History of 748 F.A. Bn. In E.T.O.

Striking and rare visual history of the 748 Field Artillery Battalion in WWII.

Arguably, the most unique element of this incredible operational map is the border; which lists the name of the soldiers who comprised the 748th Field Artillery Battalion. Four companies are listed, indicated by colored clover leaves in each corner. Most chronicles of WWII campaigns do not reference individual names other than those of the commanding officers (which can be seen in two tables near the center of the sheet).

The illustrations within the map are also quite special and reflect the attitude and perspective of an artillery veteran. Exploding shells, aerial bombardments, sinking ships and corpses on the battlefield allude to the horrors of combat.

But there are also humorous elements. Common phrases written in local dialect are scattered throughout the map; including “Gum Chum?” in England and “cigarette pour Papa” in France. A drawing of a German woman is labeled “Verboten!” (forbidden) and Hitler is shown being choked relentlessly. Amusingly, the hammer and sickle of the Soviet flag is depicted incorrectly, and an updated version has been drawn in pencil in the margin.

The 748th was attached to a number of different units in late 1944 and 1945, and the insignia for several can be seen along the top of the sheet. I’m unable to definitively find the organization responsible for publishing the map. Such information is typically available in the lower left corner, but the printed text “4/7-45/Maillet/5914 ETO” doesn’t appear to reference any known entities. In fact, the text may reference something entirely different. On April 7th, a minor league baseball player and member of the 97th Infantry Division Ted Maillet was killed in Germany. But I have yet to find the association between this individual and the 748th.