Dated Events World War Map

An interesting and unmarked edition of the Dated Events War Map Series.

The Dated Events War Map Series was first introduced in 1942 as a collaboration between artist Stanley Turner and the C.C. Petersen Advertising Firm of Toronto. Audiences on the homefront were eager for information about the major battles, strategic locations, and important leaders of World War II – especially as their loved ones began deployment overseas in large numbers. The brightly colored images were regularly re-issued with new information on the global conflict, with nearly 30 different serialized editions and numerous variants. Local businesses, purchasing in bulk, would overprint advertisements prior to distribution.

This is a nice example of an unmarked edition of the Dated Events War Map, published in late 1943 and distributed by Allyn and Bacon. Territory across Europe, North Africa, and Western Asia is colored according to political alignment, and military bases are identified throughout; the legend in the lower center offers further info on both. Insets provide similar details for the Western Hemisphere (upper left), Eastern Hemisphere (upper right), and Africa (lower left).

Small vignettes and historic notes offer further elements of interest. Important wartime events, heavily somewhat to favor the Allied narrative, are listed and dated across every affected region. The most recent entry can be found in North Atlantic with the ‘mass attack air war against Huns’ in September (would be changed to Nazis in later editions). Other recent causes for celebration include victory in North Africa, the invasion of Sicily, and the ousting of Mussolini.

A similarly updated black and white map of the Pacific Theater is printed on the verso showing the difficult situation of the Allies. Of particular note are the losses of Corregidor, Bataan, Singapore, and nearly all Pacific island possessions except Australia and New Guinea. Numerous historic events (i.e. the wreck of the Bounty, death of R.L. Stevenson) are included, possibly to soften the blow of so many defeats in the region. Fortunately for the Allies, victory at the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Coral Sea began to turn the tide. For more information on Dated Events War Maps, check out my blog post here.