1945 Army Info Branch Newsmap Map of the Battle Fronts in Europe and Asia

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.