Description:

BATTLE OF ST. MIHIEL MAP OF GERMAN RESISTANCE POINTS, 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 map with hand-written notations, used by Donovan during the Battle of St. Mihiel 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 in. 42 in., is a French ‘Plan Directeur' artillery map, produced by the Groups de Canevas de Tir des Armee (GCTA), marked at bottom right as being reprinted by the Base Printing Plant of the 29th Engineering Battalion, and is dated Aug. 13, 1918 in French at top right. It presents a 1:10,000-scale view of the commune of Pannes, and shows the sector assigned to the 165th during the battle, comprising the vicinity of the villages of Richecourt, Lahayville and St. Baussant, just south of the larger towns of Essy and Euvezin. It shows German trench lines and defenses in blue, with corresponding Allied lines in red. Most interestingly, the map has been annotated to show areas of strong enemy expected to be encountered just north of the ‘line of departure' during the outset of the attack on Sep. 12, 1918. In particular, it calls out machine gun emplacements to the west of the village of Maizerais, with another area just south of that village labeled ‘Hill Very Dangerous go to right & left'. The verso of the map bears the notations ‘St. Mihiel' and Pannes 1/10,000 Showing points of expected resistance', all in green ink, in the hand of 1st Lt. Harold L. Allen, intelligence officer of the 165th Regiment Headquarters Company.. The map shows folds overall consistent with field use, with some chips and small tears to the edges, but is otherwise in very good condition. 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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