Red Ball Express

History records that the invasion...

which was to liberate Europe

from the German army began in July of 1944.

D day was already behind us.

We'd stormed the beaches

and fought through the hedgerows...

and reached the rubble

of village streets.

For a while we thought

it was gonna be a walkover, but 30 miles inland,

between the towns of Saint-Lo

and Piriere, we ran into it:

a wall of German men and guns

planted there by Der Fuhrer with one order:

Hold or die.

The Germans didn't have

any corner on giving orders. We issued an order of our own:

Break through.

And so, on July 27,

the Allied army swung

all the way from the floor,

and we hit the west wall

with everything we had,

Lightning Joe Collins'

Seventh Corps showing the way.

It took three, long,

never-forgotten days,

but the wall cracked,

and the crack became a hole...

and the hole, a doorway.

Through the door, more armor

poured into France than the Germans knew existed.

General Courtney Hodges'

First Army moved east toward the Seine.

Field Marshal Monty Montgomery's

21st Army group took a cut north heading for Antwerp.

And General George S. Patton's

Third Army...

Well, George, he took

his tanks, his men,

added a dash of

his private brand of courage...

and led them

straight up the center for Paris.

Hey, knock it off,

you jerk!

You feel like makin'

some noise, get down the road and join the war!

I'll give you ten seconds to get out of there!

Yeah?

Well, I'll give you

just ten seconds to knock that racket off...

before I give you

a punch right in the...

- Good morning, sir.

- I hope I didn't break up a crap game, Lieutenant.

No, sir.

Why are you lying doggo in the road?

Are you lost

or afraid or both?

Neither, sir.

We only had one can of gas left. I thought we'd save it.

For what? You can't win a war

against enemy you don't capture or terrain you don't take.

- Get back in that tank

and start moving! - Yes, sir.

Wow.

So we burn up our last can of gas. Then what?

Maybe there's

some gas stations along the road somewheres.

Aw, sure. This is

a regular Route 66.

Free air, free water

and registered rest rooms.

Yeah. They wash

your windshield with an 88-millimeter shell.

Why don't they send up those back-line supply troops?

Those jokers?

If you expect them to keep

up with old Blood-and-Guts,

I'll bet my bottom stripe

we take Berlin with slingshots.

Hey, Charlie,

they got another cartoon in here about General Gordon.

I'd give $20

to see his face when he sees...

Get your money up,

Lieutenant.

I hope it was worth it.

Now get on that telephone and

get the advanced section of the communication zone, Col. Carter.

It's in Le Mans.

Yes, sir. Make the call, Corporal.

Yes, sir.

This is Tippecanoe six.

Give me Tatter forward.

This is a high priority

call. Get that:
a high priority call.

I want Colonel Carter

for Major General Lee Gordon on General Patton's staff.

Yeah, yeah? Who is it?

This is Major General Lee Gordon speaking.

Can you hear me?

Uh, yes, General. Can you hear me?

Doesn't make any difference

whether I can hear you because you're not going to be talking.

Ten days ago, you told me that

supplies were being sent up. Where are they?

Uh, uh, well, you see, sir, uh...

I'm fed up with promises!

I want gasoline, gasoline

and more gasoline.

I want small-caliber ammunition

and rations, and I want them as fast as you can get them to me.

General, your outfit's

been moving four times as fast as anybody thought it would.

We'll catch up to you eventually.

"Eventually"!

Get me those supplies!

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