The West Point Maps (#280)
Today’s post covers another aspect of World War II, European Theater of Operations leaders and leadership -- the battle maps in the West Point Atlas of American Wars.
This year, I am doing a series on leaders and leadership in the European Theater of Operations (ETO) in World War II. This is 25th in the series. Check out the blog to see them all or go to the links at the bottom of this article to see the most recent ones.
The West Point Atlas of American Wars
In the 21st century, most of us, including me, rarely use maps. Sure, we bring up Apple Maps or Google Maps, type in an address or search for a location, and let the magic of the Global Positioning System, cell phone towers, and Apple’s or Google’s algorithms navigate us to our destinations. But, when was the last time you actually looked at a paper map?
One of the great resources for understanding the European battlefields where American, British, Canadien, and Polish soldiers fought and died during World War II is the West Point Atlas of American Wars. Covering every major conflict the United States participated in, each map helps you visually gain a better understanding of the terrain, road network, and the sequential and complicated movements of armies, navies and air forces in the battle. But how and why did the original 326 maps get made?
The West Point Atlas of American Wars
The original set of 326 maps were produced under the guidance of Brigadier General Vincent J. Esposito, the former professor and head of the Department of Military Art and Engineering at the United States Military Academy (USMA). Starting in 1938, the Department of Military Art and Engineering (the predecessor of today’s USMA Department of History) produced maps for an atlas that covered the Colonial and Revolutionary Wars, the War of 1812, the Mexican War, the American Civil War, and the Spanish-American War. A subsequent Atlas covered World War I, World War II, and the Korean conflict. Since 1958, these maps have been updated and revised on a regular basis.
But who was General Esposito?
Brigadier General Vincent Esposito, known as “Mike” was a graduate of the West Point Class of 1925. As an officer in the Corps of Engineers, he served in a variety of troop and construction assignments before World War II. During the war, he was assigned to the Logistics Group of the Operations Division of the War Department General Staff. In that position he led the way in solving the complex logistics problems faced by the United States in both Europe and the Pacific during World War II. Colonel Esposito also represented the War Department General Staff as the logistics advisor at the Quebec, Malta, Yalta, and Potsdam conferences. In addition to teaching history, he helped make it!
Brigadier General Esposito’s experience in World War II helped shape his vision for producing a comprehensive atlas of maps to help cadets better understand the complexity of battles, campaigns, and the leaders that fought them.
Map of the D-Day Invasion
After the war, he was appointed in 1947 as Professor and Deputy Head (and eventually Head) of the Department of Military Art and Engineering at the Military Academy. From those two positions he was able to produce the books that realized his vision to bring a resource to all cadets to help them visualize the great battles of history.
General Esposito retired from West Point in 1963. Unfortunately, he passed away in 1965 at the age of 65. He is buried at the West Point cemetery.
Application
USMA’s Department of History now has over 1,000 maps that can be downloaded or viewed by going to United States Military Academy’s Atlas page. You can also order physical copies of the Atlases through Amazon. As I am reading about a battle or campaign, I find it very helpful to have a map at my fingertips to help me develop a better understanding of the time, space, and relationship between the forces involved in the campaign. The United States Military Academy’s Atlas collection is a great reference to help you better understand the battles, campaigns, and leaders in World War II European Theater of Operations.
TFCG in the Media
I recently went on the Sparking Entrepreneur podcast and discussed grit, leadership, and being a small business owner.
Conclusion
The last five blog posts on leaders and leadership from the World War II European Theater of Operations are:
Interested in bringing your team to Leadership Experience that uses historic case studies and maps like the ones used in the Atlas of American Wars? Send me an email and we can start the discussion today about building better leaders in your organization using a historic Leadership Experience.
In the meantime, go on the offensive and use the story of USMA’s Atlas of American Wars as a resource to help you study battles, campaigns, and their leaders with greater understanding.