Red Ball Express

The Oxford Companion to World War II | 2001 | 700+ words | Copyright

Red Ball Express, truck convoys used to supply the Allied armies when Eisenhower decided to pursue the Germans across the River Seine during the Normandy campaign. It was estimated that 100,000 tons of supplies, excluding POL (Petrol, Oil, Lubricants), would have to be transported by convoys of trucks from the beaches to depots south-west of Paris, a considerable feat of logistics. A one-way loop highway was introduced between St Lô and Chartres with every available truck using it around the clock. The convoys, whose name derived from railroad slang for fast freight, began on 25 August 1944 and on 29 August 5,958 trucks delivered 12,342 tons of supplies. They ceased on 6 September having delivered 89,939 tons and having consumed 300,000 gallons of petrol a day doing so.

The Red Ball Express was also run from Bayeux to Brussels to supply MARKET-GARDEN and it was the precursor of several similar operations. Special trains were also used. The Toot Sweet Express, for example, took supplies from Cherbourg to Namur and Verdun.

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I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Red Ball Express." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. 27 May. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Red Ball Express." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Encyclopedia.com. (May 27, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-RedBallExpress.html

I. C. B. DEAR and M. R. D. FOOT. "Red Ball Express." The Oxford Companion to World War II. 2001. Retrieved May 27, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O129-RedBallExpress.html

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