D-Day Normandy 743 by Army Corps of Engineers, 1945

ABOUT THIS PRINT

As the Allies probed further away from the beaches and into the winding lanes and rolling hills of the Normandy landscape, the tank became an increasingly vital weapon. This brightly illustrated map shows the progress of a tank regiment, the 743 Batallion, as it fought its way forward through the countryside.

Following a similar path were the Sherwood Rangers with their Sherman Tanks. In the latter part of June the Rangers were involved in several sharp engagements in the Battle of Normandy. Of this desperate time one of its officers, Major John Semken, would later reflect:

'[D-Day] was the easiest day of a ghastly battle when Normandy became a battle field and was converted into a charnel house for man and beast and when we left Normandy it was a horror. And of course that was only the beginning of the journey anyway, through Belgium, Holland and into Germany, a journey of a thousand miles, as the crow files, and of course marked all the way by the graves of young men. – Peter Moore

Published: April 4th, 1945
Location: Washington, D.C.
Artist: Army Corps of Engineers
Remaster: Jordan J. Lloyd
Original Format: Map
Commercial Use: ⇲ License this Image