Patton", was in charge of gathering two drivers for every truck, obtaining special equipment, and training port battalion personnel as drivers for long hauls. Able-bodied soldiers attached to other units whose duties were not critical were made drivers. Almost 75% of Red Ball drivers were black. Over 36 hours of planning, 132 already existing military trucking operations were combined into a truck force composed primarily of 2.5 ton GMC “Jimmy’s” and 1.5 ton Dodges. The Dodge trucks had a reputation for reliability. The GMCs were prone to breakdown, but were available in greater numbers. The larger concept of the Express and its routing would be the work of General Dwight D. Eisenhower, based on a French model (and would be an influence in Eisenhower’s role in the development of the U.S. Interstate Highway System in the 1950s). To keep supplies flowing without delay, two routes were opened from Cherbourg (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin since 2016) to the forward logistics base at Chartres. The northern route was used for delivering supplies, the southern for returning trucks. Both roads were closed to civilian traffic. The Red Ball was at the center of a number of other named supply tracks. The Green Diamond operated in the region of Cherbourg; the White Ball from Le Havre to Paris; the Lions Express between Bayeux and Brussels; and the ABC Express eastward from Antwerp. Only convoys of at least five trucks were allowed, escorted in front and behind by a jeep. In reality, it was common for individual trucks to depart Cherbourg as soon as they were loaded. It was also common to disable the engine governors to travel faster than . Convoys were a primary target of the German Luftwaffe but by 1944 German air power was so reduced that even these tempting and typically easy targets were rarely attacked. The biggest problems facing the Express were maintenance, finding enough drivers, and lack of sleep for the overworked truckers. The most problematic natural enemy of the Express was mud. The trucks used wheels that could be easily overwhelmed, and efforts to escape could burn out transmissions while dried mud could immobilize their brakes. To control traffic and provide security for the route, the 793rd Military Police Battalion, activated December 1942, was sent to the Red Ball from August through December 1944. The early beginnings of the battalion are commemorated on the distinctive unit insignia, with two red balls