Newsmap (15 results)

88.9x119.4 cm. Unbacked, folding large format WWII map of the world, conveying news of World War II to the American soldiers. Color coded. Very good condition with small separations as Volume 1, No. 51 covering news from April 3 to April 9, 1943. The base map is surrounded by news-style articles, images, photographs, and other information regarding the progress of the war. There is an inset map of the Eastern Front in Europe, showing the front line between the end of the Battle of Stalingrad in February and the German Kursk Offensive in July.

Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Verso repairs to fold separations and at fold intersections. Images dedicated to training Navy pilots and aircrew printed on verso. Size 34.25 x 46.25 Inches. This August 6, 1945 Newsmap illustrates the World War II (1939 - 1945) U.S. strategic bombing campaign against Japan. August 6, also corresponds to the world's first use of an Atomic Bomb against the Japanese at Hiroshima - although that fact is not presented here and was likely not known to the mapmakers. A Closer Look A photograph of two B-29 Superfortresses (with bomb bay doors open and bombs tumbling toward their target) dominates the sheet. An aerial photograph of Kobe during a B-29 raid appears on the upper right, with most of the city obscured by smoke from the raging fires. The brutality of the American bombing offensive becomes is underscored by General Curtis Le May, the commander of the Twentieth Air Force, 'In a few months we expect to run out of targets in Japan'. The accompanying text provides additional detail, stating that 51% of Tokyo, 51% of Kobe, and 44% of Yokohama, just to cite a few, had been destroyed by the B-29s. White boxes highlight eleven additional cities: the Twentieth's next targets. The B-29 and the Bombing Campaign against Japan At the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, Japan successfully captured Wake Island, Guam, and the Philippines, effectively eliminating all possibility of American air attacks against the Home Islands. It took until 1944 for the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) to be able to conduct a sustained air offensive against the Home Islands. The campaign began from airfields in India and China, with B-29 Superfortresses based in India and refueling in China before bombing targets on Kyushu. However, supplying these air groups proved next to impossible and put a sustained offensive from the bases out of the question. Then, after U.S. forces captured Guam, Saipan, and Tinian in the Mariana Islands between June and August 1944, airfields were constructed from which B-29s could attack Japan. The air offensive began as a strategic bombing campaign at the end of November 1944. However, these strategic raids proved ineffective, due to high altitude and other difficulties. A Change of Tactics The ineffective nature of high-altitude precision bombing led the USAAF to change tactics and institute a low-altitude firebombing campaign of Japanese cities. Japan's cities were built mostly of wood and cloth, making them susceptible to firebombing. The first firebombing raid on March 9-10, 1945 proved to be the most destructive of the war. In that raid, 16 square miles of Tokyo were destroyed, over 120,000 people were killed or injured, and more than one million were rendered homeless. Firebombing raids of this sort continued throughout March, April, May, and June. By the end of May, over 50% of Tokyo had been destroyed and it was removed from the XXI Bomber Command's list. In mid-June, the XXI Bomber Command began attacking small cities, with populations as small as 62,280, and, since the targets were so small, the bombers would be divided between multiple cities on one day. The aerial bombardment campaign continued until the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with a raid against Yawata and Fukuyama occurring between the two atomic attacks. Bombing raids mostly ended after the Japanese government began surrender negotiations, with only two raids occurring on August 10th, the day after the raid on Nagasaki. Truman ordered an end to the offensive on the 10th, fearing that if attacks continued they would be interpreted in such a way that the Japanese would believe the negotiations had failed. Verso Content - Training Navy Pilots Photographs printed on the verso highlight nine aspects of training undergone by Navy airmen and aircrews. Among these are navigation, maintenance, recognition, bombing and torpedoing, and gunnery. A photograph of an airplane about to land on an aircraft carrie.

