Original World War II U.S. War Department production poster titled “The Knockout Blow Starts Here — Fellow Soldiers.” Issued in 1942 by the War Department, Bureau of Public Relations, the poster links American factory production directly to battlefield victory. A series of black-and-white photographs shows workers manufacturing war matériel, alongside combat scenes, culminating in a graphic bomb-strike motif aimed at a swastika. UNT Digital Library
The Smithsonian identifies the design as showing how work in a war factory leads to a soldier delivering the “knockout blow,” and credits the artist as W. McL. Government records list the poster in 1942 at approximately 39.8 × 29.9 inches, essentially 40 × 30 inches. Smithsonian Institution
Title: The Knockout Blow Starts Here — Fellow Soldiers
Issuer: U.S. War Department, Bureau of Public Relations
Date: 1942
Artist: W. McL
Subject: WWII war production / factory workers / U.S. Army / anti-Axis propaganda
Size: approximately 40 × 30 in.
Format: Original U.S. government wartime poster
Condition: Original period fold lines throughout, with noticeable creasing, handling wear, scattered surface marks and some age-related toning. The photographic panels, red-and-black graphics, headline, and lower “Fellow Soldiers” slogan remain substantially complete and highly legible.
This one has especially strong crossover appeal because it combines industrial home-front production, battlefield photography, and explicit anti-Axis imagery in a single official 1942 War Department poster.
The Knockout Blow Starts Here — Fellow Soldiers – W. McL 1942 30 × 40
stored for decades in the back of an ancient bookstore
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