Conflicts – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com Blogging about maps since 2003 Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:00:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.maproomblog.com/xq/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/cropped-logo-2017-04-32x32.jpg Conflicts – The Map Room https://www.maproomblog.com 32 32 116787204 CNN’s Maps of the Ukrainian Counteroffensive https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/09/cnns-maps-of-the-ukrainian-counteroffensive/ Mon, 11 Sep 2023 13:00:44 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1818444 CNN has posted detailed theatre maps of the Ukrainian counteroffensive along the southern and eastern fronts.

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World War II Aerial Reconnaissance Photos of England https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/09/world-war-ii-aerial-reconnaissance-photos-of-england/ Fri, 08 Sep 2023 12:32:59 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1818376 More]]> Historic England has posted some 3,600 aerial images of England, of a collection totalling more than 20,000, taken during World War II by USAAF reconnaissance aircraft. This was done as part of the crews’ training—their job was to collect aerial photos of Nazi Germany and occupied Europe, but they needed to practise first—and as so often happens in history, information collected for one purpose can pay unexpected and unrelated historical dividends: a wealth of aerial imagery from 1943 and 1944. The images are available via this interactive map. [PetaPixel]

Previously: Historic England’s Aerial Photo Explorer.

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The Aftermath of the Kakhovka Dam’s Destruction https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/07/the-aftermath-of-the-kakhovka-dams-destruction/ Thu, 27 Jul 2023 14:00:00 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1817567 More]]> A pair of Landsat images showing the drainage of the Kakhovka Reservoir in Ukraine after the Kakhovka Dam was breached on 6 June 2023.
Kakhovka Reservoir on 7 June 2022 (top) and 18 June 2023 (bottom). Landsat 8/OLI and Landsat 9/OLI-2, respectively. NASA Earth Observatory/USGS/Lauren Dauphin.

NASA Earth Observatory has before-and-after satellite imagery showing the impact of the destruction of Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam last month. The Kakhovka Reservoir is emptying out (above), the irrigation canals that relied on that reservoir are drying out, and there was flooding downriver of the dam in the immediate aftermath of the breach.

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Bakhmut in Satellite Imagery https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/05/bakhmut-in-satellite-imagery/ Thu, 18 May 2023 11:39:19 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1814550 CNN: “Before-and-after satellite imagery below shows the damage done to the hard-hit eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut over the past year.”

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Mapping Russia’s Military Presence in Crimea https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/05/mapping-russias-military-presence-in-crimea/ Fri, 12 May 2023 16:32:11 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1814446 More]]> Journalists working for Radio Liberty’s Crimean Realities project have released an interactive map of Crimea showing the location of more than 200 Russian military facilities. It’s meant as a warning to residents: these are the areas you need to stay away from. In Russian and Ukrainian only. News coverage: Radio Svoboda (Ukrainian; Google Translate), Ukrainska Pravda (English), Newsweek. [Maps Mania]

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Updated Satellite Imagery of Ukraine Reveals Russian Fortifications, Damage https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/04/updated-satellite-imagery-of-ukraine-reveals-russian-fortifications-damage/ Thu, 27 Apr 2023 15:02:14 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1814191 More]]> Recent satellite imagery reveals the extent of Russian defensive fortifications built in the past few months in occupied territory in anticipation of Ukraine’s spring counteroffensive: see coverage from CNN and Reuters. Meanwhile, Maps Mania reports that Google Maps’ updated satellite imagery of Ukraine shows the damage inflicted by the Russian invasion.

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The Russian Invasion of Ukraine, One Year Later https://www.maproomblog.com/2023/03/the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-one-year-later/ Fri, 03 Mar 2023 16:05:39 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1813020 More]]> Russia invaded Ukraine a year ago last Friday. Kenneth Field looks at how media organizations have used maps to mark the anniversary. Via Maps Mania, Grid’s map-heavy interactive timeline of the war. Also via Maps Mania, The Undeniable Street View uses street-level imagery to show the damage inflicted on six Ukrainian cities.

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Tracking the Russian Invasion of Ukraine with Satellite Imagery https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/10/tracking-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-with-satellite-imagery/ Wed, 26 Oct 2022 22:59:06 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1809538 More]]> Bloomberg’s MapLab newsletter looks at how freely available satellite imagery has enabled widespread monitoring of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

When the invasion of Ukraine started, these images started popping up on social media and in the news so often that it seems like most of us have access to advanced satellite imagery intelligence in real time. […] But the role of commercial providers in acquiring and sharing so many images with such regularity is unprecedented. Their rise has made military-grade intelligence available to pretty much everyone who wishes to look into it.

