CHURCHILL, SIR WINSTON
A color lithograph map entitled British Battles During 1918 (8th Aug. to 11th Nov., 1918). Signed by Churchill in blue ink at the head, the right hand margin signed by General Sir Hubert Gough, Field Marshal Haig, General Rawlinson, General Erich Ludendorff, Field Marshal French, Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson, General Henri Joseph Eugene Gouraud and General Plumer, the reverse signed by General Sir Walter N. Congreve V.C. Framed and matted.
17 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches.

Property from the Collection of James Bennett, Peru, Illinois

Provenance:
Major Christopher Congreve, youngest son of General Sir Walter N. Congreve, V.C. (1862-1927)
Sold: Christies, South Kensington, April 12, 1996, Lot 42

Literature:
Churchill at this time was minister of munitions in Lloyd George's Government, concentrating on the production of thousands of tanks. The map illustrates the following period of the war when on "August 8 the British Fourth Army, commanded by General Rawlinson, launched a new offensive; British, Canadian and Australian troops all took part... By night fall on August 8 the tank attack had broken through the German front-line trenches; 400 German guns and nearly 22,000 soldiers were captured... By August 10 the British Army had made further advances, taking another 10,000 prisoners. 'The tide has turned,' Churchill wrote to Clementine that day... With each British advance Churchill went to the scene to see how his shells, mustard gas, and tanks had been used, or misused... On October 15, exhausted by the bloodletting, faced with widespread starvation as a result of the Allied sea blockade, and fearing a total collapse of the Balkan front, the Germans asked for an armistice... On November 7 a German delegation crossed into the French lines... On November 10 Lloyd George invited Churchill to a special Cabinet meeting to discuss the course of these negotiations... At 5 o'clock the next morning the Germans accepted the Allied terms" (Martin Gilbert, Churchill, 1991, pp. 393-402).