Very good. Light wear along original folds. Size 27 x 36.75 Inches. A curious, unrecorded c. 1942 Newsmap of the United States, based on an earlier Rand McNally map of the same. It is likely a very early Newsmap, distinct from the Army Information Branch's later output. A Closer Look The map covers the United States along with portions of Canada and Mexico, tracing state and national borders, national parks, and national monuments in red and heavily developed urban areas in black. Cities and towns, geographic features, highways, railways, canals, Indian Reservations, and other features are labeled throughout. The most interesting element of this map is the note at bottom, which indicates that this is part of the collection of Newsmaps published by the Army Information Branch during the Second World War. However, it differs significantly from other Newsmaps in the series, which were unique creations by the Army Information Branch, suggesting that this was an early production. Publication History and Census This map was originally produced by Rand McNally in their Commercial Atlas . A map with this title appears in that atlas throughout the 1920s and 1940s, but the presentation of this map matches the 1938 edition, though this appears to be a larger format edition of that map. The map was republished by the Army Information Branch, likely in the weeks after the Pearl Harbor attack. This map, with the text at bottom, is not recorded among the holdings of any institution in the OCLC and does not appear in the Library of Congress' Newsmap collection.

Fair. Wear along original fold lines and slight loss at fold intersections. Closed tear extending 2.75 inches into printed area from bottom margin professionally repaired on verso. Verso repairs to fold separations. Closed margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Old tape reside on recto. Two pieces of old tape still adhered to recto. Size 35 x 47 Inches. This is a 1944 Army Information Branch double-sided Newsmap for the week of April 27 to May 4, 1944. It was issued on May 8, 1944. One side of the map features four Richard Edes Harrison map views depicting the four approaches to Japan. The other includes information and photographs from both the Italian and Pacific campaigns and a map depicting the pre-invasion air offensive undertaken by the Allies, which presents continental Europe from England and Spain to Leningrad and the Black Sea and from Oslo and the North Sea to Naples, Greece, and Turkey. The Four Approaches to Japan Concerning the Four Approaches to Japan, each map measures 12.5 x 20 inches and depict topography on a spherical Earth - a novel and captivating cartographic convention pioneered by Harrison. The four titles are 'From Alaska', 'From Manchuria', 'From China-Burm'a, and 'From the S.W. Pacific'. Although these maps do not include notations detailing combat actions, all four views cover fiercely contested regions. Richard Edes Harrison is credited with bringing a fresh perspective to cartography, as he was not a trained cartographer. He compiled his maps from various sources and is credited for pioneering this type of spherical view, which allows for a much better understanding of actual distances in the light of air travel. The Newsmap The other side of the map presents detailed information about the war's progress over the previous week. Information about the far-flung air offensive over Europe is the first story, stating that targets have ranged from Oslo to Ploesti in Romania. Raids had been undertaken from Allied bases in both England and Italy against an extensive list of targets over the previous month. In Italy, fierce fighting in Anzio continued until Rome's capture in early June. In the Central Pacific, the Pacific Fleet led another raid on Truk Island in the Carolines. Truk was one of Japan's major forward operating bases in the Pacific and would prove to be a tough assignment. The Pacific Command, led by Admiral Chester Nimitz, decided to 'leapfrog' Truk and let it 'wither on the vine' as Allied naval attacks took a toll on Japanese shipping, opting to launch their next campaign in the Mariana Islands. Japanese military units were surrounded and stranded throughout the Pacific, as was done in the offensive on New Guinea, which is related in the section discussing the Southwest Pacific. These soldiers were left to either starve or die of disease since they did not choose to surrender. The sections covering Southeast Asia and the Eastern Front are far less detailed, although two different engagements are recounted in the Southeast Asian theater. Heavy fighting was reported around Imphal in India and along the Mandalay-Myitkyina railway in Burma. The right map details continental Europe. Rail lines and the two different zones of the air offensive are illustrated: England and Italy. The photographs printed here come from the Italian and Pacific theaters. The three images along the left border were taken in Italy; the top one on the Anzio Beachhead, the second features a captured German remote-controlled miniature tank that had been disabled by machine gun fire, and the third depicts a U.S. Army barber somewhere in Italy, who has several different cuts available, including a Saturday special, 'shave, haircut, and purple-heart'. The other photographs, along the bottom, come from the Pacific. The image of the fleet was taken in the Marshall Islands includes nine aircraft carriers and a dozen battleships, cruisers, destroyers, and supply ships. The other three images illustrate jungle combat on t.