What’s notable is that because the satellites are commercial, the images aren’t classified.

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D-Day Map Donated to Library of Congress https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/07/d-day-map-donated-to-library-of-congress/ Thu, 07 Jul 2022 23:21:32 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1808020 More]]> A top-secret map of Omaha Beach used in the D-Day landing has been donated to the Library of Congress by the family of the soldier who carried it into battle, the Washington Post reports (mirror: Stars and Stripes). [MAPS-L]

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Google Didn’t Stop Obscuring Imagery of Russian Military Sites Because the Imagery Hadn’t Been Obscured in the First Place https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/04/google-didnt-stop-obscuring-imagery-of-russian-military-sites-because-the-imagery-hadnt-been-obscured-in-the-first-place/ Tue, 19 Apr 2022 14:05:57 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806914 More]]> Yesterday, reports that Google Maps had stopped obscuring satellite imagery of sensitive Russian military facilities spread like wildfire across Twitter. Only there was no official announcement from Google saying they’d done so, and while Ukrainian Twitter was seriously running with it, I wanted to see some confirmation from the mapping side. In the event, an update to Ars Technica’s story says that Google hadn’t stopped blurring the imagery—the imagery hadn’t been blurred in the first place. “A Google spokesperson told Ars that the company hasn’t changed anything with regard to blurring out sensitive sites in Russia, so perhaps none of us were looking closely until now.”

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The Design Choices Behind Maps of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/04/the-design-choices-behind-maps-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ Fri, 08 Apr 2022 12:07:08 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806713 More]]> In Geographical magazine, Doug Specht and Alexander Kent examine some of the design choices made by media organizations mapping the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “Cartographic design choices over colour, layout, lettering and symbology, for example, all influence our attitudes and feelings towards the war in Ukraine. […] [B]y understanding how these choices (e.g., regarding the selection and classification of features as well as their colour and symbology) mask the nuances of reality, we can be better at reading the stories they are trying to tell.”

Relatedly, in a Twitter thread, Le Monde’s cartographic team explores the decisions behind one of their print maps (in French).

Previously: How Maps of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Can Mislead; Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #3.

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Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #3 https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-roundup-3/ Thu, 24 Mar 2022 23:39:33 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806513 More]]> The Financial Times has a storymap exploring how Russian mistakes and unexpectedly stiff Ukrainian resistance changed the expected outcome of the war. [Maps Mania]

Bellingcat has launched a map showing civilian harm in Ukraine. “Included in the map are instances where civilian areas and infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed, where the presence of civilian injuries are visible and/or there is the presence of immobile civilian bodies. […] We intend this to be a living project that will continue to be updated as long as the conflict persists.”

In a Twitter thread, Levi Westerfeld explores how the New York Times graphics department changed its map symbology as the Russian invasion progressed.

In another Twitter thread, Nathan Ruser (see roundups passim) shares a variety of maps showing different ways of looking at the invasion, from momentum to front lines to territory held.

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How Maps of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine Can Mislead https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/how-maps-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-can-mislead/ Mon, 14 Mar 2022 18:58:18 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806377 More]]> Writing in Foreign Policy, Mateusz Fafinski looks at maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, their disconnect with facts on the ground, and their use in propaganda. “Numerous news outlets and analysts produce maps of the war in Ukraine. These maps tend to follow a similar pattern. Areas of Russian advances get colored in red, sometimes augmented with arrows signifying the direction of Russian movements. Those areas are variously described as ‘areas occupied’ or ‘areas taken.’ At face value, these maps tell a story of significant Russian progress and control. But reports from the ground tell a more nuanced story.”

For context, see previous posts: Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Roundup; Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #2.

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General Milley’s Map https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/general-milleys-map/ Mon, 14 Mar 2022 18:45:46 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806375 More]]> General Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, has been carrying a map of Ukraine with him everywhere he goes, Washington Post columnist David Ignatius reports in a piece that looks at U.S. intelligence gathering and work with its allies during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Milley’s map is a compendium of U.S intelligence about Russia’s pitiless assault on Ukraine. The paper version isn’t actually big or particularly fancy, just a foot-square chart showing the locations, numbers and likely assault paths of the vast Russian force battering Ukraine. But the map documents what Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and his top aides believe might be the most comprehensive operational intelligence in the history of warfare. […]

Milley ordered aides to begin assembling the map in late October, when startling intelligence reports signaled that Russia was gathering an invasion army on Ukraine’s border. The Russian forces were no exercise; intercepted messages showed that Russia was actually planning an attack.

