Summer 2021 Militaria & Collectibles Auction
Lot 431:
Description
Named to Robert J. Shela(?). WWII XIX Corps Tomahawk Operations Map. XIX Corps in Action: From D-Day (6 June 1944) to Germany. This is a decorative map issued by a military unit that was still heavily engaged in battle. Similar maps were typically issued after the war. This map was issued as part of a continuing effort to maintain morale. In the top right corner of the map, the portion of Germany under attack by the XIX Corps, is an image of a large Wagnerian opera singer lighting her torch to a funeral bier. The text reads "Last Ache – Now Playing – Die Gotterdammerung – Conducted by Eisenhower." The map was printed on one side of an edition on the unit’s newspaper, "Le Tomahawk." Special Edition, Volume 2 Western Front, Germany, October 1944, Number 6. The tomahawk was the symbol of the XIX Corps. In addition to some notes about D-Day activity, the newspaper summarizes the unit’s actions in September and provides considerable detail on the successful fight from October 2 to 16, 1944 to breach the Siegfried line and encircle Aachen. The XIX Corps continued fighting in Germany until the German surrender in May 1945. The newspaper was printed by T/5 Henry J. MacMillan, US Army 62d Engineer Topographic Co, November 1944. Approximate size is 22 x 29 inches.
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