A rare and ephemeral WW2 poster showing the Allied advance on Germany after D-Day. Twelve different campaigns or actions are distinguished by colour and shading, including the initial push after D-Day (June 6-11), the initial pursuit and the Fall of Paris (Aug 25), the Falaise Pocket (Aug 12-19), and the Spring Campaign (Feb 8 - Mar 16). Additional grey shading not noted in the legend shows the latest Allied advance to 5th April, the latest date shown on this map. On the western front, American forces have captured Wurzburg, Frankfurt, and Karlsruhe, whilst on the eastern front, the Red Army has taken Bratislava and is on the verge of capturing Vienna.

A small paragraph of text below the map encourages the reader to add their own daily or weekly updates to the map until Germany is defeated. Stars and Stripes and Warweek, both US Army newspapers are suggested as a source of information for the reader hoping to stay up to date.

Large poster maps of this sort were created and distributed, usually as folding pamphlets, by the US Army's Information Branch in order to educate and inform the average soldier about why they were fighting or how the war was progressing. Some of these posters were flattened and displayed on bulletin boards in army camps, while others would have been sent home to family members back in the US. As this map actively encourages reader participation, it was likely that many copies would have been hung up in soldiers' barracks and used for the intended purpose over the course of the Spring and Summer of 1945. This example does not include any manuscript notations.

Printed colour. [EUR1547]