1943 Corps of Engineers Map of Army Show, National Mall, Washington, D.C.

War Bond Drive at the Washington Monument.

This is a 1943 map of the grounds of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., prepared by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It depicts the exhibits of an army show organized to support the Third War Loan, a successful U.S. government effort to raise funds for the ongoing World War II (1939 - 1945).

A Closer Look

The map is oriented towards the south, covering the portion of the grounds between the monument and Constitution Ave. the exhibits of the army show were meant to mimic the operations of an army in the field and thus included all the various sections of a functioning army, including a quartermaster, medical corps, signal corps, ordnance, engineers, chaplains, and so on. Specialized units like the Chemical Warfare Service and Women's Auxiliary Corps were also represented. An arena at bottom-right was used for demonstrating army equipment, while a similar space was dedicated to the Army Air Force at bottom-left and to transportation - including train cars and boats - at top-left. The verso includes an illustration demonstrating the role of the Corps of Engineers in connecting the Home Front ('over here') to the battlefield ('over there'), as well as a short by writer John Steinbeck, who was working as a war correspondent for the New York Herald Tribune at this time, titled 'The Importance of Supply in modern Warfare.'

'Back the Attack' War Bond Rally

'Back the Attack' was the slogan given to the U.S. Government's Third War Loan, a war bond drive, which ran from September 9 to October 2, 1943. Although a nationwide effort, the centerpiece of the campaign was a large army demonstration show, exhibits (akin to a world's fair), and a war bond rally held on the National Mall, held between September 9 and 26. President Franklin D. Roosevelt also delivered a radio 'fireside chat' at the start of the campaign, but even more effective was a 16-hour marathon radio broadcast by singer Kate Smith, which raised nearly $40 million. On the whole, the Third War Loan drive aimed to collect $15 billion but exceeded that goal handily, taking in $19 billion. The slogan of 'Back the Attack' was apt, as that year demonstrated that the Allies had halted Axis advances and were now making progress in their own counter-attacks, at Stalingrad and Kursk on the Eastern Front, in North Africa, Sicily, and Italy (which surrendered on September 3), and in the Pacific Theater in New Guinea and the Solomon Islands.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared and printed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the grounds of the Washington Monument for distribution at the 'Back the Attack' show. It is quite scarce in institutional collections, being noted among the holdings of American University, Cornell University, Princeton University, and the National Capital Parks collection of the National Park Service Library and Archive.

Condition

Very good. Light wear and soiling along original fold lines. Text and 'The Engineers' on verso.

References

OCLC 905892162. NCP 807_84218, FILE 44-218.