1944 Army Information Branch Newsmap of the Approaches to Japan

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 the islands. The photograph of the soldier was taken on Bougainville Island, while a location is not given for the other two. The larger of the three images depicts a pontoon bridge built by the Army Engineers after the local bridge had been washed away by a flood.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared and distributed by the Army Information Branch from public sources of information. It was distributed in the Navy by the Educational Services Section and was published on May 8, 1944. We note 7 examples of the Newsmap cataloged in OCLC, which are part of the collections at Duke University, Denison University, Ohio Wesleyan University, Davidson College, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville, the University of Missouri - Columbia, and the National Library of Australia. Another example is part of the collection at the University of North Texas.