Colley, David P. The road to victory; the untold story of World War II's Red Ball Express.Warner. 300p. illus. notes. bibliog. index. c2000. 0446-66768-4. $6.99. JSA JSA - Japanese Standards Association. When authors of comprehensive history texts discuss the Allies' advance across Western Europe Western Europe The countries of western Europe, especially those that are allied with the United States and Canada in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (established 1949 and usually known as NATO). in WW II, they focus on leaders, battles, and strategy. Rarely are such necessary commodities as food, ammunition, and gasoline gasoline or petrol, light, volatile mixture of hydrocarbons for use in the internal-combustion engine and as an organic solvent, obtained primarily by fractional distillation and "cracking" of petroleum, but also obtained from natural gas, by even mentioned. This book helps to set that record straight. Readers will learn about the quartermaster quartermaster Officer who oversees arrangements for the quartering and movement of troops. The office dates at least to the 15th century in Europe. The French minister of war under Louis XIV created a quartermaster general's department that dotted the countryside with trucking companies that supplied the front line troops with the materials needed to bring the war in Europe to a successful conclusion. An interesting aspect of this saga is the fact that most of the men who made up the Red Ball (and later the White Ball and other trucking units) were African Americans African American Multiculture A person having origins in any of the black racial groups of Africa. See Race. . Their job was a very complex one. Not only did they deliver supplies, but they also fought the Germans, kept their vehicles in running order, operated at an exhausting pace, and battled prejudice within their own army. The author has done his research well and has blended information from books, unit histories, oral histories, and personal interviews into a riveting riv·et·ing adj. Wholly absorbing or engrossing one's attention; fascinating: The last chapter was so riveting that I was reading past midnight. story of men at war. The action moves from the landing beaches of Normandy through the hedgerows and across the battlefields of Western Europe. The need for the trucking units arose because the French railroads were destroyed and the Americans advanced so rapidly that it was difficult to keep the front line troops supplied. The Red Ball filled the gap. It transported unbelievable quantities of war materials (e.g. 1,530,000 gallons of gasoline and 30,000 tons of ammunition in one day). An excellent book for students of WW II, and one of the few that deals with prejudice within the ranks. Prof. John E. Boyd, Jenkintown, PA |
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