Red Ball Express (1952) - full transcript

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.

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.

And 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 making 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 crack 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.

Just that we only had one can
of gas left and I thought we'd save it.

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?

Ah, maybe there's some gas stations
along the road somewheres.

Aw, sure. This is a regular Route 66.

Free air, free water
and registered restrooms.

Yeah.

They wash your windshield
with an 88-millimeter shell.

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

Are you kidding? 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?

Major General Lee Gordon speaking.

- Can you hear me?
- Yes, sir 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.

Well, 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.

I know how you fell, general.

But your outfit is been moving four times
as fast as anybody thought it would.

We'll catch up to you eventually.

Eventually?

Get me those supplies.

- Ten-hut.
- Here's the situation, men.

At ease.

In the 23 days since the Allied troops

broke the way through the
main German line of defense,

General Patton's army has fought
its way to the Seine River.

That's 270 miles
into enemy-held territory.

It's the most important
push in the war,

But General Patton has out-run his
line of communication support.

He's virtually drinking gasoline,

chasing Krauts with 30-caliber bullets.

Now, he's dangling
out there all by himself.

It's our job to get him off
that hook and keep him rolling.

No reflection on Patton's ability as
field commander, general...

but military history has proved
that war is an inchworm.

The head has to stop
while the tail catches up. -

- Now, our supply line...
- Right now, Colonel,

General Patton is rewriting
military history.

He's already demonstrated that many
military concepts are obsolete.

Especially our concept of supply.

But, General, how do you supply an
army that's moved as fast as his?

There are no forward
airfields worth discussing,

and it'll take our engineers 60 days to
put those railroads back into shape.

I'll tell you how
we're gonna do it.

With trucks.

Trucks and more trucks.

We'll clear our own
private route.

We'll make it off-limit for everyone,

from French civilians to combat units.

We'll set up our own
one-way private road...

to Patton and back.

But that road will have to go through
points that Patton's bypassed.

How do trucks get through
enemy pockets?

They fight their way through.

What's your vehicle
situation, Colonel?

I could have better than 6,000
trucks ready to roll by morning.

All right.

Before we leave Le Mans tonight,

We'll have a beachhead-to-front
Red Ball Express.

One way out and one way back.

General, we might have the trucks,

but we haven't men
enough to put in all of them.

Then get the men.

Every man in the E.T.O who isn't shooting
or kicking Krauts out of their holes...

is going to find himself
pushing a truck.

All right, gentlemen...

We'll reassemble here at 1300,

put all the plans together
and get this Red Ball rolling.

Ten-hut.

I'd give a six-hour pass
if I knew what this was all about.

I already did. Still don't know.

Then stop beating your brains out thinking.

You do guess it right; They'll
change the whole thing,

even if they have to lose the war.

You know, this is the highest-price
quiz show of all times.

We're in the transportation
corps, aren't we?

That means we'll be driving trucks.

Yeah.

The kind of work
they don't care who does.

Trucks. Who wants to drive a truck?

Nobody.

And most of all me. Somebody oughta tell
the government what's going on over here.

A year and a half we train.

The Fighting 104th, they call us.

And I know what it means.

Only 104 of them are gonna fight. The rest
of us are gonna wind up as wheel jockeys.

Why don't you stop beefing?

Driving a truck is the
softest touch in the world.

You're sit down
all day long.

You pick up some stuff here.
You put it over here.

Nobody breathing down your neck.

You carry a couple jugs of cognac.

And mademoiselles-

What they won't do for a ride and a
gallon of gasoline to take home to Papa.

Can't be done.

Hey, you make it
sound like heaven.

I wouldn't even wanna
drive a truck in heaven.

You know, I don't know the first
thing about one of these gadgets.

Ah, it's a cinch. Take you
ten minutes to learn.

Back in the States I pushed rigs
from one coast to the other.

All kinds of weather, rain, snow, desert.

Yeah?

Yeah?

Say, let me tell you about the time
I was on the Mojave Desert run.

It was 120 in the shade and I
was loaded with popcorn.

All of a sudden this stuff
started to pop.

Boom, boom, boom.

Would you believe it?

By the time I got to Phoenix all I had
to do was add the butter and the salt.

- Very entertaining.
- Oh, that was nothin'.

Once I was driving in the Rockies, see...

Rockies?

Yeah.

I pushed a few rigs
over those hills myself.

Oh?

Pretty cold, wasn't it?

Hey, what are you
working on there, Rap?

A formula for a secret weapon?

This?

This, my friend,
is my future fortune.

The first real novel that's
gonna come out of this war.

Well, what are you gonna call it?

How do I know?
Haven't finished it yet.

Look, Shakespeare...

you write anything about this
outfit leave me out of it, will you?

I'm beginning to feel like
an end man in a minstrel show.

Then why don't you tell a joke?

Ah, c'mon on. He was only kiddin'.

Unit, halt.

Left face.

Rest.

All right you men, the
army is got a bug in its ear.

That's new? Don't it always?

Hurry, hurry, hurry, and then
you never go anywhere.

Well, this time the army is
gonna make it up to you.

This time you're
really going someplace.

Hey, Sarge...

don't we have at least a general
or something in charge of us?

There'll be an officer
here in a minute, wise guy.

When he gets here, I want you
to show him you're in the army.

That means you act like soldiers,

not clerks, messengers or ward boys.

Even though that's what
you were a few hours ago.

Detail. Ten-hut.

How are you, Red?