Good. Light soiling. Light wear along original folds. Occasional handwritten annotations. Several tears along folds professionally repaired. Size 17 x 23 Inches. A curious 1943 World War II Newsmap prepared and distributed by the Army Orientation Course, set up by the Army Orientation Branch. This Newsmap was issued to educate American soldiers on German weapons and capabilities during the offensive drive northward through Italy. A Closer Look The World War II (1939 - 1945) view presents a hypothetical battlefield with U.S. troops attacking German units defending a ridgeline. The array of weapons available to the Germans is numbered in the view, corresponding to a list at bottom, which moves from close-quarters weapons like bayonets and pistols through rifles and machine guns to mortars and artillery. Information on each weapon type is provided, such as their range and rate of fire. This information was presented to U.S. troops during training to demonstrate the enemy's capabilities and develop effective countermeasures. Historical Context This Newsmap was most likely published in August 1943. U.S. and British troops had encountered the Afrika Korps in North Africa, an effective and well-led force but a small contingent compared to the regular Wehrmacht. However, in July 1943, the Allies invaded Sicily. This quick operation was followed by a more difficult slog up the Italian Peninsula, as Germans set up row after row of defensive lines cutting across the peninsula. It is thus no coincidence that the scene depicted here resembles the Italian countryside, with the Americans attacking uphill. Publication History and Census As noted in the margin, this Newsmap was printed by the Government Printing Office in 1943 for the Army Orientation Course. It also appeared on a two-sided Newsmap dated Monday, August 30, 1943 (Week of August 19 to August 26, 207th week of the war, 89th week of U.S. participation). The lack of content on the verso may indicate that it was an overseas edition of that particular Newsmap, but such overseas editions are generally marked as such. In any event, the two-sided Newsmap is noted among the holdings of some 15 institutions in the OCLC. References: OCLC 61751863, 62786502.

Very good. Exhibits wear and soiling along original fold lines. Verso repair to fold separation. 'Disease in the Tropics' illustrations and information printed on verso. Size 34.5 x 46.5 Inches. This 1943 Army Orientation Course Newsmap map of the Mediterranean, Europe, and North Africa details Allied operations in the middle of June. Short paragraphs describe five significant events from the past week. The most important, particularly with the benefit of hindsight, garners top recognition: The Allied capture of four small islands in the Mediterranean. Published only a few weeks before the Allied invasion of Sicily, codenamed Operation Husky, the eviction of Italian forces from these islands removed one of the last hurdles to the forthcoming landings. From Sicily, the Allies would jump to mainland Italy, the first Western Allied assault on Axis-occupied Europe. Other actions recounted include brutal fighting on the Eastern Front between the Nazis and the Red Army, British and American aerial bombardments of targets in Germany, and an announcement that U.S. submarines sunk another dozen Japanese ships the previous week. The Mediterranean and South Pacific Maps A brilliant blue shades areas occupied by the Allies, including the four islands discussed above. Gray regions mark Axis occupied countries and Spain, Portugal, and Turkey are marked as neutral. Publication History and Census This map was created and distributed by the Army Orientation Course in 1943. Seven examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the institutional collections at the Boston Athenaeum, Pennsylvania State University, Denison University, Davidson College, the Library of Michigan, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, and the Denver Public Library. References: OCLC 60847355.

