Touring Europe with the Timberwolves! [415th Infantry]

Nothing in Hell Did Stop The Timberwolves! – Text, verso.

This small, but punchy, WWII unit map was drawn by Staff Sergeant John A. Lehti on V-E Day in 1945. It presents the course of the 104th Infantry Division, nicknamed the Timberwolves, across the European Theater. Lehti must have been a comedian because geographic accuracy is completely forsaken in favor of soldierly humor. The lighthearted attitude also likely reflects the date of creation, when celebration and victory occupied all thoughts.

While arrows approximate the route of advance, the eye is captured by numerous cartoon vignettes scattered across the page. Nearly every wartime experience is made light of, including bad weather during the Channel Crossing, enemy fire near Zundert, and crossing the Roer and Rhine Rivers. German accents, French women, and American spirit are recurring themes. A smiling wolf in the lower right assures the reader that “we left plenty tooth and claw marks all over Hitlerland!”

The map/pamphlet is scarce and listed only once in WorldCat as of May 2024, at Texas A&M University. An additional example has been identified at the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. Various editions were issued by units attached to the 104th, with this copy published on behalf of the 415th Infantry Battalion. A full roster, including Killed/Missing in Action, is provided on the verso of the sheet. OCLC# 1367363281.