Of course we can’t get a look at Gen. Milley’s map. Classified.

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Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Roundup #2 https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-roundup-2/ Tue, 08 Mar 2022 14:53:43 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806237 More]]> Content warning: Some of these links contain disturbing images: I’ve marked them with a †.

More on the question of whether theatre maps accurately reflect the ground situation. Nathan Ruser’s maps have been used to argue that Russian forces are controlling roads rather than territory, but Ruser complains that his maps are being misinterpreted: they were never meant to show territorial control, just troop movements. See also this Twitter thread from Jennifer Cafarella, in which she explains the methodology and reasoning behind her team’s maps.

3D models of bombing damage.† Satellite imagery and 3D photogrammetric data are used to create 3D models of bombing damage in Ukraine. [Maps Mania]

A map of attacks on civilian targets with photo and video documentation. [Nataliya Gumenyuk]

Where hot spots are literally hot spots. In a Twitter thread, Sotris Valkaniotis shows how military operations in Ukraine show up in Landsat spectral imagery: weapons fire turns up as hot spots showing “very high temperature in short-wave infrared band.”

A Ukrainian map of alleged Russian casualties† and where they were deployed from. [Michael Weiss]

A map of checkpoint traffic. More than two million Ukrainians have fled the Russian invasion. Overwhelmingly, they’re fleeing westward. This map shows how busy each border checkpoint is: Polish border crossings are extremely congested. [Kyiv Independent]

Meanwhile, Kenneth Field has been working on ways to map Ukraine’s refugees. Here’s his most recent iteration:

Ukraine’s population density. More than 41 million people live in Ukraine. This map from Airwars shows the population density per square kilometre. Which shows how many people in an area are affected by a particular military strike.

Apple says Crimea is Ukrainian. Mashable: “Apple’s Maps and Weather apps now mark Crimea as part of Ukraine when accessed outside of Russia. It appears the company has quietly updated its stance on the territorial dispute.” Apple had marked Crimea as Russian in 2019, which pissed Ukraine off at the time. [TechCrunch]

Finally, this striking bit of art:

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Mapping the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: A Roundup https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/mapping-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine-a-roundup/ Thu, 03 Mar 2022 00:25:52 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806183 More]]> Map of Ukraine showing Russian incursions from Nathan Ruser, Putin’s War: The Daily Ukraine Brief, 2 Mar 2022.
Nathan Ruser, Putin’s War: The Daily Ukraine Brief, 2 Mar 2022.

Areas vs. lines. I’ve seen several reminders that the areas shown in some maps as being under control by Russian forces are not necessarily under Russian control. Since Russian columns have to stick to major roads and cannot, under current conditions, move cross-country, the argument is to visualize Russian incursions as lines rather than areas, as Nathan Ruser does in maps for his Daily Ukraine Brief (above).

The New York Times maps the Russian invasion. This regularly updated New York Times page includes their maps of the on-the-ground situation in Ukraine. Areas rather than lines though.

Map of operational train stations in Ukraine as of 2 Mar 2022
Укрзалізниця

Where the trains are still running. Ukraine’s rail operator Ukrzaliznytsia has posted a map (above) showing which stations are still operating—at least at that particular moment. [Christopher Miller/ТРУХА]

Captured maps and other documents carried by Russian troops are being posted to Twitter.

Previously: Traffic Data Inadvertently Revealed the Start of the Russian Invasion; Traffic Data Inadvertently Revealed the Start of the Russian Invasion; Air-Raid Shelters in Kyiv; A Crowdsourced Map of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine.

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Traffic Data Inadvertently Revealed the Start of the Russian Invasion https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/03/traffic-data-inadvertently-revealed-the-start-of-the-russian-invasion/ Wed, 02 Mar 2022 13:52:19 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806152 More]]>

AppleInsider looks at how online maps (Apple Maps, Google Maps), especially their traffic layer, inadvertently revealed Russian troop movements at the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The sheer volume of mapping data now available at our fingertips means it was possible for civilians half a world away to see when Russian forces began moving. Specifically, that data pinpointed a traffic jam starting on the Russian side of the border, actively moving into Ukraine in the first few minutes of the Russian and Ukraine conflict.

