An attack on four fronts (1944)

This map, created by Allied troops in 1944, was dropped as a leaflet on German troops during the Normandy landings in the days that followed.

This is a propaganda map that was intended for German soldiers on the front lines. It shows the situation of the Axis forces in 1944, with their territory marked by a dotted red line. Three black arrows show the advance of the United States and the United Kingdom from southern Italy, the advance of the Soviet Union from the east and, from that day onwards, the advance of Allied troops from the Normandy coast.

To heighten the sense of defeat, the map also includes dozens of red bombs, representing the Allied bombing raids on German territory. The aim was to fill German soldiers with despair.

The back of the pamphlet elaborates on this idea, with a slogan intended to demoralise soldiers so that they would doubt the cause and desert: Disaster in the east. Disaster at home. Disaster in the south. And now the Allies are landing in the west. The western front is open.

You can find more information about this type of propaganda in this article on leaflets.

Sources

• Aircraft over France, 6 June 1944