Description:

BATTLE OF ST. MIHIEL PLATOON COMMANDER'S ADVANCE MAP, USED BY COL. WILLIAM J. DONOVAN
WILLIAM J. DONOVAN (1883-1959) 'Wild Bill', American brigadier general chosen by Roosevelt to head the O.S.S. (precursor to the C.I.A.). Donovan planted over 16,000 people behind enemy lines and developed elaborate plans to subvert Axis military operations. Historic field-used and annotated map, used by Donovan during the brutal Battle of St. Mihiel from Sep. 12-16, 1918 as colonel of the U.S. 165th Regiment, originally the famous 69th New York Infantry 'Fighting Irish'. The regiment would distinguish itself at the Second Battle of the Marne, the Ourcq River during the Aisne-Marne Offensive, and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive. Donovan himself would be awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery in mid-October, 1918. The map, 29.75 x 24, shows a 1:50,000-scale view of the commune of Thiaucourt, marked at bottom right as being printed at the Base Printing Plant of the 29th Engineering Battalion, dated 1918. It bears the annotation in green ink along the right margin: ‘1/50,000 issued to Platoon Commanders in action at St. Mihiel – Shows axis of attack, objectives and area of exploitation'. This note is signed with the initial ‘A', for 1st Lt. Harold L. Allen, intelligence officer of the 165th Regiment Headquarters Company. The map is annotated in blue and red indelible pencil to show the two sectors assigned to the 42nd Infantry Division, to which the 165th was subordinated, during the battle, labeled ‘83' and ‘84', and charts the progress of the division's advance, starting at the ‘Line of Departure' running through the villages of Limey, Flirey and Seicheprey, moving north to the line reached during the first phase on the first day, south of Pannes. It further denotes the line reached during the second phase of the first day, the objective line set by the Fourth Army prior to the battle, running through St. Benoit, and the actual exploitation line reached by the regiment to the north of the original objective, near Dampvitoux and Dommartin. It also bears the pencil notation ‘Bn. Co.', for Battalion Commander, at the top margin. The map shows folds overall, with splits thereto causing the near separation of the bottom left panel, with some soiling, all consistent with field use, otherwise in very good condition, making for an attractive display. During the Battle of St. Mihiel, Donovan served as the commander of the 165th Infantry's 1st Battalion, and would have likely used the map presented here in this capacity during the battle. This map, along with other maps and documents, was contained within two of Donovan's footlockers purchased by our consignor and previously sold by us.

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November 14, 2025 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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