Very good. Closed margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Slight loss to margin in lower left corner. Text and printed photographs on verso. Size 16.5 x 23.25 Inches. A piece of Allied propaganda created for soldiers, this is a 1945 U.S. Army Information Branch Newsmap map of the battle fronts in Europe and Asia. Published a few months after Germany surrendered, this piece celebrates the achievements of Allied armies in Europe while illustrating how much farther there is to go in Asia and the Pacific. A Closer Look Focusing on the theaters of war, dark gray highlights areas liberated by the Allies since December 7, 1941 (Pearl Harbor Day). Red and blue lines illustrate the battle fronts in 1941, 1942, 1943, and 1944, illustrating a progression toward Allied victory. Light gray in Asia and the Pacific are territory still held by the Japanese as of May 8, 1945 (V-E Day). A key is situated at center along the bottom border and includes the recommendation, 'Keep This Map Alive - Don't let it become just a decoration - add your own phase lines, shade in the enemy areas taken daily until V-J Day'. Since this piece was published in early July, the war would rage for another 6 weeks before Japan surrendered. Verso Content The verso is densely packed with information and propaganda. A bright red map occupies the center and indicates six events that took place over the course of the week. Among these were firebombings of cities on Kyushu and Honshu, the climax of the Okinawa campaign, hard fighting on Luzon and Mindanao, and an amphibious landing in Brunei Bay. The map is encircled by propaganda, presented here as 'facts'. Some, such as the strength of the Japanese armed forces, appear factual, while others, including commentary on Japanese 'fanaticism', are most certainly propaganda. Printed photographs depict a factory making artillery pieces, a Japanese fighter, and a captured Japanese submarine. A small map in the lower right corner emphasizes the continuous aerial bombardment of the Japanese home islands and states that 5,480 tons of bombs would be dropped daily on Japan. Publication History and Census This map was prepared and distributed by the Army Information Branch in July 1945. This is an Overseas Edition, which is smaller than the domestic Newsmaps. Also, since they were sent overseas, the Overseas Editions have a much higher attrition rate, making this a rare find compared with the domestic edition. We note a single example of the present Overseas Edition of this Newsmap in OCLC and it is part of the collection at Texas A and M University. References: OCLC 1159987621.

Good. Light wear along original fold lines. Verso repairs to separations at fold intersections. Text and printed images on verso. Size 34.25 x 46.25 Inches. This is a 1945 Army Information Branch Newsmap propaganda map of Japan featuring a battleship engaged in firing towards the archipelago. Published during the last few months of World War II (1939 - 1945), this piece emphasizes efforts by the United States and Britain to force Imperial Japan to surrender. A Closer Look A black and white photograph of an American battleship dominates the sheet. Smoke billows from its guns and fire spews from the muzzles emphasizing the continued bombardment of Japan. A map of Japan occupies the upper left with dozens of cities identified. Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, and Osaka are labeled in bold. Seven large arrows point to parts of the Japanese islands, indicating locations where American operations had taken place between July 10 and July 18. A key along the bottom provides short explanations of these actions, which include attacks by carrier-based aircraft, bombardments by the combined American and British fleet, and bombing raids by American B-29 Superfortresses. Verso Content: Photo History of Army Air Forces Utilizing nine photographs of different aircraft, the verso provides a short history of the evolution of the Army Air Forces from its creation in August 1907 to its present strength in July 1945. Wright flyers appear in three of the photos, while World War I (1914 - 1918) era planes occupy three of the others. World War II era aircraft appear in only two of the photos, these being the ultra-modern B-17 and B-29. Publication History and Census This map was created and published by the Army Information Branch, appearing on Monday, July 30, 1945. We note nine examples cataloged in OCLC which are part of the collections at Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the University of Michigan, the Library of Michigan, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri - Columbia, Texas A and M University, and the Denver Public Library. An example is also part of the collection at the University of North Texas. References: University of North Texas W 109.207:4/15. OCLC 47735386.

Good. Exhibits slight wear and a few minor splits along old fold lines, particularly at fold intersections. Very minor loss at two fold intersections. Old folds stabilized where required with archival tissue on verso. Size 46.75 x 35 Inches. This is a 1944 Morale Services Division Newsmap wall map of Southeast Asia. Created for American personnel serving overseas during World War II, the map depicts the region from Hankou, China to Borneo and Sumatra and from Calcutta to Hong Kong. This was a critical, if little-remembered theater of World War II, but little detail concerning the war appears, likely because that information would be severely out of date by the time the map finally reached its intended audience. The map was intended for general educational use concerning the area's geography, cities and towns are labeled throughout. Larger print identifies important cities, which were the ones that soldiers were more likely to recognize, including Singapore, Mandalay, Hong Kong, Macau, Canton (Guangzhou), and Kunming (the Chinese Nationalist capital), to name only a few. Roads that roughly correspond to the famous Burma Road are included as well, although are not labeled as such. The Verso Content One of the attributes of the Newsmap genre is the abundance of content on one side and large graphic content of some kind (usually a map or propaganda poster) on the other. This edition is not an exception. Ten black and white photographs surround a world map highlighting territory still controlled by the Axis. Short paragraphs situated at top center provide summaries of the week's most important war-related events. In this case, these include fighting between the Nazis and the Soviet Red Army on the Eastern Front, significant raids in the air war over Europe; brutal fighting in southern Italy; and the completion of a jet engine by the Allies. The photographs present the viewer with images of a small Italian village before and after an Allied artillery barrage, three images of U.S. Army Chief of Staff General George Marshall's visit to the Southwestern Pacific to visit General Douglas MacArthur, and three WACs encountering a sacred cow in a Delhi, India bazaar. Publication History and Census The map of Southeast Asia was drawn by F.E. Manning, and the whole was prepared and distributed by the Morale Services Division of the War Department. Ten examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the institutional collections at Pennsylvania State University, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the University of Michigan, the Library of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Southern Illinois University, the University of Missouri and the Denver Public Library. References: OCLC 416656295.

