Operational D-Day map of Gold & Juno landing beaches used in active service 1944
£5,400
SKU: P-8-006264
[Operational D-Day map of Gold and Juno landing beaches with manual annotations indicating Corps and beach boundaries and exit points, accompanied by a participating combatant's Pitman Shorthand diary entries for 31st May 1944 to 10 June 1944, the days leading up to and following around D-Day, 6th June 1944]
A D-Day Beach Intelligence map of Gold and Juno Beaches used in active service during Operation Overlord, June 1944. Issued by the Geographical Section, General Staff (War Office) in 1943 for operational use in the Normandy invasion, this two-sheet conjoined map (west sheet December 1943, east sheet July 1943, scale 1:25,000) was the property of British Army Sgt. Philip Berger, 13101712, whose name is inscribed in ink on the verso. Berger’s Application for Issue of Campaign Stars and Medals (a copy of which will be included) confirms his participation in the France and Germany Campaign. His service number indicates initial enlistment in the Royal Pioneer Corps; he was later attached to the Royal Engineers, likely during Operation Overlord. The map is accompanied by Berger’s diary in Pitman Shorthand covering 31 May–10 June 1944, suggesting his posting to Normandy shortly after D-Day itself. Depicting the Gold and Juno landing beaches and their hinterland, the map shows coastal topography, roads, and settlements, partly derived from wartime aerial photographs taken over occupied France from locations which are marked on the map. Berger’s field annotations divide the beaches into operational and Corps boundaries—How, Item, Jig, King, Love, and Mike—subdivided into Red and Green zones, with operational notations marking beach sectors, boundaries, and beach exit points added immediately before or during June 1944. Such intelligence maps were issued to officers and NCOs of the assault and beach maintenance groups to direct unloading, clearance, and supply operations under fire. A working field map demonstrably used in active service during Operation Overlord, it provides rare and tangible evidence of the meticulous planning and execution of the invasion and of the crucial logistical role played by the Royal Pioneer Corps and Royal Engineers in establishing and maintaining the Allied beachhead.
Size 49 x 120 cm | 19.5 x 47.0 inches
Date Published: 1944
Type: Large two sheet War Office D-Day beach landing intelligence map used by an active British Army combatant
Author: War Office
Publication: War Office
Condition: Good |
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