All right, Sergeant, take your post.

At ease, men.

My name is Campbell.

I know you're wondering
what this is all about.

The army is setting up
the biggest trucking detail in history.

They're gonna call it
the Red Ball Express.

That's an old railroad term
meaning high priority freight.

We're gonna be part of it.

Our orders are to load up,
catch General Patton,

unload and then drive right
back and do it all over again.

Load...

roll them...

unload, roll them, until we're dizzy.

There isn't anything
I can add to that.

These are our vehicles
right behind us.

Two men to a truck.

Mount up and follow me
when we move out.

Sergeant Kallek?

Dismiss the company,
Sergeant.

Company, dismiss. Fall out.

- Sergeant Kallek.
- Yes, sir.

Put Corporal Green and
anybody else you want in the jeep,

I'll drive the lead truck.

I thought you lost
your taste for trucks.

You know how the army is, Red.

Sneaked through look my Form 20
and found out I was a trucker.

They find out from your Form 20
what kind of a trucker you were?

Ok Red, if that's the way you want it.

I'll only mention this once.

We have a job ahead of us that has
nothing to do with you or me, so...

don't let your personal feelings
get in the way of those stripes.

Good morning, you mind if
I ride with a professional?

Say, not at all.

I'm one of the Smiths,
call me Taffy, everybody does.

Taffy it is. My name is Partridge.

This is living, isn't it?

Excitement, drama,
driving the open road.

See France the easy way.

Well, if you go for
this kind of ease,

give me just lying
around back home.

Say, What you do in
civilian life, Taffy?

Bop?

That's what I did. Sat up on those
high traps with Eddie Mulaney's band.

Just keepin' the beat.

Say, I've heard Mulaney play many times.
Out of St. Louis, wasn't it?

Out of St. Louis, out of Chicago,
out of New Orleans.

We been kicked out
of lots of places.

Well, as they say in that...

other service, I'm glad to
have you aboard, Taffy.

Let me say, I'm gratified to be riding with
a man with your driving background.

But after the Rockies, this'll
probably seem like a soapbox derby.

Say, uh...

I wouldn't like this to get around, but
how do you start one of these things?

- Now what?
- Step on the starter.

Where is it?

Sir, the sergeant said
I was to ride in this truck.

Well, hop in.

- Move over, Mack, I'm driving.
- Oh, sure, Sarge, sure.

My name is Heyman.
I'm Red Kallek.

What do you think
of this outfit, Sergeant?

With an officer like Campbell
in charge, not much.

You got something against him?

Yeah, I get something against him.

He killed my brother.

I guess we should get to
know each other a little better.

My name is Andrew Robertson.
My friends call me Robbie.

Nice to know you, Robertson.

I come from Detroit.
.

Worked on the sports desk
of a Negro newspaper there.

I guess that's because I picked-up
a medal once in a Golden Gloves.

- Where do you from, Lieutenant?
- Hmm? Uh, Colorado.

- You work for a trucking company there?
- Yeah.

That's a coincidence. Sergeant Kallek's a
trucker from Colorado. D'you know that?

I guess you two knew each
other before the service.

Look, Corporal,
I appreciate your interest.

If ever I want to go to confession,
you'll be the first one I call on.

Sure, Lieutenant.

I get it.

Grab your mess gear.

All right, we'll take a half-hour for
chow while they're load the trucks.

Make it snappy, huh?

What do you know, stew.

Stew, stew.
This is new?

Hey, the guy is a poet
and don't know it.

Lift and load.

Lift and load.

When the trucks are loaded,
Lieutenant, where are we headed?

Somewhere off the Seine River...

if General Patton's still there.

Gee, that Patton. He's really
making a war out of this.

We must be a pretty
important outfit to be

picked to supply the
hottest general in the army.

McCord, I have a feeling
before we're through, this

is gonna be one of the biggest
things the army ever done.

- You really think so, ah?
- I could be wrong.

I don't think so, you know, it's great
to be on a winning team for a change.

Back in the high school I went to, we
were always getting beat at football.

We won just one game in four years and...

then only because their fullback dropped
the ball behind the goal line.

One of our boys tripped
and fell on it accidentally.

- What position did you play?
- I was a cheerleader.

With a team like that you must've
had the softest job in school.

The softest job?

Did you ever try to get up in front
of your student body and scream:

All right, gang, remember
what they did to us last year?

Are we gonna let them
get away with it again?

We are not. Let's have a
big locomotive for the team.

Tell you what.

When the going gets rough you...

give us a big
locomotive for the team.

Yes, sir.

? And one for the fraulein,

? One for the fraulein

- ? One for the boys,
- Hi, fellas.

Sorry to break it up,
but gather round, huh?

C'mon.
Let's go, everybody.

- Here we go.
- Now listen carefully.

Finally got the scoop.

Here is the water.

Here's Cherbourg, where we are.

Saint-Lo, Paris,
the Seine River.

Cherbourg is going to be
our main supply dump.

Pick up the supplies here and
move them to a forward supply dump...

that will be designated
by the Red Ball every day.

What's our first objective?

A dump north of Paris, somewhere
along the Seine River.

We'll get specific instructions
at a forward control point.

Paris is 270 miles from here.

The way those roads are it'll
take us ten days to get there.

We'll make it in a day and a half,

driving a maximum
speed of 35 miles an hour.

Campbell, I've seen those roads.

You can't shoot a bullet 35
miles an hour down them.

The roads will be cleared for us.