Very good. Light wear along original fold lines. Text and map on verso. Size 23.25 x 17 Inches. This is a 1945 Army Information Branch Newsmap map of Taiwan / Formosa. The focus of the map is the Potsdam Conference - which is highlighted on the verso. It was during this conference that Taiwan was 'officially' returned to China following World War II (1939 - 1945) - in an arguable rebuke of the 1941 Atlantic Charter, which guaranteed Taiwan's independence. A Closer Look Created by the Research and Analysis Branch of the Office of Strategic Services (OSS - the wartime forerunner of the CIA), the map details Taiwan and identifies cities and towns across the island by the Japanese names. Airfields, roads, and railroads throughout are illustrated, along with Taiwan's dramatic topography. An inset map in the lower right situates Taiwan in a regional context, with distances to Japan, the Philippines, Korea, and numerous locations in China, including Hong Kong. Red text informs on recent history, from the Japanese annexation after the Sino-Japanese War (1894 - 1895) to the end of World War II in 1945. Verso Content - The Potsdam Conference The verso summarizes the events of the Potsdam Conference and the conclusions reached by the Allies. A photograph of the negotiating table appears at top-center, and Truman, Churchill, and Stalin are identifiable. Portraits of the members of the recently created Council of Foreign Ministers appear as well. A map of the Eastern Hemisphere fills the sheet to the left and right of the central text, which lists all the achievements of the conference. In Japan, the number 1 marks Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped by the U.S. The numbers 1 through 5 on the map correspond with a short text headed with 'War News 7 Aug.' Potsdam Conference Held in Potsdam, Germany (in the Soviet zone of occupation) from July 17 - August 2, 1945, the conference brought together Soviet General Secretary Joseph Stalin, U.S. President Harry S. Truman, and British Prime Ministers Winston Churchill and Clement Atlee (Churchill lost the British general election during the conference). The Allies agreed that the four occupation zones into which Germany had been divided after its unconditional surrender would be maintained, that Germany's eastern border would be moved to the Oder-Neisse line, that a Soviet-supported group was the legitimate government of Poland, that Vietnam would be divided at the 16th Parallel, and as here, that Taiwan would be returned to China, along with other pressing issues. Publication History and Census This map was created and published by the Army Information Branch in August 1945. We note eight examples cataloged in OCLC: Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the University of Michigan, the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, South Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the Denver Public Library. References: OCLC 55673972.

