1945 102nd Infantry Division WWII Campaign Route Map of Europe

102nd Infantry Division during World War II.

This is a c. 1945 World War II pictorial campaign map tracing the U.S. Army's 102nd Infantry Division across Europe. Produced for members of the division before their return to the United States, it combines a detailed record of troop movements, battles, river crossings, and captured towns with lively illustrations of aerial combat and European landmarks.

A Closer Look

Coverage extends from Cherbourg eastward to Berlin and from the Netherlands south to central France. A broad blue arrow traces the division's movement from the Valognes Staging Area across France and into Belgium in October 1944, before it entered combat the following month. Smaller red arrows follow the advance from the crossing of the Siegfried Line in November 1944 to the division's meeting with the Red Army on the Elbe River in May 1945.

Cities, towns, and villages are identified along the route, with dates recording their capture or occupation. Text boxes highlight major events, including the crossings of the Roer, Rhine, and Weser rivers. Four large panels correspond to specific sections of the route and provide detailed chronologies of the division's operations, identifying smaller towns and villages and the dates on which they were captured. A large panel occupying much of central France lists seven principal achievements of the campaign, including the Roer and Rhine crossings and four major battles. England also appears, accompanied by references to the division's two campaign stars: Rhineland and Central Europe.

The 102nd Infantry Division

The 102nd Infantry Division traces its origins to July 1918, although it was not fully organized before the Armistice ended World War I. Assigned to the Organized Reserve in 1921, the division was reactivated on September 15, 1942. It departed New York for the European Theater on September 12, 1944, arrived at Cherbourg on September 23, and completed disembarkation two days later.

The division remained at the Valognes Staging Area until October 5, when it was ordered to organize fifteen provisional truck companies for the Red Ball Express, the vast transportation network supplying Allied forces advancing from Normandy. For several weeks, drivers from the 102nd carried matériel from Cherbourg to forward positions in Belgium.

The 102nd entered combat on November 16, 1944, as part of the Ninth Army's offensive through the Siegfried Line toward the Roer River. It reached the river's western bank during the first week of December and established a defensive position there. When Germany launched the Ardennes Offensive, better known as the Battle of the Bulge, Allied units were withdrawn from the Roer sector to reinforce the threatened front. The 102nd consequently assumed responsibility for territory previously held by another infantry division and two armored divisions, maintaining this extended defensive line from December 20, 1944, until January 15, 1945.

The division resumed offensive operations on January 26 and, following several weeks of preparation, crossed the Roer on February 23. It then fought through the Rhineland, culminating in the capture of Krefeld on March 3. From March 3 to April 4, the 102nd secured an approximately eighteen-mile section of the Rhine's western bank.

Relieved of its defensive responsibilities on April 4, the division moved north to Wesel, crossed the Rhine, and advanced across Germany toward the Elbe River, the eastern limit established for American and British forces. It reached the Elbe on April 26 and remained there through V-E Day. The division's final battle occurred on April 21, east of Stendal, against an isolated pocket of German resistance.

After Germany's surrender, the 102nd received more than 118,000 German officers and soldiers, along with thousands of civilians who crossed the Elbe to escape the advancing Red Army. The division remained in Europe on occupation duty until March 3, 1946, when it departed Le Havre. It was inactivated at Camp Kilmer, New Jersey, on March 12, 1946.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by an unidentified artist and published around 1945. We note a single cataloged example, held by Texas A and M University.

Condition

Very good. Light soiling.

References

Mich, A.H., With the 102d Infantry Division Through Germany (Washington: Infantry Journal Press) 1947. Texas A and M University G5721.S7 1945.A14.