the ringo kid
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Dunno if anyone else is excited about it? but--Universal Pictures has FINALLY released one of my favorite Jeff Chandlers movies-on dvd. There are two versions of release--buy ONLY the Universal Pictures release-the other release though has the same cover art--I dont think is a studio release??
The Army guys and Patton fans here will know what the red ball express was. It was a unit created on Patton's orders-to get much needed supplies to our guys at the front.
Actual:
Military Police soldier and sign posted along the Red Ball route The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. In order to expedite cargo to the front, trucks emblazoned with red balls followed a similarly marked route that had been closed to civilian traffic. These trucks were also given priority on regular roads.[citation needed] The system originated in an urgent 36-hour meeting and began operating on August 25, 1944, staffed primarily with African-American soldiers.[1] At its peak, the Express operated 5,958 vehicles, and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies a day.[1] It ran until November 16, when the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium, were opened, some French rail lines were repaired, and portable gasoline pipelines deployed.
Commemorative stone in the village of La Queue-lez-Yvelines Use of the term "Red Ball" to describe express cargo service dated at least to the end of the 19th century. Around 1892, the Santa Fe railroad began using it to refer to express shipping for priority freight and perishables.[2] Such trains and the tracks cleared for their use were marked with red balls. The term grew in popularity and was extensively used by the 1920s. A Red Ball Express truck gets stuck in the mud - 1944 The need for such a priority transport service during World War II arose in the European Theater following the successful Allied invasion at Normandy in June 1944. In order to hobble the German army's ability to move forces and bring up reinforcements in a counter-attack the Allies had preemptively bombed the French railway system into ruins in the weeks leading up to the D-Day landing. After the Allied breakout and the race to the Seine River, some 28 Allied divisions needed constant resupply. During offensive operations, each division consumed about 750 tons of supplies per day, totaling about 21,000 tons in all. The only way to deliver them was by truck – shortly giving birth to the Red Ball Express. At its peak, it operated 5,958 vehicles and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies per day.[1][3] Colonel Loren Albert Ayers, known to his men as "Little Patton," was in charge of gathering two drivers for every truck, obtaining special equipment, and training port battalion personnel as drivers for long hauls. Able-bodied soldiers attached to other units whose duties were not critical were made drivers.[1] Almost 75% of Red Ball drivers were African Americans.[4] In order to keep the supplies flowing without delay, two routes were opened from Cherbourg to the forward logistics base at Chartres. The northern route was used for delivering supplies, the southern for returning trucks. Both roads were closed to civilian traffic.[5] "The highways in France are usually good, but are ordinarily not excessively wide. The needs of the rapidly advancing armies, consequently, promptly put the greatest possible demands upon them. To ease this strain, main highways leading to the front were set aside very early in the advance as "one way" roads from which all civil and local military traffic were barred. Tens of thousands of truckloads of supplies were pushed forward over these one way roads in a constant stream of traffic. Reaching the supply dumps in the forward areas, the trucks unloaded and returned empty to Arromanches, Cherbourg and the lesser landing places by way of other one way highways. Even the French railroads were, to some degree, operated similarly, with loaded trains moving forward almost nose to tail."[6]— For Want of a Nail: The Influence of Logistics on War (1948) by Hawthorne Daniel Only convoys of at least five trucks were allowed,[1] to be escorted in front and behind by a jeep. In reality, it was common for individual trucks to depart Cherbourg as soon as they were loaded. It was also common to disable the engine governors to travel faster than 56 miles per hour (90 km/h).[1] The convoys were a primary target of the German Luftwaffe. By 1944, however, German air power was so reduced that even these tempting and typically easy targets were rarely attacked. The biggest problems facing the Express were maintenance, finding enough drivers, and lack of sleep for overworked truckers.
Movie:
Red Ball Express is a 1952 World War II war film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Jeff Chandler. The film is based on the real Red Ball Express convoys that took place after the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944. The tag line for the movie is "From beachhead to battlefront! They carry the ammo for Patton's Tanks!"
August 1944: proceeding with the invasion of France, Patton's Third Army has advanced so far toward Paris that it cannot be supplied. To keep up the momentum, Allied HQ establishes an elite military truck route. One (racially integrated) platoon of this Red Ball Express encounters private enmities, German resistance, minefields, and increasingly perilous missions. Lt Chick Campbell, head of the platoon, clashes with Sgt Red Kallek over an incident when they were civilians where Kallek's brother died. General Gordon, played by Howard Petrie, appears to have been based on General Patton, although Patton is also specifically mentioned in the film. Major General Frank Ross, who was in charge of the real Red Ball Express, acted as a technical adviser.
"Lift and load, lift and load. One for little Adolf, and one for the Cleveland Indians."
Red Cross Ladies:
The "Red Ball Express" meets with some of Patton's tankers awaiting fuel:
The Army guys and Patton fans here will know what the red ball express was. It was a unit created on Patton's orders-to get much needed supplies to our guys at the front.
