Original subtitles

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-ô and Périers,

we ran into it...

A wall of German men and guns planted there by der Führer with one order:

Hold or die.

The Germans didn't have any corner on giving orders.

Break through.

And so, on July 27, the Allied armies swung all the way from the floor,

and we hit the west wall with everything we had,

Lightning Joe Collins's 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's 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 10 seconds to get out of there!

Yeah? Well, I'll give you just 10 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 here in the road?

- Are you lost or afraid or both? - Neither, sir.

It's 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.

So 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 somewhere.

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 advance section of the communications zone...

Colonel Carter. It's in Le Mans.

Yes, sir. Make the call, Corporal.

Yes, sir.

This is Tippecanoe 6. 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?

Yes, sir. Yes, General. Can you hear me?

Doesn't make any difference whether I can hear you...

because you're not going to be doing any of the 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 and gasoline and more gasoline.

And I want small-caliber ammunition and rations,

and I want them sent up here as fast as you can get them to me.

I know how you feel, General, but 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!

Ten-hut!

Here's the situation, men. At ease.

In the 23 days since the Allied troops...

broke their 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 outrun his line of communications support.

He's virtually drinking gasoline,

chasing krauts with .30-caliber bullets.

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 a 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. I still don't know.

Then stop beatin' your brains out thinkin'.

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

even if they have to lose the war.

This is the highest-prize 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 goin' on over here.

A year and a half we train.

The Fightin' 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 beefin'?

Drivin' a truck is the softest touch in the world.

You sit down all day long.

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

Nobody breathin' down your neck.

Carry a couple of 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 want to drive a truck in heaven.

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

It's a cinch. Take you 10 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.

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.

And would you believe it? By the time I got to Phoenix,

all I had to do was add the butter and the salt.

Yeah.

Very entertaining.

Oh, that was nothin'.

Once I was drivin' in the Rockies, see?

Rockies? And it was... Yeah.

I pushed a few rigs over those hills myself.

Oh? Pretty cold, wasn't it?

Hey, what are you workin' on there...

A formula for a secret weapon?

Oh, 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.

What, what, what? Why, why, why?

Look, Shakespeare, you write anything about this outfit,

leave me out of it, will you?

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

Then why don't you tell a joke?

Aw, come on. He was only kiddin'.

Company, halt!

Left face!

Rest.

Al right, you men, the army's 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's gonna make it up to you.

This time, you're really goin' some place.

Hey, Sarge, don't we have at least a general or somethin' in charge of us?

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

And 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.

All right. At ease, men.

My name's 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 'em,

unload, roll 'em... 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, dismissed!

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.

They sneaked a look at my Form 20 and found out I was a trucker.

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

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

I'll only mention this once.

We have a job ahead of us here 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's Partridge. This is livin', isn't it?

Excitement, drama, drivin' 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'd 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.

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 ridin' with a man...

with your drivin' background.

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

Yeah.

Say, uh, I wouldn't like this to get around,

but how do you start one of these things?

Oh!

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, Mac. I'm drivin'.

Oh, sure, Sarge. Sure.

My name's Heyman.

I'm Red Kallek.

What do you think of this outfit, Sergeant?

With an officer like Campbell in charge, not much.

What's the matter? You got somethin' against him?

Yeah, I got somethin' against him.

He killed my brother.

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

My name's 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 the Golden Gloves.

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

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

That's a coincidence.

Sergeant Kallek's a trucker from Colorado. Did 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 loadin' the trucks.

Make it snappy, huh?

What do you know... stew.

Stew, stew. This is new?

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

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ Lift and load ♪♪

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

Somewhere off the Seine River, if General Patton's still there.

Gee. That Patton... he's really makin' 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's ever done.

You really think so, huh? I could be wrong.

I don't think so, sir.

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 have 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 'em 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...

You give us a big locomotive for the team.

Yes, sir.

♪ And one for the fraulein ♪

♪ One for the fraulein ♪

♪ One for the boys ♪ All right, fellas.

♪ One for the boys... ♪♪

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

Come on. Let's go. Everybody.

Here we go. Now listen carefully.

Finally got the scoop.

Here's the water.

Here's Cherbourg, where we are.

Saint-Lo, Paris, the Seine River.

Now, Cherbourg's gonna be our main supply dump.

Pick up the supplies here and move 'em 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 10 days to get there.

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

driving a maximum speed of 35 miles an hour.

Lieutenant, I've seen those roads.

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

The roads will be cleared for us.

Incidentally, Sergeant, speaking of bullets, I want you to check...

and see that every man's been issued a belt full of ammunition and a rifle.

We gonna shoot rabbits or somethin'? Could be.

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

Now, in addition to rations, we're gonna be carryin' ammunition and gasoline,

so I don't have to warn you to be careful.

You have any questions?

