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Description

A Striking Wall Map of World War II in Southeast Asia.

Excellent pictorial map of Southeast Asia during the Second World War, issued by the Navy Department at the height of the War in 1944. The map highlights the breaking of Japanese supply lines by US forces and the start of the withdrawal of Japanese forces from Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

The visually striking presentation of the map alludes to the struggle that remained before the war would end and to the global nature of the conflict. The yellow arrows show the various advances and repulsions of the Japanese military, while the white lines focus on supply chains. A list at the left describes "Historic Highlights in America's Relations with Southeast Asia", which starts when the first U.S. merchant ships arrived in the region. The map also shows how carrier-based aircraft attacked Japan and then flew into China. Diagrams of the Battle of Midway and Battle of Attu are shown.

The NavWarMap Series

The so-called "NavWarMap" series was published by the Educational Service Section, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Navy Department, Washington, D.C. The NavWarMaps are some of the more important and aesthetic pictorial maps to have come out of World War II. They are particularly information-rich, as far as pro-war propaganda goes, and would have been used to rally a tired populace towards finishing the war.

The NavWar series included the following maps:

  1. The Mediterranean
  2. The South China Sea Area
  3. World War II in the North Sea Area
  4. The North Pacific Area
  5. Southwest Pacific
  6. We Fight a Global War