Incidentally, Sergeant,
speaking of bullets,

I want you to check to see if
that every man is been issued a

belt full of ammunition and a rifle.

We gonna shoot rabbits
or something?

Could be.

We better keep our engines
hot in case we have to cook them.

Oh, in addition to rations,

we'll be carrying ammunition and gasoline,
so I don't have to warn you to be careful.

Any questions?

Ok, everybody in the trucks.

All except you Sergeant.

Quit bucking me, will you, Red? Want
to make an outfit out of these men.

With these goldbricks,
troublemakers and misfits?

Guys other outfits
wanted to get rid of?

We're gonna make a
good outfit out of them.

The large part of
it is gonna be your job.

Don't worry.

When the going gets rough you won't see
me jumping out of a truck and running.

You better get in your vehicle.

Partridge, if his truck last long,
he may learn how to drive.

Get the vehicle out the road.
I'll check the damage.

All right, you deadheads, move
this hunk of junk off the road

before it starts growing roots.

Ah, go oil your shoes, they squeak.

It's dolls.

Real American dolls.

- How can you tell in these outfits?
- I can tell all right.

- I guess I'm just lucky.
- Well, wonderful.

Now that you've established our gender I
don't suppose you mind giving us a hand.

Take two. I wish I was an octopus.

I'll bet he is in the back seat of a car.

What's this Red Cross business?

Don't tell me there's
a disaster up here.

We are Red Cross workers, Sergeant.

This is our work vehicle.

We're supposed to ride this road,

serve coffee and doughnuts
to the Red Ball Express drivers.

- Haven't seen any yet.
- Well, you have now, sweetheart.

I'm one of these heroes
you've been waitin' for.

- Break out the grub.
- Okay. Coming up.

Hey, you guys.
Off your duffs. Chow.

Stay where you are.

The situation's taken
kind of a twist.

The dames are here
to entertain the enlisted men.

Coffee, tea and doughnuts
will be ready in a minute.

Tell the men they don't have to
line up. We'll bring it down to them.

I know this is gonna sound stuffy,

to you but there are
some men up near Paris

who need gasoline and ammunition

much more than we
need coffee, tea or doughnuts.

- So will you please move?
- While I'm changing the tire,

they can be passing out
the refreshments.

You're not gonna change anything, get in
your truck along with the rest of the men.

Take it easy, Sergeant.

You wouldn't look
good with a court-martial.

I'll do my own fighting.

I'll bet you could lick him too, lady.

Everybody, in the trucks.
Prepare to move out.

Now, this boy is a soul of generosity.

In order to have a soul,
I hear you gotta be human.

Sergeant Kallek?

We'll take ten here.

Have the men check their loads,
tires, gas and water.

Anything else, sir?

Yeah.

Put out out a four man security patrol
and check the road ahead.

Security patrol?

Now look, Lieutenant, this
isn't combat we're in.

This is behind-the-lines
communication zone work.

I don't want to tell you your job...

I'd rather you wouldn't.
Just put out the patrol.

All right, you men.
Everybody up here.

You too, Higgins, on the double.

- C'mon. Let's relax.
- Relax?

- Are you kidding?
- Security patrol.

I take it Sergeant, this is where we sweat
out the rest of this dangerous mission.

You take it right.

Whoever give the lieutenant the
idea for this security patrol, Sarge?

I think he read a book on Napoleon once,

so now he wants to
capture Europe single-handed.

If there's a Kraut
within 50 miles of this place

I bet he is laughing himself to death.

Say, how do you laugh in German?

Grab your guns and take cover
away from these trucks.

Wonder where
the lieutenant is going.

Probably back to
Cherbourg to get his transfer.

Here, Red.
Let's take a look.

If those Krauts come around that bend,
they'll blow this convoy to bits.

C'mon, let's go.

I'll cover you, Lieutenant.
Don't worry about us.

Just don't fire unless
they attack the convoy.

I'm gonna draw their fire, Red.

You pinpoint them.

They're over there in that cluster
of trees, but they're low.

As long as we stay behind the lip
of the road, we're all right.

Yeah, but we could
stay here all night.

I'm gonna try to go around
and get behind them.

You get as close
to the lip as possible.

When I yell, we both go.

All right, Red.

Red.

- Thanks.
- Thanks for what?

I was hoping they'd kill you.

You might as well realize what
happened just now can happen anytime.

This isn't what a lot of you guys have been
thinking, a bus line or a gravy train.

There's hundreds of Germans been
bypassed, and lot of them still figh...

Hold that fire.

Think I'll buy you a slingshot.

- You the officer in charge of this outfit?
- Yes, sir. Lt. Campbell, sir.

Don't your men even
recognize their own army?

- Yes, sir, but...
- You might have killed us.

- Sorry major...
- No matter enough that I had

to drive 50 miles back from
the front to find a supply column.

And the to have it fire at me
is a little more than I can take.

We had a run-in with the Krauts, sir.
We're a little trigger-happy, that's all.

I see.

Get your men in the trucks.
I'll show you where to take the stuff.

Major, these men need a break,
they've been driving 30 hours.

A break?

Nobody's getting any
breaks up where I came from.

We need this ammo and gas,
and we need it bad.

Yes, sir.

Unless our speedometer is broke,
we've done 275 miles in the last 36 hours.

Yeah. Hey, that's just what
the lieutenant said we'd do.

This is where we drop it, lieutenant.

This area is been cleared for mines.

Where is the Seine River?

Is at the other side of those hills.

