Army Bureau of Current Affairs (ABCA)
The Road to Singapore, 1945
39 ½ x 29 ½ in
100 x 75 cm
100 x 75 cm
SEAS5361
An Allied propaganda news map showing the liberation of Rangoon and heralding the advance towards Malaysia and Singapore. Printed in June 1945 just one month before the Japanese surrender. This...
An Allied propaganda news map showing the liberation of Rangoon and heralding the advance towards Malaysia and Singapore. Printed in June 1945 just one month before the Japanese surrender. This map was published by the British Army's Bureau of Current Affairs to educate and inform soldiers about the state of the war between May 21st and June 3rd. The map is intentionally simplistic in its design with only railways, main roads, major cities, and elevated terrain included. Areas liberated by the Allies are shaded in grey. This includes Rangoon which had been recaptured on the 2nd May.
After the recapture of Rangoon, Allied forces had begun preparing a major campaign to liberate Malaysia and Singapore. The liberation of Malaya (codename Operation Zipper) had been planned to launch on 9 September, 1945, but was forestalled by the Japanese surrender. The campaign was instead split into Operation Jurist (the liberation of Penang and mainland Malaya) and Operation Tiderace (the liberation of Singapore). Jurist was begun on 28 August as British forces from Rangoon landed at Penang. Shortly thereafter, smaller landings took place along the coast of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, resulting in the total liberation of Malaya by 12 September, 1945.
The back of the map features a series of articles about the aftermath of the German surrender, the American invasion of Okinawa, and a large and stirring photograph of a Japanese soldier preparing to behead a blindfolded Allied prisoner of war. The caption to the image claims that this photograph was recovered from the body of a Japanese soldier. It is clearly intended to enrage the reader and to remind them why they were fighting.
Printed colour. [SEAS5361]
After the recapture of Rangoon, Allied forces had begun preparing a major campaign to liberate Malaysia and Singapore. The liberation of Malaya (codename Operation Zipper) had been planned to launch on 9 September, 1945, but was forestalled by the Japanese surrender. The campaign was instead split into Operation Jurist (the liberation of Penang and mainland Malaya) and Operation Tiderace (the liberation of Singapore). Jurist was begun on 28 August as British forces from Rangoon landed at Penang. Shortly thereafter, smaller landings took place along the coast of Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, resulting in the total liberation of Malaya by 12 September, 1945.
The back of the map features a series of articles about the aftermath of the German surrender, the American invasion of Okinawa, and a large and stirring photograph of a Japanese soldier preparing to behead a blindfolded Allied prisoner of war. The caption to the image claims that this photograph was recovered from the body of a Japanese soldier. It is clearly intended to enrage the reader and to remind them why they were fighting.
Printed colour. [SEAS5361]
