Nav War Map No. 5 - Southwest Pacific

This enormous WW2-era map of the Pacific was published by the US Navy's Educational Services Section to educate its troops about the geography, history, and people of the Pacific, and also to provide an update on the Allied campaign against the Japanese up to May 1944.

Orange arrows show Japanese attacks, while light orange shading shows the eastern limit of the Japanese advance. In contrast, blue arrows show Allied attacks, raids, and invasions, with the latest combat marked up to the end of April 1944. Paragraphs of text in the top-right corner describe each of the islands and atolls in the region, while another section below lists the key events of the Solomons Campaign, which lasted from August 1942 to August 1943.

In the lower-right corner is a crude explanation of the ethnic groups of the South Pacific, differentiating between Melanesia, Polynesia, Micronesia, Filipino, and Australian Aborigine populations. Another inset in the lower-left corner marks the air distances between island groups in the Southwest Pacific.

This map is part of a series of 6 educational posters designed by the US Navy to explain the various combat theatres in which American sailors and marines were fighting. Other maps in the series focus on the Mediterranean, the North Atlantic, the North Pacific, and the South China Sea. There is also a world map in the series.

All of these posters are not only educational, but are also extremely attractive and evocative. Sweeping multi-coloured arrows show Allied and Axis offensives and counter-offensives. Planes and ships, both in an out of combat, are often illustrated on the map to provide extra decoration. Terrain is drawn in relief as if on a 3-D model. Just enough facts and historical details are added to provide interest, but not so many as to make the posters overwhelming. In all, these are masterful examples of educational poster design which have hardly been rivalled since.

Printed colour. Laid down on archival linen. [Tube]