Okay, everybody in the trucks.

All except you, Sergeant.

Quit buckin' me, will you, Red?

I 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 'em.

The large part of it's gonna be your job.

Don't worry. When the goin' gets rough,

you won't see me jumpin' out of a truck and runnin'.

You better get in your vehicle.

That Partridge.

If his truck lasts long enough, he may learn how to drive.

Get that vehicle off the road. I'll check the damage.

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

before it starts growin' roots.

Aw, 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'd 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.

Wh-What's this Red Cross business?

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

We're Red Cross workers, Sergeant.

This is our clubmobile.

We're supposed to ride this road,

serve coffee and doughnuts to the Red Ball Express drivers.

- We 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. Comin' 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, Lieutenant.

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.

Well, I... I know this is gonna sound stuffy,

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.

You'll 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.

This boy's the soul of generosity.

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

Sergeant Kallek.

We'll take 10 here.

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

Anything else, sir? Yeah.

Yeah, put 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 communications zone work.

I don't wanna 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!

Come on. Let's relax.

Relax? Are you kiddin'? Security patrol.

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

You take it right.

Whatever gave 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's laughin' himself to death.

Say, how do you laugh in German?

Grab your guns and take cover away from these trucks!

Wonder where the lieutenant's goin'.

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.

Come on. 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 'em.

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 'em.

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 thinkin'... a bus line or a gravy train.

There's hundreds of Germans been bypassed.

A lot of 'em still figure we haven't won the...

Stop! Stop! Hold that fire!

Think I'll buy you a slingshot.

Are you the officer in charge of this outfit? Yes, sir.

Lieutenant Campbell, sir. Don't your men even recognize their own army?

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

I'm sorry, Major. The men... It's bad enough...

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

But then 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's broke, we've done 275 miles in the last 36 hours.

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

This is where we drop it, Lieutenant.

This area's been cleared for mines.

Where's the Seine River?

Just the other side of those hills.

Soon as Patton gets another bridge built, his boys will pick this stuff up.

Hey, Major, which way is Paris?

About 10 miles in that direction. Uh-huh.

It's not gonna do you any good. The Germans still hold it.

Germans? Ten miles away?

What's the matter? You nervous because the krauts are 10 miles away?

That's a little close, buddy.

Well, don't spread this around, but they're 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 this stuff on the ground.

Let's move, Sergeant.

All right, you guys. The next hour will be devoted to physical education.

Next thing you know, they'll want us to pour the gas right in the tanks,

load their guns and pull the triggers for 'em.

I guess this is the life of a soldier.

Soldiers? Are you kiddin'?

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

Hey, Taffy, you know that book I'm doin' on my war experiences?

I'm afraid that's gettin' a little depressing.

You ask me, you've lost readers by the hundreds already.

Hold it!

Hold it! Hey, wait a minute, Red Ball!

There's no point in 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.

We'll take good care of 'em, sir.

"Halten Sie!"”

All right, Red Ball, we got passengers.

Load 'em up, Sergeant.

You know, there's nothin' 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.

And I...

I'll have the...

The first... book.

You all right? Fine, fine.

How about you?

I think so. I just fell asleep.

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

Yeah. We'll 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...

Mm-hmm. 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.

"Num." 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.

Non. 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.

Hey, 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 "shoove off" stuff?

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

Oh. They were here?

Mm-hmm.

Well, I guess I will shove off.

I heard that American soldiers fight for what they want.

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

with $280 a month plus flight pay...

and that line they teach 'em at basic training,

there's nothing left around here worth scrounging for.

Wait a minute, Ronald.

You remembered.

Don't worry about the air corps.

We just helped send some of them back, through the underground.

Oh, well.

Uh! Uh, friend!

Americano!

Amigo! Yeah.

Yeah, Cherie... Antoinette!

Say, uh, cigarette?

I'm with her.

Américain? Oui.

Oh, merci!

Sure. Yeah.

Yeah. Uh-huh.

Louise! Louise! Oui?

Ma femme. Un Américain.

Hi, uh...

Oh, bonjour. How do you do?

Marie? Marie? Oh, la voila.

Oh, cute! Hi!

Eugene!

Oh! Say, this is great!

Uh... No, go ahead. Non, non, non.

Go ahead. Merci, merci.

Marie!

Say, come on. I'll get you some food.

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

I'll be back.

Au revoir, monsieur. I'll be back.

There it is. Let's take off.

Wait a minute. I gotta find my buddy first.

If he isn't here, that's his tough luck. Wait a minute!

Take off.

Hey! Wait for me!

Whooh. I'm in a lot of trouble. 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 rollin' in 20 minutes.

We gotta be outta here by 0500.

Aw, 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?

Personally, I think that this is a pretty...

Okay, okay, Higgins. Knock it off.

Okay, fellas, up and at 'em.