Very good. Exhibits wear along original fold lines and toning. Pinholes at corners. Area of infill to lower left corner. Printed images and information about jungle warfare on verso. Size 34.25 x 46 Inches. One of the earliest maps in the series, this is a 1942 Army Orientation Course Newsmap of the world. Nearly half of this fascinating piece is occupied by a map of the world, with the Americas at center, that uses color to illustrate how the world is divided between the Allied Powers and the Axis. Here, the orange marks 'Axis and Axis Occupied' territory, while the green marks the 'United Nations'. Nine war-related events that took place across the world are marked as well, with numbered arrows and captions informing the viewer what the event was, and a line and a circle indicating the general area where the event took place. History As It Happened It is important to remember that in late September 1942, when this map was published, World War II was far from over and the outcomes of many critical battles were still unknown. The beginning stages of two such battles, the Battle of Stalingrad and the Battle of Guadalcanal, are highlighted here. These battles raged for five and six months, respectively, and when this map was published the Allies had been on Guadalcanal for nearly two months and the siege at Stalingrad had just finished its first month. Events on the War Fronts As stated above, nine different events around the world are highlighted on this particular piece, not only Guadalcanal and Stalingrad. Other highlighted actions during this week took place in North Africa, Madagascar, New Guinea, and the Arctic Ocean. Small inset maps provide the viewer with a better understanding of some of these actions, such as the fighting on New Guinea and New Britain, where Allied troops stopped the Japanese advance on the critical port of Port Moresby only thirty-three miles from the city. Another inset map depicts eastern China and Taiwan (Formosa), while the third highlights the Caucasus in southern Russia where Stalingrad had just weathered the first month of the siege, which would last until February 2, 1943. Photographs are also interspersed among the maps and the information and present the viewer with M4 Sherman tanks going through testing, an Allied airfield at Port Moresby that had recently been bombed by the Japanese, and a German soldier riding a camel in the Caucasus. Interestingly, the caption here states that the photograph was received 'through London from a neutral source' and that it was unclear as to 'how extensively the animals were being used there'. HA. 19 : The Captured Japanese Mini-Sub That Attacked Pearl Harbor The photographs printed along the right side of the world map present the captured Japanese mini-submarine HA. 19 during her War Bonds tour. The submarine was part of the Japanese assault on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, although it never succeeded in entering the harbor itself. Its gyrocompass broke that morning, and without it, the sub's crew beached their vessel three times on coral reefs before she was finally disabled by the USS Helm . Her crew's attempt to scuttle the sub failed, and, after a bombing raid dislodged her from yet another reef, she washed ashore, where the U.S. Navy disassembled her into three parts and took her back to Pearl for investigation. After the Navy was done with their investigation, HA. 19 was sent to California, where she was put on the back of a flatbed truck and used to help promote the sale of war bonds. By the time her tour was finished, she had visited 2,000 cities and towns in forty-one states. Today, HA. 19 is part of the collection at the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas. Publication History and Census This map was created by the Army Orientation Course and published in 1942. Ten examples are catalogued in the OCLC and are part of the collections at Pennsylvania State University, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davids.

Good. Verso repairs to fold separations. Light wear and toning along original fold lines. Printed text and images on verso. Size 35 x 46.5 Inches. This is a visually striking 1945 'Army Information Branch Newsmap' map of East Asia. The map depicts the region from western China to the Marshall Islands and from the Soviet Union to New Guinea and the Solomon Islands. Allied Territory is shaded red and highlights the constant pressure being put on Japanese government. The Japanese home islands, colored black, are at the center of a constantly shrinking sphere. A textbox situated along the right border highlights four actions by the Allies as they 'push closer' to Tokyo. Some are territorial moves, such as the invasion of Kume, the Australian landing at Balikpapan on Borneo, and offensives by Chiang Kai-shek's Chinese nationalists in French Indochina and along the Chinese coast. The last of the four is an abhorrent strategic move: the firebombing of four Japanese cities by American B-29 Superfortresses. The Firebombing of Japan History has done an incredible job of remembering the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with good reason. While these tragedies warrant remembrance, popular memory has largely forgotten that the Japanese suffered devastating bombing attacks by the U.S. Army Air Forces well before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In early March 1945, American commanders began firebombing Japanese cities with napalm. On the night of March 9, 1945, the American napalm firebombing campaign against Japan began. More than 270 B-29s rained fire on the Japanese capital, dropping over 1,600 tons of bombs. The raid destroyed sixteen square miles of downtown Tokyo, killed an estimated 100,000 civilians, and left over one million people homeless. After a month of strategic bombings in support of the invasion of Okinawa, the firebombing campaign against Japan's other biggest cities commenced in earnest in mid-April and continued through June. In those two months, the Army Air Force destroyed Japan's six largest cities, killed between 112,000 and 127,000 people, and left millions homeless. Incendiary raids against small Japanese cities began in mid-June and continued through the end of the war in August. These raids on small cities could effectively wipe them off the map. Publication History and Census This map was created by the U.S. Army's Information Branch and distributed to army and navy posts in the United States in early July 1945 to help with training. Eight examples are catalogued in the OCLC and are part of the institutional collections at Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the Library of Michigan, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri Columbia, Wichita State University, and the Denver Public Library. References: OCLC 55991442.

