The Red Ball Express and the Women Who Ran It
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).
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.