Oh, brother.

♪ Lift 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 'em?

They were dropping stuff at their forward dump 10 minutes after we left.

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

Tomorrow, there'll 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 workin' as you do gripin',

we'd 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 have you been?

Oh, that. Sir, if I live to be 100 years old,

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

Due to a failure of the steering mechanism,

our vehicle unfortunately 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 tending 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... Uh...

It's a very long story, Lieutenant.

Okay. But I ought to 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 climbed up into those trucks and didn't get out of 'em for the next three weeks.

And you know, I was the guy who once said drivin' was a cinch...

Just a matter of pickin' stuff up here and puttin' it down there.

Well, my vast driving experience...

Had left out something quite important.

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

and your feet gettin' slow-baked on the floorboards...

and in between, more aches and pains...

than were ever squeezed into six feet of human body.

Cobblestones, dust, blackout lights and hairpin turns...

weren't enough, it seemed.

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 Baller seven 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 somethin' tougher ahead.

Accidents... Sure, we had 'em.

But their wheels would hardly stop turnin'...

before a repair crew hauled 'em back on the road,

gave 'em a little mechanical motherin'...

and sent 'em 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.

It was our gas and our friends goin' up.

When we hit the towns again... or what was left of them... Taffy kept askin' me,

"Where are those mademoiselles...

who were supposed to be waitin' just to throw their arms around us?”

I was too tired to even think about mademoiselles.

And, 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?

It's a relief camp for you Red Ball drivers. Relief camp?

That's nice. Now all we gotta do is get a medal every time we drive 10 miles.

It'll be just like the air corps.

Lieutenant, better have your men get the gear off the trucks. What for?

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 movin'.

That's pretty good. Sergeant, will you have the men take their stuff off the trucks?

All right, you men, take your personal stuff off the trucks!

9415! Outside and mount up!

It's all yours.

Take it easy, baby!

Come and get it! Come and get it!

Oh, boy. This is good. Hot coffee.

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

Hot stuff. Comin' out! Hey, hey. Can we look too? Huh?

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

What are you two dames doin' tomorrow night?

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

What a romantic item for my book.

Two dames chased 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, forget about him. How about giving me a couple of those doughnuts?

Black boy, you give orders to nobody. You take 'em.

Well, I'm not taking any from you!

All right, break it up. 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 tryin' to start a riot?

Lieutenant, what happened was not that man's fault.

Lady, you run your clubmobile. 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? Come on 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.

"Cause of what just happened? That might be a part of it.

'Cause 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 that 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? Nothin'!

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

Ever think you could be wrong? Wrong?

Readin' 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.

This is the greatest bunch of fellas I've ever worked with,

even if half of them are white.

All I ever heard 'em do is argue and complain,

feel sorry for themselves,

try to take their misery out on somebody else.

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

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

When they do, 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.

Got a lot on his mind. The best thing we can do is to try to help him work it out.

- Hold it! - Hold it! Hold it!

How long ago did 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-L0.

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's a path 10 feet wide.

Sergeant, will you get the men together? Yes, sir.

All right, you men, assemble up here!

On the double!

Stay on the road! Keep close to the trucks!

All right. Here's the situation.

This area around here is undoubtedly heavily mined. We can't wait...

Stop that truck!

I'm takin' it through, Lieutenant. Here's a 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 do 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 some kind of a prize for him.

He earned it.

Amen.

Something you wanted, Captain?

No. Just try and make up the lost time.

Lieutenant, have your men put this stuff back in their 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.

Oh!

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

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

You know, I wouldn't be a bit surprised.

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's it goin'?

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

Good. All right, Red, get 'em unloaded.

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

Lieutenant, with your permission, I'd like to have some of your guys help us.

Sure. Max, get the boys and give 'em a hand, will you?

Okay, you guys, on the double!

How many tanks have you got here?

Well, we have 10, but there's more coming up.

Put 'em in the trucks. Take 'em out of the trucks.

Put 'em in the trucks... Put 'em in the trucks. Take 'em out of the trucks.

That's a good rhythm.

Hey, what happened? Did you boys take the wrong road?

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

Well, we came up here to check on a rumor...

that you fellas were sellin' this stuff to the krauts.

Yeah, we are. But you oughta see the price they're payin' for it.

Oh, you jokers have got a soft touch.

You not only sit 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 ♪

♪ One for Hitler ♪

♪ And one for the road ♪

♪ 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? Is this an army outfit or a minstrel show?

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

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

Are you kiddin', buddy? You think I'd leave one of Patton's tank companies...

for a lousy 4-F goldbrick outfit like this?

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

Oh, the Red Ball Express. Well, we call it the Foul Ball Express.

Oh!

Hey! Come on!

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

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

We'd better stop this. Come on. No, no.

If there's anything I ever learned in life,

it's 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, all right.

