Operations of the 493rd A.F.A. Bn.

Six months in the E.T.O. with the 493rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion.

This bold map covering portions of France and Germany presents the route of the 493rd Armored Field Artillery Battalion between December 1944 and May 1945. During that six-month period, the unit fought its way across hundreds of miles of enemy territory as part of the 12th Armored Division. Their mission began near Luneville, France and ended on the eve of V-E Day near Holzkirchen. The dated path is shown in black amid red roads and blue streams. An inset in the lower center provides further context on the area covered in the E.T.O. Several small vignettes show scenes from combat including burning German tanks, American spotter planes, and bombed-out towns.

The map was prepared by Major. William P. Wilson, Lt. Warren H. Weisz, and T/5 Jack McLaughlin. Published in 1945 by the 649th Engineer Topographic Battalion. Originally included as part of The pictorial history of the 493d Armored Field Artillery Battalion of the 12th Armored Division in the European Theater of Operations, printed in Augsburg by E. Kieser KG. The map is unlisted in WorldCat, but the unit history is noted in five different institutions as of June 2024.

Sources: OCLC# 5835982; Free copy at Bangor Public Library