Very good. Slight wear along the fold lines. Size 17.5 x 23.5 Inches. A 1945 Army Information Branch Newsmap from the last stages of World War II, covering the week of July 3 to 10 and focusing on China. As indicated in the title, China had been engaged in a full-scale war with Japan for eight years by this point, more than double the time the U.S. had been in the war. A Closer Look This map displays eastern China, highlighting areas under Japanese occupation. Photographs of Chunking (Chongqing) (China's wartime capital), Kunming (recently liberated by Chinese forces), and an airfield under construction appear at left. An inset map of East Asia sits near top center while a timeline runs down the right side of the sheet. At this point, the war against Germany had ended and the postwar occupation of Europe was being hashed out. Military planning shifted to forcing a Japanese surrender, which would come within weeks of this map's publication. The verso includes a quote by General Brehon B. Somervell, commander of the U.S. Army's logistics wing (the Army Service Forces) during the war, stressing the commitment of his unit to power the American war machine and quickly end the Pacific War. China's Second World War As the timeline makes clear, China had been engaged in a long and bloody war with Japan for most of the preceding decade, and by some measures had been at war with Japan since 1931, when Japan invaded Manchuria and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. After lightning advances in the first stage of the war, Japan failed to force the surrender of Chinese forces led by Chiang Kai-Shek. With assistance from outside countries, including the U.S., and a mass mobilization drive, Chiang was able to stave off Japanese moves towards Chongqing, his wartime capital deep in the Chinese interior. The Pearl Harbor attacks were a blessing for Chiang, transforming tepid and limited American support into a proper alliance. However, the increased aid from the U.S. and other Allies came with increased scrutiny of Chiang's quasi-authoritarian government and disorganized military led by self-interested warlords. Chiang clashed bitterly with Joseph Stilwell, a Mandarin-speaking U.S. Army officer with prewar experience in China, and other American officers and advisors. He also was deeply concerned about the Communist forces entrenched in northwestern China, with whom he maintained a tenuous and partial 'united front' ceasefire. For their part, the Japanese proved capable of launching offensives and gaining some territory, even making deep gains in Operation Ichi-go in 1944, but had minimal control outside of cities and constantly struggled against attacks and sabotage by guerilla forces. Attacks on Allied airfields and supply lines were often successful, but airfields and supply lines could be reestablished further behind Chinese lines, including through engineering feats such as the Ledo Road. The Japanese had difficulty establishing a collaborationist government with widely accepted legitimacy, even after gaining the high-level defection of Wang Jingwei, a leading Chinese politician and Chiang rival. As the Allies secured air and naval superiority in the Pacific and pressed in on the Japanese home islands, Japanese forces in China increasingly became isolated. Thus, although Japan occupied large portions of China, especially the populous and relatively wealthy east coast, there was no realistic end of the conflict without somehow forcing a Chinese surrender, an increasingly unlikely prospect. All told, the Second Sino-Japanese War was one of the most destructive theaters of the war, though it has often been overlooked by Western historians. China was second only to the Soviet Union in the number of civilian and military casualties sustained (somewhere on the order of 20 million) and was the victim of repeated atrocious war crimes committed by Japanese troops. As with the Soviets' Great Patriotic War, China's 'War of Resistance against Ja.