Actual:
Military Police soldier and sign posted along the Red Ball route The Red Ball Express was a famed truck convoy system that supplied Allied forces moving quickly through Europe after breaking out from the D-Day beaches in Normandy in 1944. In order to expedite cargo to the front, trucks emblazoned with red balls followed a similarly marked route that had been closed to civilian traffic. These trucks were also given priority on regular roads.[citation needed] The system originated in an urgent 36-hour meeting and began operating on August 25, 1944, staffed primarily with African-American soldiers.[1] At its peak, the Express operated 5,958 vehicles, and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies a day.[1] It ran until November 16, when the port facilities at Antwerp, Belgium, were opened, some French rail lines were repaired, and portable gasoline pipelines deployed.
Commemorative stone in the village of La Queue-lez-Yvelines Use of the term "Red Ball" to describe express cargo service dated at least to the end of the 19th century. Around 1892, the Santa Fe railroad began using it to refer to express shipping for priority freight and perishables.[2] Such trains and the tracks cleared for their use were marked with red balls. The term grew in popularity and was extensively used by the 1920s. A Red Ball Express truck gets stuck in the mud - 1944 The need for such a priority transport service during World War II arose in the European Theater following the successful Allied invasion at Normandy in June 1944. In order to hobble the German army's ability to move forces and bring up reinforcements in a counter-attack the Allies had preemptively bombed the French railway system into ruins in the weeks leading up to the D-Day landing. After the Allied breakout and the race to the Seine River, some 28 Allied divisions needed constant resupply. During offensive operations, each division consumed about 750 tons of supplies per day, totaling about 21,000 tons in all. The only way to deliver them was by truck – shortly giving birth to the Red Ball Express. At its peak, it operated 5,958 vehicles and carried about 12,500 tons of supplies per day.[1][3] Colonel Loren Albert Ayers, known to his men as "Little Patton," was in charge of gathering two drivers for every truck, obtaining special equipment, and training port battalion personnel as drivers for long hauls. Able-bodied soldiers attached to other units whose duties were not critical were made drivers.[1] Almost 75% of Red Ball drivers were African Americans.[4] In order to keep the supplies flowing without delay, two routes were opened from Cherbourg to the forward logistics base at Chartres. The northern route was used for delivering supplies, the southern for returning trucks. Both roads were closed to civilian traffic.[5] "The highways in France are usually good, but are ordinarily not excessively wide. The needs of the rapidly advancing armies, consequently, promptly put the greatest possible demands upon them. To ease this strain, main highways leading to the front were set aside very early in the advance as "one way" roads from which all civil and local military traffic were barred. Tens of thousands of truckloads of supplies were pushed forward over these one way roads in a constant stream of traffic. Reaching the supply dumps in the forward areas, the trucks unloaded and returned empty to Arromanches, Cherbourg and the lesser landing places by way of other one way highways. Even the French railroads were, to some degree, operated similarly, with loaded trains moving forward almost nose to tail."[6]— For Want of a Nail: The Influence of Logistics on War (1948) by Hawthorne Daniel Only convoys of at least five trucks were allowed,[1] to be escorted in front and behind by a jeep. In reality, it was common for individual trucks to depart Cherbourg as soon as they were loaded. It was also common to disable the engine governors to travel faster than 56 miles per hour (90 km/h).[1] The convoys were a primary target of the German Luftwaffe. By 1944, however, German air power was so reduced that even these tempting and typically easy targets were rarely attacked. The biggest problems facing the Express were maintenance, finding enough drivers, and lack of sleep for overworked truckers.
Movie:
Red Ball Express is a 1952 World War II war film directed by Budd Boetticher and starring Jeff Chandler. The film is based on the real Red Ball Express convoys that took place after the D-Day landings in Normandy in June 1944. The tag line for the movie is "From beachhead to battlefront! They carry the ammo for Patton's Tanks!"
August 1944: proceeding with the invasion of France, Patton's Third Army has advanced so far toward Paris that it cannot be supplied. To keep up the momentum, Allied HQ establishes an elite military truck route. One (racially integrated) platoon of this Red Ball Express encounters private enmities, German resistance, minefields, and increasingly perilous missions. Lt Chick Campbell, head of the platoon, clashes with Sgt Red Kallek over an incident when they were civilians where Kallek's brother died. General Gordon, played by Howard Petrie, appears to have been based on General Patton, although Patton is also specifically mentioned in the film. Major General Frank Ross, who was in charge of the real Red Ball Express, acted as a technical adviser.
"Lift and load, lift and load. One for little Adolf, and one for the Cleveland Indians."
Red Cross Ladies:
The "Red Ball Express" meets with some of Patton's tankers awaiting fuel:
Had a lot of respect for him with that behind him.
