Advance of the 5th Armored Victory Division Rhine River to the Elbe

The Victory Division approaches Berlin.

This map is one of four that were published during or shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War in Europe that highlight the contributions of the Fifth Armored ‘Victory’ Division. Three separate sheets provide a detailed narrative of the unit’s advance; including movements by individual combat command groups, dates and notes on engagements, and lines of enemy defense, while the fourth is a compilation of all these.

This is an example of the third map produced in the original series, all of which were designed by T/4 of the 22nd Engineers Robert Buchan. The sheet shows the path of the division from crossing the Rhine River in late March 1945 to its approach of the Elbe River about three weeks later. Annotations identify specific actions, their respective units, times, etc. One example reads “Upon reaching Elbe, 5th Armd was nearest American Division to Hitler’s Berlin.”