Good. Wear along original fold lines. Verso repairs to fold separations. Closed margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Verso repairs to separations at every fold intersection. Slight loss at a few fold intersections. Printed text and images on verso. Size 34.25 x 46.25 Inches. This is a 1946 Army Information Branch Newsmap map of the world celebrating the First Session of the United Nations General Assembly. A map of the world occupies a little less than one quarter of the sheet with the members of the nascent United Nations (U.N.) (and their colonies) shaded red. A black inset focuses on the area from Boston, Massachusetts, south to Princeton, New Jersey, and red stars mark potential locations for the United Nations' permanent headquarters. A photograph of the opening of the session occupies the upper right quadrant, while an image of the U.S. delegation appears below the map in the lower right corner. On the left side, text provides a short history of the creation of the U.N. and the events of the session. Text and graphics in the lower left corner inform the viewer of the existence of the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council. The First Session of the United Nations General Assembly The First Session of the United Nations General Assembly took place from January 10 through February 14, 1946, at Methodist Central Hall, Westminster, London. The Security Council and the Economic and Social Council also met periodically during this session. While numerous topics were discussed, perhaps the most important achievement of this meeting was finishing the organizational phase of the United Nations. The Assembly established the Atomic Energy Commission, determined that the official languages of the United Nations would be Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish, and laid the groundwork for how non-governmental organizations would participate with the UN. Verso Content - The Scuttling of the French Fleet at Toulon The verso of this Newsmap highlights the scuttling of the French fleet at Toulon on November 27, 1942. After the French signed the armistice with Germany after the Fall of France in 1940, the French navy was confined to harbors in France and the French colonies. Following the Allied invasion of North Africa in November 1942, Nazi Germany invaded the 'free zone' and ended any illusion of an independent France. Most of the French fleet was anchored at the naval base at Toulon and had been ordered by high command to not allow any foreigners (Allied or German) to take control of the fleet. After the invasion of the 'free zone', German forces turned their sights to capturing the fleet at Toulon. German tanks arrived in Toulon around 4 a.m. on November 27 and tried to make their way to the harbor. French forces successfully delayed the Germans long enough that seventy-seven naval vessels were successfully scuttled at anchor. Four submarines disobeyed orders and successfully evaded German ships guarding the harbor and fled to North Africa. All major French naval vessels were destroyed, effectively keeping them out of German control. However, the Germans did manage to capture thirty-nine small ships, although this did not keep the operation from being viewed as a disaster. The present broadside celebrates the French 'victory' at Toulon. Silhouettes of warships, images of burning naval vessels, and a portrait of a French sailor are superimposed over the bleu, blanc, et rouge of the French flag, along with text that declares 'They Lost Every Ship But Won The Battle'. Publication History and Census Part of the Newsmap series, this map was prepared and distributed by the Army Information Branch in January 1946. We note seven examples cataloged in OCLC which are part of the collections at Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the Library of Michigan, Southern Illinois University and Edwardsville, the Denver Public Library, and the University of Missouri - Columbia. References: OCLC 6.

Very good. Wear and toning along original fold lines. Verso repair to a fold intersection and a fold separation. Slight loss at a few fold intersections. Text and printed images on verso. Size 34.25 x 46.75 Inches. This is the chilling Atomic Bomb issue from the iconic World War II Newsmap series. Issued in 1945 as the 'Army Information Branch Newsmap of eastern China and Japan' shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, one week before the Japanese announced their surrender to the Allies to end the Pacific War, World War II. Understanding the Map The map depicts the region from central China and Mongolia to Japan and from the Soviet Union to Taiwan (Formosa) and Hong Kong. Red areas highlight the regions controlled by the Chinese nationalists led by Chiang Kai-shek and the Soviet Union with the white illustrating the Japan's ever-dwindling empire. Thick red arrows illustrate the directions of advance by the Chinese south of Hankow (Hankou), the Soviet Red Army in Manchuria and Karafuto, and the U.S. Navy in the western Pacific near Japan itself. A photograph in the upper left corner presents Soviet troops in combat against the Japanese, on whom the Soviets declared war on August 8th. Mushroom Cloud: The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagaskai The photograph in the upper right corner has since become iconic and almost immediately recognizable as the mushroom cloud rising above Hiroshima following the atomic bombing of that city by the U.S. on August 6, 1945. The bottom photograph presents the deck guns of an American warship, although it is unclear which one, though it is likely a cruiser. Publication History and Census This map was created by the Army Information Branch and published on August 20, 1945. Ten examples are cataloged in OCLC and are part of the collections at Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, the Library of Michigan, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri Columbia, Wichita State University, the Denver Public Library and Texas A and M University. References: OCLC 48030780.