Europe Road Map [Handwritten 9th Infantry Division Route Map]
A ‘cartographic journal’ recorded by a medical officer in the 9th Infantry Division.
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Description
This heavily personalized collection of eight European road maps was originally designed in 1938 by the Michelin Company. These particular versions were reprinted in 1941 by the Geographical Section, General Staff of the British War Office. Each sheet offers a detailed overview of the road network across parts of France, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany. Distances between points are noted and various important features (radio stations, aerodromes, sea bases, forts, chateaus, factories, etc.) are identified according to the legend in the lower margin.
These are exceptional examples, as they have been heavily updated by a former (anonymous) medical officer who was assigned to the 47th Regiment of the 9th Infantry Division in the United States Army. Across fifty-five separate entries between June 1944 and February 1945, the probable doctor (or dentist) noted details about each stop in the European Theater, emphasizing the duration of stay, aid station area, and types of sleeping quarters. The last category ranged from open fields and orchards to spring mattresses in lavish chateaus.
Numbered red dots, likely applied somewhat later, help to pinpoint each location; connected by a long snaking route marked in black ink. A fascinating variety of intimate details are shared in the accompanying text, which has been transcribed and explored in further detail below. Examples include the presence of annoying photographers, a friendly fire incident, and the Massacre at Plomion. I’ve been unable to conclusively identify the previous owner, but several references are made to ‘Captain Francis’ – a close buddy.
| Entry | Text | Location | Date |
| 1 | Slept in between parachutes in St. Mer Eglise. Went to 34th | Écoquenéauville | June 10-13 |
| 2 | Aid tent by itself in full. Dead Cows – Div Artill. 18 Shells [intelligble] lot filled | Picauville | June 13 – 16 |
| 3 | Deep narrow fox hole. Saw Maj. Shirley go into Div. HQ | Reigneville-Bocage | June 16 – 17 |
| 4 | Aid Station in Div HQ area. Photographers near by who we were obnoxious. | Saint-Clair | June 17 – 18 |
| 5 | Aid Station in corner of orchard high grass. Our planes dropped bombs 29 casualties + 1 D.V. | Saint-Jacques-de-Néhou | June 18 – 20 |
| 6 | Aid station near French house. Had them wash our clothes. Also they washed out our impregnites & gasoline. They offered us apple cider & Francis & I got warm by the fire in house one day. | Grosville | June 20 – 22 |
| 7 | Aid station on path deep in gully. Gen. Eddy in wagon next to our tent. | Benoîtville | June 22 – 25 |
| 8 | One week in small apple orchard. Slept good fox hole under bank. Big shells all around but not too near. French barn near by. Inspected area per order of Lt. Col. Westmoreland. | Vasteville | June 25 – July 2 |
| 9 | Rest area near Les Pieux. Move In Barn. Good area. | Hameau Quesnel | July 2 – 9 |
| 10 | In field with lots of grass. Potato field next to us. Baby in house had absess on jaw. | La Planque | July 9 – 13 |
| 11 | Old Ford stripped next to aid sta. Corps. HQ buildings near by. | Le Mesnil-Véneron | July 13 – 20 |
| 12 | One week in field. 83rd Div. on Rt 2 mile to the line. Ambulance got stuck going in shells all around. | Le Hommet | July 20 – 28 |
| 13 | In soy bean field. | Montreuil-sur-Lozon | July 28 – 30 |
| 14 | Rest Area 1 day. Gen [illegible] in nice house | Cametours | July 30 – Aug 1 |
| 15 | Orchard of 1st Div. Thru gate. Only a few hours. | Le Guislain | Aug 1 – 2nd |
| 16 | Aid Station near home. Got a wagon ride for top + fox hole. French school teacher came around. | Maupertuis | Aug 2 – 3 |
| 17 | Near old well. Patterson Drunk. Warrior cleaned turkey & killed. Old French couple. Pressed skirt. | La Colombe | Aug 3 – 5 |
| 18 | HQ in Front Yard. Shelled at 7:30 one A.M. 8 shells – Reefuts [sic] killed. | Saint-Aubin-des-Bois | Aug 5 – 8 |
| 19 | At woods – stone quarry. Lots of noise | Le Gast | Aug 8 – 9 |
| 20 | Slept in barn – had to clean up area from 4th Div Inf Troops. German air over every night | Saint-Laurent-de-Cuves | Aug 9 – 13 |
| 21 | Good clean area 1 day rest slept in barn on concrete floor. | Châtillon-sur-Colmont | Aug 13 – 14 |
| 22 | One night in field near General’s Mess? Had depression in ditch. Put net in at eve? Left in A.M. | Le Saule | Aug 14 – 15 |
| 23 | In clear area – several close cropped fields. Div. Hq. Building [illegible] road. Heather Wilderness around. | Haudre | Aug 15 – 16 |
| 24 | Near a lot of French Houses. Blond twin girls 8 yrs old. | Magny-le-Désert | Aug 16 – 17 |
| 25 | Near large chateau where Div Hq & Arty Hq located. We were near old clean farm which boys took over. Sort of a off area after Got pinched here | Le Grais | Aug 17 – 21 |
| 26 | 3 story chateau in woods. Nice sloping field of big tall oak trees. Aid sta. at corner of woods. Rained quite a lot. | Saint-Hilaire-le-Châtel | Aug 21 – 24 |