As soon as Patton gets
another bridge built,

his boys will pick this stuff up.

- Hey, Major, which way is Paris?
- About ten miles in that direction.

Is not gonna do you any good,
the Germans still hold it.

Germans?
Ten miles away?

What's the matter? You're nervous
because the Krauts are ten miles away?

A little close, buddy.

Well, don't spread this around but
only two miles in that direction.

Hey, Major.

Where are the unloading crews?

Sergeant, this is
not a reception center.

This is war. Up here we
do our own unloading.

So let's get the stuff
on the ground.

Let's move, Sergeant.

All right, you guys.

Your next hour will be
devoted to physical education.

Well, the next thing
you know he wants to

pour the gas right in their tanks, load
the guns and pull the triggers for them.

Well, I guess this is
the life of the soldiers.

Soldiers? Are you kidding?

We're nothin' but bus drivers and
traveling gas station attendants.

Hey, Taffy...

you know that book I'm doing
on my war experiences?

I'm afraid that's getting
a little depressive.

If you ask me, you've got readers
by the hundreds already.

There's no point you
going back empty, Lieutenant.

You can give these Krauts a ride back
to the P.W. enclosure at Cherbourg.

We don't have anyplace
to keep prisoners up here.

Oh, take good care of you, sir.

Halten Sie.

All right, Red Ball, we got passengers.

Load them up, Sergeant.

You know, there's nothing that guy
won't have us do to make him look good.

You know by the time
that we reach Cherbourg...

we'll have driven 550 miles...

in 72 hours...

without sleep.

That's a miracle,
Wilson.

I'll have the...

first... book-

You all right?
Fine, fine.

- How about you?
- Think so. I just fall sleep.

Why don't you two go somewhere
to relax and settle your nerves

while we take care of your truck?

Sorry, Wilson. As of now,
I'm on detached service.

Hey, wait a minute.

I'm not selling anything.
I just want to...

Lachez-moi.

Well, I see I'm gonna have
a little trouble here.

Say, do you know
the semaphore code?

That's, uh, hello.
You understand?

Au revoir.

Au revoir?
That's "good-bye".

Hey. Hey,
what's your name?

You. Uh, name.
Nom.

Marie? Claudette? Cherie?

Hey. Hey, wait a minute.

- All I wanna know is your name.
- Antoinette Dubois.

Ronald Partridge.

Me, Ronald.

Ronald?

This is like Tarzan and the apes.

- Tarzan?
- Yeah.

Tarzan, Jane.

No. Antoinette.

Hey, wait.

I can't run and talk
at the same time.

Say something to me,
even in French.

S'il vous plait.

Shove off.

Wait a minute.

That was English.

You don't speak English?

Not only do I speak English,

I speak English without an accent.

That's remarkable.

Say, where'd you get that the...

shove off stuff?

You have heard, perhaps,
of the Eighth Air Force?

Oh, they were here?

Well, I guess
I will shove off.

I heard that American soldiers
fight for what they want.

Honey, if those big-wing birds
came down out of the sky first,

with $280 a month plus flight pay and that
line they teach them at basic training,

there's nothing left around
here worth scrounging for.

Wait a minute,
Ronald.

- You remember.
- Don't worry about the air corps.

We just helped send
some of them back,

- through the underground.
- Oh, well.

Oh, friend. Americano.

Eh, amigo. Yeah, cheri. Antoinette.

Say, cigarette?

- Say, I'm with her.
- Americain?

- Oui.
- Oh, merci.

- Oh, bonjour.
- How do you do?

Oh, cute. Hi.

Oh. Say, this is great.

No, go ahead.

Go ahead.

Marie.

Say, c'mon.
I'll get you some food.

Thanks very much,
but I'll get you some food.

I'll be back.
Oh, bon, bon. Au revoir, monsieur.

Let's take off.

Hey, wait a minute.
I gotta find my buddy.

- If he isn't here, that's his tough luck.
- Hey, wait a minute.

Take off.

Hey. Wait for me.

Whoo, I'm in a lot of trouble.

Say, let me borrow your bicycle.
I'll come back with plenty of food.

- Now, you wait for me.
- I will wait, Tarzan.

All right, you guys, grab your socks.

We gotta be loaded
and rolling in 20 minutes.

We gotta be out a here by 0500.

Ah, man, if this is what they
call a soft touch.

I'll go back to combat duty any day.

Now what would you wanna
go back to combat duty for?

- You know, personally I...

- think that this is a pretty...
- Okay, okay Higgins, knock it off.

Okay, fellas, up and at them.

Brother.

? And load ?

? One for Hitler ?

? And one for the road ?

? Lift and load ?

What are they tryin' to prove, lieutenant?

These men need 40 hours sleep, not four.

Patton took the supplies we brought
him yesterday moved up 25 more miles.

Guess he needs the supplies
more than we need sleep.

Are we the only
company in this Red Ball?

What's the matter with the rest of them?

They were dropping stuff at their
forward dump ten minutes after we left.

The line of trucks between here
and the front is almost continuous.

Tomorrow there be a truck every
50 yards of that 250-mile road.

A load of supplies will be dropping behind
Patton every minute, day and night.

What'd they do?
Give you a speech to learn?

Look Red, if you spent half as much
time working as you do griping,

we make an outfit out of these men.
Now get to work.

? One for Hitler ?

? And one for the road ?

? Lift and load ?

? Lift and load ?

Good morning, sir.

