1943 Army Orientation Course Newsmap Map of the Pacific Ocean and Asia

Attempting to help viewers gain a new perspective on distances involved in fighting the Pacific front, this is a 1943 Army Orientation Branch Newsmap map of the Pacific Ocean and Asia. Using a map created by Richard Edes Harrison, this Newsmap places Japan at the center of a globe.

A Closer Look

Dominating nearly all the sheet, the map created by Richard Edes Harrison depicts part of the Earth from the Indian Ocean to the west coast of the United States. Japan appears near center, with the rest of the depicted area curving away from there. Nearly all of Asia is illustrated. Moscow, the Caspian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and Arabia appear on one horizon and Samoa and New Zealand are illustrated on the other. A caption below and to the left provides insight

One of the advantages of a globe is that land and water areas may be viewed from any point thus showing clearly relationships not readily apparent from conventional maps. The above projection is based on a photograph of the globe. Tilting it so that North is at the right instead of the top provides a thought-provoking view of the tremendous areas involved as our offensive to the final target, Japan, gets under way.

Harrison's maps always provide viewers with a different perspective than is prevalent, allowing them to understand the world in a different way. In this instance, by tilting the globe and putting Japan at the center, one realizes just how close and yet how far so many parts of the world are. Harrison reinforces this reality by including data concerning distances between San Francisco and Tokyo, Manila, and Singapore. Distances from Tokyo to important battlefields in the Pacific, such as Midway, Kiska, and Truk (all place names readers in the 1940s likely would have heard before) are included as well. To the right of the globe, two smaller globes highlight the area depicted by the large map and the area controlled by the Japanese.

The War Fronts

Six short paragraphs to the left of the map provide soldiers deployed around the world with updates on the fighting in other theaters. These include gains on the Eastern Front in Europe by both the Germans and the Red Army, landings in the Gilbert and Marshall Islands (Makin and Tarawa), Allied gains in Italy, and continued raids and their resulting losses in the Air War over Europe. A photo above the text captures a moment in Italy after a German dive bomber attack and below the text a map details Berlin.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Richard Edes Harrison for TIME Magazine in 1940 and repurposed by the Army Orientation Branch for publication as part of a Newsmap in November 1943. We note five examples cataloged in OCLC which are part of the collections at the Boston Athenaeum, Pennsylvania State University, Denison University, the University of Missouri Columbia, and the Denver Public Library. An example is also part of the collection at the University of North Texas.