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The Road to Victory: The Untold Story of Race and World War II's Red Ball Express Kindle Edition

by David P. Colley (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 78 ratings
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This “important contribution to WWII history” reveals the trucking convoy, manned by unsung black soldiers, who helped defeat the Nazis (Publishers Weekly).
 
After the D-Day landings in Normandy, Allied forces faced a golden opportunity—and a critical challenge. They had broken across enemy lines, but there was no infrastructure to supply troops as they pushed into Germany. The US Army improvised a perilous solution: a convoy of trucks marked with red balls that would carry desperately needed ammunition, rations, and fuel deep into occupied Europe.
 
The so-called Red Ball Express lasted eighty-one days and, at its height, numbered nearly six thousand trucks. The mission risked attacks by the Luftwaffe and German ground forces, making it one of the GIs’ most daring gambits. Without the soldiers who successfully executed this operation, World War II would have dragged on in Europe at a terrible cost of Allied lives. Yet the service of these brave drivers, most of whom were African American, has been largely overlooked by history.
 
The first book-length study of the subject, The Road to Victory chronicles the exploits of these soldiers in vivid detail. It’s a story of a  fight not only against the Nazis, but against an enemy closer to home: racism.
 

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  1. Print length
    255 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  5. Publication date
    June 10, 2014
  6. File size
    1913 KB
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After the Normandy invasion, the Red Ball Express--a U.S. Army trucking operation that lasted 81 days--transported critical ammunition, rations, gasoline and other supplies to American troops as they pushed on toward Germany. Three-fourths of the Red Ball drivers were African-Americans who faced continual prejudice and hostility from white soldiers. In this stirring chronicle--an important contribution to WWII history--former Baltimore Evening Sun reporter Colley tells the full story of the Red Ball Express for the first time. Drawing from interviews, army documents and oral histories, Colley leaves no doubt that the heroic efforts of the Red Ball drivers, who braved strafing by Luftwaffe planes, German artillery and friendly fire, contributed significantly to the defeat of the Nazis in France--and he shatters the myth that the Germans were the masters of mechanized warfare. (While the German Army was supplied by horse and wagon, the American army's secret weapon in the ground war-- simple, rugged trucks nicknamed "Jimmies"--made it the world's most flexible and mechanized force.) Colley transforms what might have been a dry tale of military logistics into a rousing, perceptive reappraisal of the Allied invasion of northern Europe. Although the Red Ball's exploits--the subject of a 1952 movie starring Sidney Poitier--are legendary, former Platoon Sergeant John Houston (father of singer/actress Whitney Houston) sums it up: "We never got enough credit for what we did.... The Army would never have won without us." Photos, maps. (Mar.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

A classic American tale of perseverance, aptitude, and adaptation. -- Bloomsbury Review, May/June, 2000

"The old adage says that amateurs talk tactics while professionals talk logistics. Yet there is a sad dearth ofbooks that examine World War II logistical operations in any detail. Colley's well-researched, well-written book helps fill that void and sets a standard for measuring the impact of supply considerations on combat operations. I was particularly impressed by the discussion of racism and its impact not only on the Red Ball but on the conduct of the war . . .In this sense, Colley's book . . .contribute(s) to the growing collection of works . . .on racism in American society and the armed forces in World War II." -- Jay Karamales, co-author of Against the Panzer: United States Infantry versus German Tanks, 1944-1945

Colley ... transforms a routine trucking operation into something that has drama and an important life of its own. -- Indianapolis Star, April 22, 2000

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00KQZY2U8
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (June 10, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ June 10, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1913 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 255 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 78 ratings

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Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
78 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

William H. and Elizabeth Bowers
5.0 out of 5 stars The Red Ball Express kept the army moving!
Reviewed in the United States on July 26, 2018
Verified Purchase
I wish I could give this book SIX stars! It explains how a mechanized army is almost useless without the constant and timely delivery of fuel, food, ammunition and equipment. The army high command needed many truck drivers and they decided to tap into a resource that had been considered inferior.

It is disheartening to read about the vicious and pervasive racism that black soldiers had to endure. However, on the positive side, this book details the tenacity, endurance and bravery of the Red Ball truck drivers. Ammunition and material that was vitally needed had to be quickly trucked in bad weather and over worse roads to reach the rapidly advancing armies.