- Where do we sleep?
- Sleep? Where you've been?

Oh, that.

Sir, if I live to be 100 years old,

I hope I never get into a hassle
like the one I just got out of.

Due to a failure
of the steering mechanism...

our vehicle enforce sustained
superficial damages yesterday.

Well, sir...

In an effort to follow
your example as a thorough and...

cautious soldier...

I felt it my duty to...

put out a one-man security patrol
while the able mechanics...

were attending to the needs of the vehicle.

Well...

During the course of my investigation
of the surrounding terrain,

I flushed out a very suspicious party.

She was...
He was...

I...

It's a very long story, Lieutenant.

Okay.

But I'll make you go through the
whole thing just for punishment.

After this see your French
girls on your own time.

Yes, sir.

Yes, sir.

My own time?

My own time.
Yeah, I had a lot of that.

At least two whole seconds a day.

We climb into those trucks and didn't
get out of them for the next three weeks.

And you know, I was the guy who
once said driving was a cinch,

just a matter of picking stuff up
here and putt it down there.

Well, my vast driving experience...

left out something quite important...

little things like your hands
swelling up into two big blisters...

and your feet getting
slow-baked on the floorboards...

and in between,

more aches and pains than were ever
squeezed in a six feet of human body.

Cobblestones, dust, blackout lights
and hairpin turns were another thing.

Somebody had to throw in
eight days of rain.

Followed by 65 miles
of freshly churned mud.

The road was not only long...

it now became deep,

And we fought a war within a war...

with time and distance.

This mud was strictly G.I. issue.

Not to be confused
with the ordinary variety.

This stuff was composed
of two parts glue and one part perversity.

Some of the Red Ballers even claimed that
the army had seasoned it with meanness...

meanness squeezed from
the first sergeant's heart.

But as bad as the mud was,

there was always something
tougher ahead, accidents.

Sure, we had them.

But their wheels would hardly stop
turning before a repair crew hauled back

on the road, gave a
little mechanical mothering...

and sent them back to the job.

Then, for any of us who got cold there
was an occasional bonfire on the road.

Only we didn't stop for a rally, was
our gas and our friends going up.

When we hit the towns again,
or what was left of them.

Taffy kept asking me,

"Where those mademoiselles
that were supposed

to be waiting us to
throw their arms around us?"

I was too tired to even
think about mademoiselles.

Friend, that's about
as tired as I ever get.

Then just when you thought you couldn't
drive another mile, you turned a curve,

and the army handed you
one of its many surprises.

Well, what is this, Sergeant?

Well, It's a relief camp
for you Red Ball drivers.

Relief camp?

Well, that's nice.

Now all we gotta do is get a medal
every time we drive ten miles,

and will be just like the air corps.

Lieutenant, you got have your men
to get their gear off the trucks.

What for?

Well, this is the way we're
operating now, while you rest...

somebody else drives your trucks.

When you get up, you
drive somebody else's.

Really keeps those
supplies moving.

That's pretty good.

Sergeant, will you have the
men take their stuff off the trucks?

All right, men, take your
personal stuff off the trucks.

9415. Outside and mount up.

Take it easy, baby.

Come and get it.
Come and get it.

Oh, boy, hot coffee.

Here you are boys,
all you can eat and drink.

Hey, hey. Can we look too? Huh?

- Sure, as long as you don't touch.
- Boy, this is just like home.

What are you two dames
doing tomorrow night?

Same thing you're gonna be
doing, Sergeant, driving.

Hey, What a romantic item
for my book.

Two dames chase me
halfway across France and back.

Hold it for rewrites kid,
before we're through

we'll chase you all the
way across France and back.

Say, what happened to that lieutenant
who doesn't think women belong up here?

- Oh, Campbell? Who cares about him?
- Yeah, yeah, forget about him.

How about giving me a
couple of those doughnuts?

Black boy, you give
orders to nobody. You take them.

Well, I'm not taking any from you.

All right, let me through.

Break it up.

All right, all right, now...

Get out of here, both of you.

- Lieutenant, he was the one...
- I said get out of here.

- You're trying to start a riot?
- Lieutenant...

what happened was
not that man's fault.

Lady, you run your club-mobile.
I'll run my company.

Now beat it.
Get into the tents.

And everybody, break it up.

All right. Go on. Break it up.

Lieutenant Campbell, sir.

Robertson? C'mon in.

Corporal Robertson
reporting, sir, with a request.

- Why all the formality?
- It's a formal request, sir.

Okay, relax and
tell me what you want.

I would like to request
a transfer to another outfit.

Why?

I'd rather keep
my reasons to myself, sir.

- Because of what just happened?
- That might be a part of it.

Because I had to bark at you?

Well, that's my job whenever you
or anyone else gets out of line.

Would you rather have
thrown a few more punches?

Punches I can handle, sir.

Look, Robertson,

I'm not educated to all the
subtleties of race relationship,

but it was never my
intention to treat you any

differently from anyone
else in this company.

To the best of my
knowledge, I haven't.

Transfer? No. There aren't any to be had.

I don't think any of us
wanted to be in this outfit.

That didn't make
a bit of difference to the army.

It makes even less difference
if any of us wants to get out.

Is that all, sir?

Yeah.

Okay, turn out.

Thank you, my friend.

Oh, hi, Robbie.

I just asked for a transfer.

Why do you want to do a thing like that?

Because I don't like the
way I'm being treated...

especially by him.

- Campbell?
- What can I do about it?

Nothing.

