[Elephant military route map].
Map follows a cartoon elephant from Crete to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, and finally, occupation duty in Germany. The 64th went to Greece with the I Australian Corps in March 1941 as part of 'W Force' sent to help the Greeks fight the Greco-Italian War. The Germans forced th...
| Format: | Map |
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| Language: | English |
| Published: |
[Great Britain?] :
[publisher not identified],
[1948]
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| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Map follows a cartoon elephant from Crete to the Middle East, North Africa, and Europe, and finally, occupation duty in Germany. The 64th went to Greece with the I Australian Corps in March 1941 as part of 'W Force' sent to help the Greeks fight the Greco-Italian War. The Germans forced the retreat of British, Commonwealth, and Greek troops, eventually forcing the evacuation of troops to Crete by April 28. During the evacuation, the 64th lost all its guns; the elephant is pictured being kicked by a German soldier's leg. The Germans attacked Crete on May 20, and by May 31 all Commonwealth forces, including the 64th, were evacuated. After arriving in Egypt, the 64th was reassembled in Syria (illustrated on map). The regiment was back in Egypt by October, fighting with the Eighth Army, and participated in the capture of Bardia (referenced in upper right corner). After Bardia, the 64th fought across North Africa. It was with the XXX Corps at the Second Battle of El Alamein and on into Tripoli and Tunis. The regiment then participated in the invasion and capture of Sicily, but was withdrawn before the invasion of mainland Italy with the rest of XXX Corps. The elephant in Sicily is illustrated trumpeting at Reggio di Calabria in Italy across the Straits of Messina. The 64th left Sicily for Algeria (Algiers on map) on November 9 and left Algeria for Great Britain on November 29. The 211th Battery landed on D-Day (June 6, 1944) in Normandy as part of the XXX Corps (illustrated by the elephant in a landing ship named the Fort Creve Coeur). The regiment fought with the XXX Corps as part of the 5th Army Groups Royal Artillery across northern France and into Belgium. On September 20, 1944, the 64th moved up the battle line. It assembled south of Nijmegen, the Netherlands, in support of the Airborne troops participating in Operation Market Garden. While at Nijmegen, the 64th made radio contact with the 1st Airborne Division, which was trapped in Arnhem; the elephant overlooking Arnhem has a radio antenna and headset. A road sign points to Nijmegen. The 64th provided artillery support for the surrounded airborne troops until September 25, when the 1st Airborne was evacuated. The 64th was with the XXX Corps during the Battle of the Ardennes in Belgium; the elephant is pictured celebrating Christmas in the "Cafe Ardennes". After VE Day, the regiment was assigned to occupation duty across the Rhine (elephant on sailing boat) to Germany; elephant is pictured paintbrush in trunk. |
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| Item Description: | Title devised by bookseller. Relief shown pictorially. Reproduced using a photographic process. Map drawn by "A.H.B., 1948" [or A.N.B?]. |
| Physical Description: | 1 map ; 25 x 18 cm |