own notes in his copy of "Patton's Wheels", he landed in Normandy on D+31 (07 July), at which point the 4049th was tasked with bringing a different type of "supply" to the front lines: infantry troops. Williams, driving his truck nicknamed the "Black Widow", carried personnel from many different units to where they were most needed on the front lines. Drivers subsisted off of coffee to fuel the long hours, altered their trucks to get up to faster speeds, prayed their tires would hold out until they could get maintenance, and hoped to avoid strafing from German planes and hitting mines.

The U.S. Army Quartermaster Museum tells the story of Quartermaster Truck Companies in its gallery and has digitized Williams' copy of "Patton's Wheels" in its online collection. To learn more about the museum, visit their website.

The 29th Traffic Regulating Group

In order to keep the express routes moving, Maj. Gen. Frank Ross realized the significance of having a Traffic Regulating Group in the European Theater. The purposes of such a unit was to serve as the coordinating headquarters staff for the various modes of transportation across motor transport, military railway service, or maritime operations. The WACs worked to provide critical information to synchronize the work of these divisions in the headquarters in an administrative capacity. In response to this demand, the 29th Traffic Regulating Group was assembled under the command of Capt. Joy Fincke. It was the only all-female Traffic Regulating Group in the U.S. Army.

The unit was comprised of 186 WACs handpicked from across Transportation Corps Ports of Embarkation in the United States. The women took an LCI to Utah Beach on 4 September 1944. Trucks carried them into Paris behind the front lines four days later on 8 September. They were the first full WAC unit to arrive in the newly liberated city.

<p>This guidon was carried by First Sgt. Gladys Parker as the 29th Traffic Regulating Group marched into the newly liberated Paris, France, 1944.</p> — This guidon was carried by First Sgt. Gladys Parker as the 29th Traffic Regulating Group marched into the newly liberated Paris, France, 1944.

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Smooth Operations

The women of the 29th Traffic Regulating Group were telephone operators, secretaries, stenographers, traffic experts, drivers, statisticians, and draftswomen.

Tech Sgt. Daphne Haselden and Brockie Daniels were both assigned to the Transportation Message Center as clerks to track incoming and outgoing messages. Sgt. Betty Glanville was responsible for checking the make-up of hospital trains in the Second Military Railway Service to support casualty evacuation. Pvt. 1st Class Myriam Justman handled logistics for a full fleet of French taxi cabs for local transportation. Pvt. Edith Quinn worked in the personnel office coordinating human resources functions, and had previously served as a Yeomanette in the Navy during World War I. Staff Sgt. Ann Barkley served as mess sergeant to feed the command and had the distinction of having been one of the first Transportation WACs. Tech Sgt. Mary McLean had the important assignment of serving as Maj. Gen. Ross' secretary.

Corporal Elizabeth Baker, Pvt. 1st Class Doris Perkins, and Sgt. Norma Geisler created map tracings and overlays of theater road networks to document the advancing American supply routes. Sometimes, they redrew the maps several times a day as new intel was received. The original Red Ball route extended from Saint Lo in Normandy to delivery areas west of Paris, but this quickly expanded as First Army advanced into Belgium and Third Army across France. WACs ensured that truck companies were kept up-to-date regarding the armies movement.

<p>Pfc. Myriam Justman speaks with some of the local taxi drivers she manages, Paris, 1945. Justman was fluent in French and could easily communicate with the local drivers contracted to support the transportation effort in the city. At the time of this photograph, she managed 25 cabs, including 21 during the day and four at night. During the height of the Red Ball Express, that number reached 40.</p> — Pfc. Myriam Justman speaks with some of the local taxi drivers she manages, Paris, 1945. Justman was fluent in French and could easily communicate with the local drivers contracted to support the transportation effort in the city. At the time of this photograph, she managed 25 cabs, including 21 during the day and four at night. During the height of the Red Ball Express, that number reached 40.

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The Overall Significance

The Red Ball Express ended on November 13, 1944. During its 81 days of operation, 421,193 long tons (each long ton equals 2,200 pounds) of gas, oil, lubricants, ammunition, food, and other essentials were delivered. On an average day, 5,088 tons were moved, 83 truck companies were used, and the round trip distance averaged 606 miles. It would be the most recognized action of the Transportation Corps during World War II and solidified the need for post war retention of a separate Transportation Corps within the U.S. Army.

Additionally, the operation illustrated the ability of women and African American soldiers in the ranks of the U.S. Army. Without their support, the operation would not have been successful, and First and Third Armies would lack the logistics to advance across Europe. Their efforts led directly to the end of the war in the European theater in May 1945.

<p>This 1944 photograph reveals a sign indicating the tonnage moved on the Red Ball Express and encourages soldiers to keep the trucks rolling to supply the front lines. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V0395).</p> — This 1944 photograph reveals a sign indicating the tonnage moved on the Red Ball Express and encourages soldiers to keep the trucks rolling to supply the front lines. Courtesy of the U.S. Army Transportation Museum (V0395).

WAC Recognition

The contribution of the women of the 29th Traffic Regulating Group was recognized with the christening of a 75-ton locomotive at the Paris Railroad Yards in November 1944 following the end of the Red Ball Express. Newspapers claimed that the 29th Traffic Regulating Group had been "working at the biggest transportation job in history, desk jobs which kept the wheels of trains, trucks, and millions of TC vehicles moving toward the front with the stuff it takes to win a war." The locomotive, given the name the WAC Blazer, was entrusted during the christening to uphold the same immaculate efficiency record currently held by the Transportation WACs of the 29th Traffic Regulating Group. Lt. Col. Anna Wilson, WAC Director in the European Theater, proclaimed the unit to be the "best trained WAC group ever sent to Europe."

While the 29th Traffic Regulating Group was instrumental in the Red Ball Express, rail, marine, and truck operations still needed coordinating in theater. The unit would continue to do so behind the scenes from Paris, supporting the post war demobilization with the same efficiency they used to help win the war. The first group of women were reassigned back stateside in November 1945 with the rest of the unit following in March 1946. Overall, they had spent 18 months ensuring the smooth operation of the Transportation Corps.

To learn more about the Red Ball Express and many more incredible Army Transportation stories, visit the U.S. Army Transportation Museum at Fort Eustis, Virginia.

<p>Cpl. Maxine Vaught of the 29th Traffic Regulating Group awaits the order to christen the new Army locomotive, the WAC Blazer, November 1944. Pictured in the foreground are Lt. Col. Anna Wilson, WAC Director in the ETO, and Maj. Gen. Frank Ross, Chief of Transportation in the ETO.</p> — Cpl. Maxine Vaught of the 29th Traffic Regulating Group awaits the order to christen the new Army locomotive, the WAC Blazer, November 1944. Pictured in the foreground are Lt. Col. Anna Wilson, WAC Director in the ETO, and Maj. Gen. Frank Ross, Chief of Transportation in the ETO.