Original Item. Only One Lot Available. This is a substantial group of 15 U.S. Army WWII SWPA Newsmap / Newsmap SouthWest Pacific sheets, for a total of 30 illustrated map, news, and informational faces. These were military information sheets published for personnel in the Southwest Pacific theater by the Information and Education Section of United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE). The series combined current campaign reporting with maps, photographs, diagrams, illustrations, and educational features intended to keep troops informed of developments throughout the war. The Australian War Memorial catalogs the series as dating from 1944-1945, while the U.S. National Archives describes Southwest Pacific Newsmap as a weekly publication documenting military activity through maps, photographs, and descriptive text.

This group covers an especially interesting period of the Pacific War, with material ranging from early 1944 into the later campaigns of 1944 and early 1945. One clearly marked example, headed “G.I. LIGHTNING HITS RABAUL,” is marked:

VOL. I—NO. 3 27 JAN. 1944
SWPA NEWSMAP
NEWSMAP SOUTHWEST PACIFIC

Another, featuring “NEW WOES FOR TOJO!”, is marked VOL. I—NO. 7, 25 FEB. 1944. Later sheets follow the continuing Allied advance through New Guinea, the Central Pacific, the Philippines, and other theaters, including coverage of Hollandia, Saipan, Manila, Bataan and Corregidor, Iwo Jima, and the fighting in Europe.

The variety of material in the lot is particularly impressive. Among the illustrated sides are “Lincoln Said it Best,” “No Rest for the Axis!,” “Landing Craft,” “Finschhafen to Hollandia - On the Road Back,” “Allied Armies in World-Wide Offensive,” “Big Business With a Heart,” “SWPA Record Air Strike,” “High Speed Maps for Today’s War,” “D-Day Plus Five!,” “WACS in SWPA,” “The Aussies in New Guinea,” “Hollandia Operation Completed,” “Bataan, Corregidor Recaptured,” “G.I. Lightning Hits Rabaul,” and “from base to beachhead - ENGINEERS.” There are also large-format maps devoted to the Bismarck Sea and New Guinea, Central Manila, Southeast Asia, Battle Areas of Europe, and the impressive green “BATTLE AREA OF THE PACIFIC” map.

These theater-specific Newsmaps followed the same general concept as the U.S. Army's broader wartime Newsmap publication. The sheets were commonly printed on both sides, with news-style layouts on one face and maps, instructional graphics, or large illustrated features on the other.

Condition varies throughout the group, with general age toning, old fold lines, edge and corner wear, creasing, scattered small tears, and occasional areas of paper loss. Several sheets have somewhat worn or irregular edges, with more noticeable loss near the upper-left edge of the “G.I. Lightning Hits Rabaul” and “Battle Area of the Pacific” sheets. Overall, the colors, maps, headlines, photographs, and illustrations remain attractive and clearly legible. Please consult the photographs carefully for the exact condition of each piece.

As a 15-piece group, these Newsmaps offer an excellent visual record of U.S. Army wartime reporting in the Southwest Pacific, with campaign maps, photographs, troop-information features, and coverage of both the Pacific and European theaters.