He outranks us the way we've
been outranked all our lives.

- Ever think you could be wrong?
- Wrong?

Yeah, reading things into Campbell's
mind that aren't there.

Look, you don't ride
with him all day.

You don't know.

Robbie, I've been all over
the world, seen all kinds of people.

But this is the greatest bunch
of fellas I've ever worked with...

even if half of them are white.

All I ever heard them do
is argue and complain...

feel sorry for themselves,

And try to take their misery
out on somebody else.

Arguing and complaining isn't bad.
That shows they've got spirit.

All they've gotta do is get that
spirit moving in the same direction.

And when they do, boy you're gonna see
an outfit grow right up in front of you-

One you'll be proud of.

Proud?

- With him commanding.
- There's nothing wrong with that boy.

The day will come Robbie,
when you're gonna like that boy.

This is no easy job.

He got a lot on his mind
and the best thing we can do

is to try to help him work it out.

Hold it. Hold it.

- How long ago this happen?
- About a half an hour ago, sir.

- Why hasn't the road been cleared?
- We don't have equipment, sir.

Our convoy will go around it. We'll leave
our wrecker here to clear the road.

I wouldn't advise that, sir.
This area is pretty heavily mined.

Why don't we send someone back to the
next patrol point for an engineer crew?

We'd be here all afternoon. Red Ball
would be piled up from here to Saint-Lo.

No, we can't wait.

I'll take the first truck through myself.

McCord, you get back in your vehicle.

Yes, sir.

I'll circle the craters, sweep the
ground with a machine gun.

If there are any mines,
the bullets should explode them.

All we need is a
path ten feet wide.

Sergeant, will you get the men together?

Yes, sir.

All you men, assemble up here.

On the double.

Stay on the road.
Keep close to the trucks.

Now, here's the situation. This area around
here is undoubtedly heavily mined.

We can't wait to the...
Stop that truck.

I'm taking it through, Lieutenant.
Here is the big locomotive for the team.

Okay, you heroes.
This way to the front.

Take your helmets off.

What's this convoy
stopped for?

Holding services for
one of our men, Captain.

The chaplain will take care
of that, Lieutenant.

Hop in your trucks and get moving.

Take your helmet off, sir?

Do you move or
I put you under arrest?

Court-martial the
whole outfit, if you'd like.

Dear God...

this is Private Davey McCord.

A good man.

He always said he wanted to...

win something someday.

He never did.

Maybe you could fix up kind a...

prize for him.

He earned it.

Amen.

Something you wanted,
Captain?

No. Just try and make
up for the lost time.

Lieutenant, have your men put
the stuff back in the trucks.

Why?

There's a tank outfit bogged
down on the road 15 miles up.

You'll have to move up
alongside and unload.

All right, hold it.

Put everything back in the
trucks and prepare to move out.

Oh, no.

Hey...

do you suppose we're gonna drop
this stuff behind the German lines...

so it'll be waiting for Patton
when he gets there?

You know I wouldn't be a bit surprise.

My family used to say, that
boy Ronald. He'll go far.

At the time I didn't
realize how far they meant.

- Good morning, Lieutenant.
- Morning. How is it going?

Well, it's gonna go a lot better
since you're here, thanks.

Good. Red, get them unloaded.

All right, let's work
on this truck first.

Hey, Lieutenant, with
your permission I'd like

to have some of your guys help us, eh?

Sure.

Max get the boys and give
them a hand, will you?

Okay, you guys, on the double.

How many tanks
have you got here?

Oh, we have ten, but
there's more coming up.

- Put them in the trucks.
- Take them out of the trucks.

Put them in the trucks.

Take them out of the trucks,
that's a good rhythm.

Hey, what happened?

You boys take the wrong road?

You're up here where the
men are doing the fighting.

Oh, we came up here to
check on a rumor that you

fellas were selling
this stuff to the Krauts.

Yeah, we are.

But you oughta see the
price they're paying for it.

Oh, you jokers
have got a soft touch.

You know, you sat around on your butts
all day driving around the country,

but when you get here, we
have to do your work for you.

? Lift and load ?

? Lift and load ?

? One for Hitler ?

? And one for the road ?

? Lift and load ?

? Lift and load ?

They, um, look like they
work pretty well together.

- ? One for Goering ?
- Yeah, good outfit.

? One for Goering ?

Are you guys on a gravy train?

What Is this an army outfit
or a minstrel show?

You think this is a
gravy train, I'll swap you job.

You drive my truck
and I'll drive your tank.

Are you kidding, buddy?

You think I leave one of Patton's
tank companies for a lousy 4-F

goldbrick outfit like this?

You know Sergeant, if I were you I wouldn't
talk about the Red Ball Express that way.

Oh, the Red Ball Express.
We call it the Foul Ball Express.

Oh.

- No. No, wait a minute, Lieutenant.
- What do you mean?

Your boys are liable to
get hurt. My tankers are tough.

- We got to stop them, c'mon.
- No.

If anything I ever learn in life is not
to interfere in other people's fights.

See this scar? I got that
trying to be a peacemaker.

- I don't see any scar.
- It's there alright.

C'mon. I'll tell you about it.

Are you enjoying
yourselves, gentlemen?

Yes, sir.

- Ten-hut.
- Attention.

- Ten-hut.
- Attention.

- Ten-hut.
- Fall in.

Fall in.

I've always said that
men enjoy a fight...

and don't believe anybody
who says I'm a liar.,

But the battle is up there
ahead of you.