Come on. I'll tell you about it.

Aah!

Are you enjoying yourselves, gentlemen?

Yes, sir. No...

Ten-hut! Attention!

Ten-hut! Attention!

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 your 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 the men in it pushing through supplies,

we might never be able to keep attacking.

And every day we can attack means we're that much nearer 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'd you like the minstrel show, eh?

Good outfit.

Well, Taffy, we're almost there.

Partridge, we've passed that little French girl every three days...

for the 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!

Whoo-ee! Man, 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, come on! 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 expect 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.

Hey, who you trying to kid? There's nothin' wrong with this truck.

Step on the starter.

Would you mind turning on the switch, please?

The switch? Oh. Yeah.

Then throw it in low and keep on moving.

Come on! Come on!

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

Look, pal, 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 borrow your bicycle, but I'll be back!

Oh, Robertson.

Yes, sir?

I want to talk to you.

I got 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'd hoped you'd forgotten that.

I don't want a transfer, sir.

Okay.

Thank you, sir.

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

Not bad, huh?

How'd you get 'em so interested in the work?

It wasn't me. It was you guys. The said when they saw all these supplies movin' up,

they figured the war was as good as over. Oh, yeah!

Hey, now that's the way I like to fight a war. Let the enemy do it for you.

Huh! That's nothin'. Watch this.

Hey, pretzel!

Eins, zwei! ♪ Lift und load ♪

♪ Lift und load ♪

♪ 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 goin'? 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?

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

We got clean uniforms and showers and shaves.

What happened... Germany surrender? No, no. Campbell did.

He gave us four and one-half hours 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 figures out some way for us to take supplies up to Patton by bicycle.

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

Yeah, I'm tired of hearin' you gripe.

You're gettin' to sound as bad as Wilson.

Joke!

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

Nothin' in the world's gonna stop me.

I'll see you.

For free. For f...

Hey, say somethin' 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've had a few.

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

Come on. Aren't you gonna let me buy you a drink? Vermouth cassis.

Vermouth... Cassis? Certainement.

Um, 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.

Maybe 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...

drivin' a double-trailer load of gas over the Rockies.

Somethin' 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 comin'.

Al got pinned in the cab.

And instead of goin' 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 Campbell.

Whiskey.

Take off those bars and come outside.

You're makin' a mistake, Red. So I'm makin' a mistake.

Get him.

Turn him over to the M.P.s. Tell them he's under arrest by my orders.

Yes, sir.

You're sort of throwin' 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 about it.

Are you sure?

I hope you never have to see one burn.

Any of you men here from the 2371st Truck Company,

report back to the dumptout de suite.

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

Come on.

Out here, beyond the regular Red Ball route, is a spur.

On that spur is Moret,

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 Gruey.

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.

Come on. 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 goin'?

Tonight, I'm a bazooka.

Okay, Red, let's get rollin'.

Roll in. Roll in.

Well, you made great time, Lieutenant.

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

No, but it's just a matter of minutes.

Krauts set fire to Moret, and they're completely cut off. It's impossible to get to 'em.

Do we have to go through Moret?

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

Then we have to go through Moret.

That's very dramatic, Lieutenant,

but how you gonna get all this gasoline through a burning town?

Look at that. Burning like election night.

Anybody get through that, they 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.

Seems to me it might be a little dangerous...

if one of the trucks gets stalled in that fire.

You get stalled in there, buddy,

you'll be drivin' the only 10-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.

But 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 outside on the running board and tell me where to turn.

Turn right! Turn!

Heyman!

Turn! Turn!

There's one of our trucks!

Hey, Lieutenant! Here he comes!

Hey! He made it!

Hey, Lieutenant! Boy, we thought you were a goner!

What are you guys doin' here? We're waitin' for you.

Well, come on! Let's go!

Lieutenant! Headlights out of Moret!

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

Come on! Get the lead out! Those Red Ball drivers did it!

The gasoline's coming! They're bringing gasoline!

Hey, what's happening? Hey, fellas!

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ One for Hitler ♪

♪ And one for the road ♪♪

Little further down the road.

She'll be there waiting. She always is.

Hey!

Hi, Partridge!

Hey, Higgins! Hey, Partridge!

Boy, do you look great.

Well, sir, you wanna hear all about it? This time, yeah.

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

and I rolled off the road and hit my noggin on a rock.

When I came to, you'd gone.

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

So I, uh, just peddled back here and, uh, killed a little time.

Here's your notebook. Oh!

Boy, have I got a chapter to write!

Come and get it! Come and get it!

Okay, take 10. Amen!

As a matter of fact, take 20!

Cup of coffee, Red?

All right! All right!

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ Lift and load ♪

♪ One for Hitler ♪

♪ One for Hitler ♪

♪ And one for the road ♪

♪ And one for the road ♪♪