World War 2 in the North Sea Area. NavWar Map No. 3.

Description

This is a scarce, very large-format 1944 map of the North Sea prepared by the U.S. Navy’s Educational Service Section.

The stunning visuals executed in offset lithography are reminiscent of propaganda materials intended for public consumption, but these were in fact prepared to train and educate Naval personnel on the conflict. The map traces the history of naval warfare in the North Atlantic and North Sea up to that point and celebrates Allied successes, with the tide clearly having turned in their favor.

Perhaps the most striking feature of the map is the large arrow, occupied by Allied shipping convoys, titled ‘Our Navy Breaks the U-Boat Scourge on the Allies’ Supply Lines with Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts and Escort Carriers.’ Similar blue bands emanate from southern England towards the Continent, with the label ‘The R.A.F. And The A.A.F. Control The Industrial Heart Of Europe From England, the World’s Most Powerful Air Base.’ Throughout, German ships are depicted as sinking and burning, while German industrial areas and key occupied strongholds are bombed relentlessly from the air. A timeline and legend at right provide further background information on the conflict and the map.

Context is Everything

During the Second World War, the North Sea was a critical arena of naval operations, serving as a strategic chokepoint for controlling maritime routes and access to the Atlantic. As in the First World War, the Royal Navy maintained a constant patrol presence to enforce blockades against Germany, restricting access to vital raw materials and trade. The North Sea’s shallow waters and unpredictable weather made it a difficult environment for large-scale fleet engagements, but it was heavily mined – one of the most extensively mined seas in history. Mines, submarines, and fast attack craft rather than battleships defined its warfare, creating a deadly environment for both military and merchant shipping.

German naval operations in the North Sea centered on disrupting British trade and supply lines while protecting their own coastal traffic. The Kriegsmarine used U-boats, E-boats (Schnellboote, ‘fast boats’), and aircraft to harass Allied convoys, while the British developed extensive anti-submarine and radar networks to counter them. Air power, especially from bases in eastern England and occupied Norway, increasingly shaped the conflict, turning the North Sea into an air-sea battlefield. Germany’s limited fleet of battleships had by this point been sunk (as with the Bismarck, seen ablaze at left), heavily damaged, or forced to stay in port to prevent their loss (as with the Tirpitz, sunk later in 1944, and Prinz Eugen, both stationed in Norway). The Allies’ control of the North Sea by 1944 proved essential for the success of the D-Day invasion, allowing the safe buildup of forces in Britain and denying Germany the ability to strike effectively from the sea. By war’s end, the North Sea had become a heavily fortified and scarred maritime zone, symbolizing the constant struggle for maritime supremacy that underpinned the wider European conflict.

Census

This map was produced by the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Naval Personnel, printed by the Government Printing Office, and distributed by the Navy’s Educational Service Section in 1944. It is one of six ‘NavWar Maps,’ all of which are quite scarce now and generally in poor condition due to being folded for many years. The present map is independently cataloged among the holdings of perhaps fifteen institutions in the OCLC and appears occasionally on the market. Some institutions also hold all six maps in the series and catalog them together (OCLC 53073135). For reasons that are unclear, some examples of NavWar Maps are printed as double-sided while others are only printed on one side.