Third US Army

Using color to show the expansive WWII campaigns of Patton’s Third U.S. Army.

This understated map of the European Theater during WWII uses a unique strategy to chronicle the advance of the Third United States Army, led by General George S. Patton. A base map, likely of French origin, shows the major towns and transportation routes, but the fine details are nearly illegible.

Emphasis is instead given to the color scheme, which identifies each campaign in solid color (1944) and hashed lines (1945). Thus the army’s movements are shown, though indirectly, with a rapid advance through France before smashing into German defenses near the Moselle. The Battle of the Bulge can be seen quite literally in the Bastogne – S. Vith Campaign, and numerous isolated actions are highlighted further east.

Army symbols identifying the Third are noted throughout the image, as if the audience was ever in any doubt! The map was prepared by the Army’s G-3 Historical Subsection and reproduced by the 664th Engineer Topographic Corps in June of 1945.