Four Approaches to Japan. Volume III No. 3B / NEWSMAP. For the Armed Forces. 243rd Week of the War - 125th Week of U.S. Participation. Volume III No. 3F.

1944 Army Information Branch Newsmap of the Approaches to Japan

Publication Date: 1944

About this Item

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.

Seller Inventory # FourApproaches-newsmap-1944-2

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Four Approaches to Japan. Volume III No. 3B / NEWSMAP. For the Armed Forces. 243rd Week of the War - 125th Week of U.S. Participation. Volume III No. 3F.
• Publication Date: 1944
• Seller catalogs:
  • JAPAN-MAPS