Just as with any cartography, this information required interpreting. Google Maps did not specifically say that it was troop movements, nor was its satellite imagery up to the minute. During the process of researching this story, we’ve confirmed that Apple Maps presented similar inbound troop movement information—but it wasn’t setting out to do that either.

What these services did, though, was register all of the smartphone users whose driving was slowed or halted by unusual traffic conditions. Wherever the majority of the data came from, it was possible to determine what was happening when coupled with known details of Russian troop locations.

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The News Media Maps the Russian Invasion of Ukraine https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/02/the-news-media-maps-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ Fri, 25 Feb 2022 00:10:24 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806127 In a Twitter thread, Lisa Charlotte Muth provides a comprehensive list of maps and infographics about the Russian invasion of Ukraine produced by news organizations.

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Air-Raid Shelters in Kyiv https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/02/air-raid-shelters-in-kyiv/ Thu, 24 Feb 2022 15:51:14 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806121 The city of Kyiv has posted a map of public air-raid shelters in the Ukrainian capital, including basements and cellars, metro stations, underground parking, even underpasses. [Politico EU]

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A Crowdsourced Map of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine https://www.maproomblog.com/2022/02/a-crowdsourced-map-of-the-russian-invasion-of-ukraine/ Thu, 24 Feb 2022 13:12:41 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1806114 More]]> The Russia-Ukraine Monitor Map “is a crowdsourced effort to map, document and verify information in order to provide reliable information for policymakers and journalists of the on-the-ground and online situation in and around Ukraine. […] The pins on this map represents open source material such as videos, photos and imagery that have been cross-referenced with satellite imagery to determine precise locations of military activity.” It’s produced by the Centre for Information Resilience. [Boing Boing]

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Hal Jespersen’s Civil War Maps https://www.maproomblog.com/2021/12/hal-jespersens-civil-war-maps/ Mon, 27 Dec 2021 23:52:35 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1805770 More]]> Stonewall Jackson's Valley Campaign (thumbnail)Freelance cartographer Hal Jespersen has created more than 200 maps for various Wikipedia articles on battles in the U.S. Civil War. They are available for free download—both as PNGs and as source files—under a Creative Commons licence. [WMS]

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Fuchida’s Map of Pearl Harbor https://www.maproomblog.com/2021/04/fuchidas-map-of-pearl-harbor/ Sat, 10 Apr 2021 00:41:43 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1790621 More]]>
Library of Congress

After Mitsuo Fuchida commanded the air attack on Pearl Harbor, he drew a map to report on the damage his planes inflicted on the U.S. ships. That map, held by the Library of Congress, is the subject of an interactive story map from the Library: “This is the story of how Fuchida made the map, the history surrounding it, and an opportunity for the reader to interactively explore the map’s contents.” [Maps Mania]

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New Map Books: Early October 2020 https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/10/new-map-books-early-october-2020/ Wed, 07 Oct 2020 13:41:29 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1789490 More]]>

New map books released in early October include:

The 27th edition of the Oxford Atlas of the World (Oxford University Press); this atlas is updated annually. This edition includes more satellite imagery, a new feature on plastics pollution, and an updated cities section. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

The 14th edition of the Times Concise Atlas of the World (Times Books). One step below the Comprehensive in the Times Atlas range, and a bit more than half the price. Available now in the U.K., next month in Canada, and next March in the United States. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

A History of the Second World War in 100 Maps by Jeremy Black (British Library) “selects 100 of the most revealing, extraordinary and significant maps to give a ground-breaking perspective on the Second World War. It follows the British Library’s enormously successful A History of America in 100 Maps, published in 2018.” Out tomorrow in the U.K.; the U.S. edition is out from the University of Chicago Press later this month. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

Philip Parker’s History of World Trade in Maps (Collins), in which “more than 70 maps give a visual representation of the history of World Commerce, accompanied by text which tells the extraordinary story of the merchants, adventurers, middle-men and monarchs who bought, sold, explored and fought in search of profit and power.” Also out now in the U.K. but later in North America. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

Finally, the paperback edition of Tom Harper’s Atlas: A World of Maps from the British Library, which I reviewed here in 2018, is out tomorrow from the British Library. Amazon (Canada, UK), Bookshop

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Mapping Far-Right Vigilantism https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/09/mapping-far-right-vigilantism/ Mon, 21 Sep 2020 13:27:23 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1789326 More]]> Alexander Reid Ross of Portland State University has created an interactive map that tracks incidents of far-right extremist vigilantism in the United States. Laura Biss has the story at MapLab:

The map shows that certain regions seem to be hotspots for extremism, including Southern California, Oregon and Washington. Ross fears for what might be coming to Texas, which has seen pockets of violence at protests and is home to people whom Ross calls “experienced racists, armed to the teeth.” He views the concentration of incidents in the Pacific Northwest as “an inverted funhouse,” considering their historic parallel in the terror of the Civil Rights-era South, which has fewer incidents today.”