Save your fists and you energy for
the fanatics who got us into this war.

Don't use them in petty
arguments with the men who

supply the lifeblood
to your fighting outfit.

If it weren't for the Red Ball Express
and their men pushing through supplies,

we might never
be able to keep attacking.

And every day we can attack means we're
that much nearer to the end of the war.

Now get over and
help those Red Ball drivers

load whatever you need into your tanks.

And whenever they hand you
a gallon of gas or a bullet,

be grateful...

because it might be the one that saves
your life and the life of your country.

And when you're through tankers,
meet me two miles down the road.

We'll see how eager
you are to fight there.

All right, Sergeant,
get the men back to work.

Yes, sir. Back to the trucks.

Hey, Sarge, how do you
like the minstrel show, eh?

Good outfit.

Well, Taffy,
we're almost there.

Partridge, we passed
that little frenchy every

three days and past
five weeks without stopping.

If I know anything about women and I do...

- she just won't wait any longer.
- Oh, she'll be there, and lovely as ever.

- Hey, there she is.
- Hi, baby.

- What have you got?
- Her bicycle.

Now, don't you be in a hurry, Taffy.

Don't worry about me.
Don't you be.

Hey, c'mon. The Army's got
some inquisitive mechanics.

- Okay, what's wrong with it now?
- I don't know, Max.

I just happened to close my eyes
and all of a sudden she stops.

Just like that. Poor little old thing.

You think
she could just be tired?

Every time you
didn't stop, I worry.

- I think maybe you're dead.
- Would it make any difference?

Most certainly would.
You had my bicycle.

Well, you can put in your diary
that I would've come back...

even if I were dead and
didn't have your bicycle.

I like you.
Oh, hey, I almost forgot.

Here's the food I promised you.
I guess you're a little hungry by now.

Oh, no. Three weeks ago,
I stuffed myself with a cracker or two.

I'm sorry I joked about it, next time
I'll be around a lot sooner.

Well...

you can put in your diary...

I would have waited for you,

even if I'd just finished a banquet
and I didn't need my bicycle.

Who you trying to kid?
There's nothin' wrong with this truck.

Step on the starter.

Would you mind turning on
a switch, please?

- The switch? Oh.
- Yeah.

Then throw it in low
and keep on moving.

C'mon, c'mon.

What about my buddy?
I can't just leave him behind.

Look, most of the things we do in
this army are things we can't do.

Now get moving.

Hey. Hey.

Oh, no.

Well, they did it again.

Honey, I'm gonna have to buy
you a bicycle, but I'll be back.

- Oh, Robertson.
- Yes, sir?

I want to talk to you.

- I get some news you might like to hear.
- What news is that, sir?

I've been given permission
to approve requests for transfer.

I'm honoring yours. You'll be
in another outfit within an hour.

Lieutenant, I hoped
you'd forgotten that.

I don't want a transfer.

- Okay.
- Thank you, sir.

Hey, I see you got
yourself a very talented labor.

Not bad, huh?

How do you get them
so interested in the work?

Oh, wasn't me, it was you guys.

They say when they saw
all these supplies moving

they figured the war was as good as over.

Hey, now that's the way
I like to fight a war.

Let the enemy do it for you.

Huh. That's nothing. Watch this.

Hey, pretzel.

Eins, zwei.
? Liftund load ?

? Lift und load ?

Lift und load.

- ? One for little Adolf ?
- ? One for little Adolf ?

? And one for the Cleveland Indians ?

Hey, that's wonderful.

It ain't the Floradora
Sextet but it kills me.

- You got a union.
- So long.

Hey, Partridge.

- Where you going?
- Partridge. Hey.

- Say, is that really you, Higgins?
- It sure is.

And you, you can't be Wilson.

Who'd you think I was?
Eisenhower?

You could have fooled me. This
the first time I've seen you guys clean.

We got clean uniforms, showers and shaves.

What happened? Germany surrender?

Oh, no, Campbell did it.

He gave us 4 and
one half hour off.

Not because he wanted to.

Because the trucks are
so beat-up, they won't run.

And look, hide that, will you?

Before he figure out some way for
to take supplies up to Patton by bicycle.

Hey, why don't you lay off
Campbell for a while?

Yeah, I'm tired of hearing you gripe.

You're getting to sound as bad as Wilson.

Joke.

We'll all be at the Maison D'Or,
Partridge. You can join us there.

Nothing in the world is
gonna stop me. I'll see you.

For free.

You say something else,
charming.

Why, that's easy.
Hey, hey, hey.

- Come and get it.
- Hi.

What do you say?

Sorry, fellas. This is
high-priority merchandise.

I'm gonna Red Ball her
right to the bar.

Sergeant, don't let me stand in
your way. Baby, you're with me.

Hey, waiter.

Well, go on, Sarge.
You're spoke for.

Hey, baby,
you speak English?

What's the matter?
English a dirty word?

- What's your pleasure?
- Oh, you got a few.

No, no. I'm just intoxicated
by your presence.

C'mon, aren't you gonna
let me buy you a drink?

- Vermouth cassis.
- Vermouth?

Cassis? Certainement.

How did you
find your way here?

Oh, we had to come to
Cherbourg for some supplies,

so we thought
we'd take in the sights.

- Why aren't you men on the road?
- Simon Legree gave us a couple hours off.

Can be just so he could think of something
dirty to do to us when we get back.

Why do you dislike him
so much?

He, my brother Al and myself
were close friends once.