As a black man I want to know about the Red Ball Express, but when the broadcast media presents documentaries about World War II, the contribution of that truck convoy is ignored.

Despite the painful parts of the book that details the racist treatment black soldiers had to experience, I will urge my grandchildren and indeed all black people to read it.

William H. Bowers
8 people found this helpful
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Spark
5.0 out of 5 stars This book is a great tribute to Black Americans who participated in World War ...
Reviewed in the United States on October 23, 2016
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This book is a great tribute to Black Americans who participated in World War II. I had seen the movie "Red Ball Express" which was a fictionalized story based on the men who drove the supply trucks for hundreds of miles over difficult roads, and facing the hazards of combat while doing so. Also they were given little rest, and as a result faced an additional hazard of falling asleep while driving.
6 people found this helpful
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Gerry
4.0 out of 5 stars A very good book on an heroic effort – one that was ...
Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2015
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A very good book on an heroic effort – one that was largely completed by African American Soldiers in the ETO during the Second World War. Early in the book we find the “official” existence of the “Red Ball Express” was 25 August – 16 November, 1944. The interesting thing I find about the start date of the “Red Ball” is that it coordinates with the official Liberation of Paris; the concluding “official” date is the first day of the Rhineland Offensive coordinated by American Forces in retaliation for the German Forces that rapidly had moved into the Northeast Aachen Forest.

What I enjoyed about this book were the specific comparisons of tonnage provided to the forward moving front line troops. General Patton for example had pushed this supply route along by mere action of his aggressive attacks against the German Forces. In some ways this book dovetails the Carlo D’Este book on Patton or at least that section that relates to the battle fields of France following the Normandy Invasion of 6 June 1944. Within the index of the book the author ensured pictured visuals of all the different types of trucks he had referenced that were weaved with personal accounts of the stories of GI Soldiers who had to do this sort of work.

I would recommend this book for persons interested in additional details to the battle fronts of the American attack as they approached the Rhineland. This book in my view dovetails with the biography of General George C. Patton by Carlos D’Este. The many African American Soldiers did a marvelous job and they receive seemingly little credit for their efforts. Gen. Patton acknowledged their efforts to keep him supplied – it was this supply that kept his well-oiled efforts moving. An important book for students of Military History and continuous education.
3 people found this helpful
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3john
3.0 out of 5 stars About medium
Reviewed in the United States on December 18, 2019
Could use copy editing, Echternach, St. Tround? Repetitive at times. Errors in sources passed on unmarked. Passes on conclusions of the wider war rather uncritically.
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Thomas C. Greenman
5.0 out of 5 stars The way we won the war
Reviewed in the United States on May 31, 2013
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Excellant portrait of the unsung heroes of WWII; the transportation units that kept our armies supplied after the D-Day invasion. The fact that the majority of the troops were African Americans in segregated units has never been adequately addressed until now and this story demonstrates their heroism, endurance and skill. What makes the story more compelling to me is that my father was a captain in one of these companies and worked on the Red Ball Express.
8 people found this helpful
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RandoDeadpool
5.0 out of 5 stars This is a very good analysis as well as review of historical facts
Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2016
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This is a very good analysis as well as review of historical facts. It explains what happened and why it was important then and is in many ways still important today. If you enjoy reading biographies, historical books, or military topics, this is a book that i think you will enjoy.
4 people found this helpful
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Leslie Molluzzo
5.0 out of 5 stars Very well written.
Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2021
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Enjoyed learning about the Red Ball Express.
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Kindle Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Keep On Truckin
Reviewed in the United States on July 31, 2016
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Since I am a student of WWII, I have known for years of the Red Ball Express. But this is the first time I read an actual history of it. I didn't know how it actually worked, or the extreme hours the men worked to get supplies to the front. It was a very informative work, and one that helped to develop the story of the war just a bit more.
7 people found this helpful
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dave
5.0 out of 5 stars Cracking little book about a little known subject.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 9, 2017
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I heard the Red Ball express mentioned somewhere and wanted to find out more. This is a super little book that explains just about every aspect of both technical and human. Recommended.
One person found this helpful
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ALMA
5.0 out of 5 stars Red Ball Highway
Reviewed in France on August 22, 2014
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Très intéressant sur cette période.
Histoire pas assez connue
Très intéressant sur cette période.
Histoire pas assez connue
Très intéressant sur cette période.
Histoire pas assez connue
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