| 27 | Near a nice chateau and tennis court. Aid stat in Garage – Gen Craig’s house truck right across from us. | La Ferté-Vidame | Aug 24 – 25 |
| 28 | Aid Sta. SE corner of white chateau. Room in building. Slept on spring mattress. | Guibeville | Aug 25 – 26 |
| 29 | Large red brick trimmed limestone chateau. Mammoth, luxurious plates, extensive well kept grounds. Money from wine manufacturing (Dubonet). | Saint-Sauveur-sur-Ecole | Aug 26 |
| 30 | Thick Wood – 3 German prisoners 1 wounded: portion of left thigh | Guignes-Rabutin | Aug 27 |
| 31 | Nice clean apple orchard. Sloping ground to creek. Air raid on Paris or Melun | Saint-Augustin | Aug 28 |
| 32 | Old large stone chateau. Mademoiselle Boucher (age 45) Aid station near house in hollow at ravine | Marigny-en-Orxois | Aug 29 |
| 33 | Aid Station in upstairs room over switch board. Large chateau next door. Officer’s mess in chateau. Had electric light in a dark room with a wash basin | Augy | Aug 30 |
| 34 | In field by shallow ditch under apple tree. Near road & town. | Hannogne-Saint-Remy | Aug 31 |
| 35 | In town of Plomion 14 men massacred by Germans for 1 SS trooper they killed. 24 hours before HQ arrived. Layed out in building – took pictures. Town was to have been burned. Many houses burned. HQ: Priest’s house next to church. | Plomion | Sept 1 – 2 |
| 36 | In room of a house. Red brick. Rooms with pump at sink. 2 ladies & white cat. HQ in other rooms. | Fourmies | Sept 3 |
| 37 | In open field. Off-road for supper (Belgium) | Cerfontaine | Sept 3 |
| 38 | In woods of tall oak trees. Retraced for 1 1/2 miles to get into wood from open terrain. | Cerfontaine | Sept 3 |
| 39 | In gray stone castle with towers. Aid station in room in out buildings. Germans were here a day ago. Massive place. Old rich thin man in Knickers. Old thin woman & daughter. | Morville | Sept 4 – 7 |
| 40 | Chateau with lake in front. Bup? caught fish in it (trout) [illegible] Had CP: Front room. yellow & gold room where they gave us coffee. (Brief stop) | Emptinne | Sept 8 |
| 41 | Under 3 light gray pine trees near chateau (over night). | Pailhe | Sept 8 |
| 42 | In Norweigan’s Consul’s place just east of resort village of Eseneau. Aid station in milk separation room. | Esneux | Sept 9 – 10 |
| 43 | (Went to Paris in AM with Clint Adams) Aid Station set up in Girls’ school. Nice place. 4 rooms. For an aid station. | Pepinster | Sept 11 – 12 |
| 44 | Aid stat in tent on an open outdoor veranda overlooking town of Eupen. Tall pine trees about. (I rejoined as they were pulling out) | Eupen | Sept 13 |
| 45 | 1st town liberated in Germany. Just east of Rotgen Germany – next to a farm house (Polish wife) | Roetgen | Sept 14 – 16 |
| 46 | Went back into town & located Hotel & Building to get out of rainy weather. Also Shells. | Roetgen | Sept 17 – Oct 4 |
| 47 | Moved to Zweifell. Had a nice stone house 3 stories. Front room for aid sta – kitchen for Dental Room. Bedroom off kitchen with a nice big Queen Anne double bed. | Zweifell | Oct 4 – 26 |
| 48 | Moved to Camp Elsenborn. Permanent wooden some brick buildings. Aid station: center room. Boys in one end room. Medical officers in other end room (Capt. Muccillo, Myself, Lt. Sternlichl? & Capt. Francis) | Elsenborn | Oct 27 – Nov 4 |
| 49 | Moved to Butgenbach. In home with barn full of cows attached. Francis & I – good room upstairs. Aid station & Dentist downstairs. 3 chaplains in here, alas. Defensive positions | Butgenbach | Nov 5 – 17 |
| 50 | Moved back to Camp Elsenborn. Aid station in barracks building. Captain Francis & I living in hotel. I have a small single room. 60th, 34th, & 26th in position to North. | Elsenborn | Nov 18 – Dec 5 |
| 51 | Eschweiler. Sout east part of town. Aid station in a battered up house. Captain Francis & I fixed up a nice room in a cellar. | Eschweiler | Dec 6 – 18 |
| 52 | Soubrodt. In kitchen & cellar of Belgian farmhouse. 170 mm shell made a direct but art? | Sourbrodt | Dec 19 – Jan 26 |
| 53 | Mutzenich. House in front of camoflage nets along highway. Could see into enemy lines. | Mutzenich | Jan 27 – Feb 3 |
| 54 | Hofen in bombed out school building across street from formed unt Church. | Hofen | Feb 4 |
| 55 | In farm house on hill alone 5 Nazi Graves. in Scenic Valley. 2 miles South of Einruhr. | Einruhr | Feb 5 |
Map Details
Publication Date: c. 1945
Author: Geographical Section, General Staff
Sheet Width (in): 44.5
Sheet Height (in): 27.75
Condition: B
Condition Description: Set of eight single-sided lithographed sheets (size given for each). All but one features extensive manuscript annotations and writing in the lower margin. Heavy wear along the outer edges of each sheet, including numerous tears (the worst repaired with archival tape), spots of moderate toning, and scattered soiling. A few small chips, but no loss of image or handwritten text. Soft creasing where previously rolled and other signs of age and use, but in good and legible condition overall.
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