So, what did he do to you?

Well, Al and Chick...

were driving a double-trailer
load of gas over the Rockies.

Something went wrong
with the truck. It jackknifed,

went off the road into the woods,
turned over and caught on fire.

Campbell jumped out
when he saw trouble coming.

Al got pinned in the cab.

Instead of going back to get him,
Campbell turned yellow and ran.

Didn't he have anything
to say any explanation?

Explanation?

He said he was thrown out of
the cab when the truck jackknifed.

He was knocked cold.

When he came to, Al was...

Hi, Lieutenant.

Whiskey.

Take off those bars and come outside.

Turn over the MP. Tell that
he's under arrest by my order.

Yes, sir.

You're sort of throwing the
book at him, aren't you, Lieutenant?

You know what's on his mind.

So you do too.

Well, look, Miss Red Cross.
Let's get one thing straight.

When that truck went up in flames,
there wasn't anything anybody could do.

Are you sure?

I hope you never
have to see one burn.

If any of you men here are
from the 2371st Truck Company,

report back to
the dump tout de suite.

That's French for
"Don't waste a minute."

C'mon.

Out here...

beyond the regular Red
Ball route, is a spur.

And on that spur is Moray,

where one of Patton's spearheading
tank outfits is bogged down.

For the past 24 hours the Germans
have been trying to cut them off.

They've closed everything behind
them except the road through Grouy.

And the tank outfit
is out of gasoline.

Yes.

They can hold out as
long as their ammo lasts.

But if they had enough gas they
could break out of the encirclement.

And if they don't pretty soon

we might as well write those
tanks and men off the books.

We want a small convoy
with a maximum load

to sneak through before the
Germans know what happened.

Now Lieutenant...

your trucks are outside being loaded.

Get them out of
here in the next 15 minutes

and drive like you've
never driven before.

And don't let anything stop you.

If you make it you
probably won't get a medal,

But you'll save an awful lot
of good men.

Yes, sir.

Here's Sergeant Kallek for you, Lieutenant.

Thank you, Captain.

- C'mon. Get out.
- What about the charges against him?

- He's being released to me.
- I'd rather take the rap.

Shut up and come with me.

Take cover.

Take cover.

Hey, Taffy.
That's a German tank.

If we only had a bazooka.

Hey, if anything happens,
give this to Antoinette, will you?

It's all I've got.

- Hey, where you going?
- Tonight I'm a bazooka.

Okay, Red, let's get rolling.

Roll in. Roll in.

Well, you made great time,
Lieutenant.

- I'm afraid you're a little too late.
- Tank outfit captured?

No, but it's a matter of minutes.

Krauts set fire to Moray,
and they're completely cut off.

It's impossible to get through now.

Do we have to go through Moray?

Well, there's only one road,
and that was it.

Then we have to go
through Moray.

That's very dramatic,
Lieutenant,

But how you're gonna get all
this gasoline through a burning town?

Look at that.

Burning like election night.

Anybody get through that
can land a job in a circus.

You think any of those truckers
will try to get through that furnace?

If they do I'll eat these stripes.

I can't blame them much, though.

Those guys get all the work
and none of the glory.

This is glory?

Bring it up here
on the double.

Well, there it is.

You mean we're gonna
drive through that?

At least we'll be
able to see the road.

Come to me it might be a little

dangerous if one of the
trucks gets stalled in that fire.

You stalled in there buddy,

you'll be driving the only
ten-wheel Roman candle in France.

Okay.

We go as fast as we can.

Only remember. Don't crowd anyone.

Keep...

20 yards apart.

At the bottom of the hill,

you'll find the main drag.

It's the only street
that goes through the town.

You make a right turn into her.

If the street is blocked, ride over it...

around it, climb a
building if you have to.

Don't stall your truck. If you do,
you'll pile up everybody behind you.

Sergeant Kallek will take the lead truck.

Good luck.

When I pull out,
you can swing around me.

Yeah, sure.

What truck you gonna be in, Lieutenant?

The last?

- Look at that. It's murder.
- So it's murder.

Get out on the running board
and tell me where to turn.

Turn right.
Turn right.

Turn. Turn.

There's one of our trucks.

Hey, Lieutenant.
Here he comes. He made it.

Hey, Lieutenant, for awhile we
thought you were a goner.

- What are you guys doing here?
- We're waiting for you.

Well, c'mon. Let's go.

Lieutenant. Headlights out of Moray.

I don't believe it.
It's them. It's them.

- C'mon. Get the lead out.
- Get those nozzles ready.

The gasoline's coming.

- Hey, what's happening?
- Hey, fellas.

- ? Lift and load ?
- ? Lift and load ?

? Lift and load ?
? Lift and load ?

? One for Hitler ?
? One for Hitler ?

? And one for the road ?

Little further down the road.
She'll be there waiting. She always is.

Hey.

Hi, Partridge.

Partridge, you look great.

- Sir, you wanna hear all about it?
- This time, yeah.

Well, I jumped out of
that truck before it hit the tank,

and rolled off the road and
hit my nogging on a rack.

When I came to you've gone,

so I picked up a bicycle but
I couldn't catch you with that.

So just peddled back here and, uh,

killed no times.

- Here's your notebook.
- Oh.

Boy, you blanket a chapter to write.

Come and get it.

Okay, take ten.

As a matter of fact, take 20.

Cup of coffee, Red?

? Lift and load ?

? One for Hitler ?

? And one for the road ?