[Boing Boing]

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Antietam Battlefield Map Shows Burial Locations https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/06/antietam-battlefield-map-shows-burial-locations/ Wed, 17 Jun 2020 18:15:13 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1788906 More]]> Map of the Battlefield of Antietam (1864)
S. G. Elliott, “Map of the Battlefield of Antietam,” 1864. Map, 87 × 66 cm. New York Public Library.

A map of the battlefield of Antietam held by the New York Public Library that shows the location of graves of soldiers killed in the 1862 U.S. Civil War battle is the subject of a piece in today’s Washington Post.

Civil War historians are hailing it as an important new way to visualize the toll of the huge battle outside Sharpsburg, Md., in 1862.

“Every one of us who’s looked at this absolutely flips out,” said Garry Adelman, chief historian for the Washington-based American Battlefield Trust, which works to preserve historic battlefields. “This will reverberate for decades.”

The map is the only one of its kind known to exist. It was digitized by the New York Public Library, which owns it, and was spotted online by local historians a few weeks ago.

The map doesn’t just mark graveyards, it notes the burial locations of specific regiments and brigades—and in 45 cases, individual soldiers.

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‘The Monsters of Maps’: A Video About Caricature Maps https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/05/the-monsters-of-maps-a-video-about-caricature-maps/ Tue, 26 May 2020 12:42:14 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1788840 More]]>

The Monsters of Maps,” a 10-minute video by Richard Tilney-Bassett, explores the late-19th- and early-20th-century phenomenon of “serio-comic” or caricature maps, which are no stranger to us here. In the video Richard wonders what a modern-day caricature map would look like; I’d point him to the work of Andy Davey (see here and here).

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How ‘1917’ Found Its Map https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/02/how-1917-found-its-map/ Mon, 10 Feb 2020 16:35:47 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1788381 More]]>

CBC News explores how the production team for the First World War epic 1917 consulted McMaster University’s collection of trench maps and aerial photography to produce an authentic replica of a situation map for the movie. The map they used, incidentally, is this one, a situation map showing British and German troop positions around Monchy-le-Preux on 24 April 1917:

McMaster University Library Research Collections
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George III’s Collection of Military Maps Now Online https://www.maproomblog.com/2020/01/george-iiis-collection-of-military-maps-now-online/ Tue, 28 Jan 2020 20:10:28 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1788276 More]]>
George Louis Le Rouge, Plan de l’Armée de Cornwallis attaquée et faitte Prisoniere dans York Town, le 19 8bre, par l’Armée Combinée Francaise et Americaine, 1781. Map, 34.9 x 43.5 cm. Royal Collection Trust.

More than 2,000 military maps and related items collected by George III have been posted online by the Royal Collection Trust to commemorate the 200th anniversary of his death. As the Guardian reports, the collection “features material from the 16th to 18th centuries, from highly finished presentation maps of sieges, battles and marcheso rough sketches drawn in the field, depictions of uniforms and fortification plans, providing a vivid contemporary account of important theatres of war in Britain, Europe and America.”

George III was apparently an avid map collector. At his death his collection numbered some 55,000 maps: the maritime and topographic maps were given to the British Library; the military maps were kept by George IV for his own use. “Not all of them were collected by George III in the first instance: like most collectors, he not only purchased individual items but also acquired the collections of others.” [Tony Campbell]

Update, 22 Apr 2020: From February, Smithsonian Magazine’s coverage.

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New Exhibition of Wartime Mapping Activities at Hughenden https://www.maproomblog.com/2019/07/new-exhibition-of-wartime-mapping-activities-at-hughenden/ Wed, 03 Jul 2019 14:57:55 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1787464 More]]> Opening today at Hughenden Manor: a permanent exhibition on the secret wartime mapping activities that took place at the Buckinghamshire mansion during the Second World War.

In rooms never before opened to the public, the installation features original photographs, records and memories of personnel involved at the time.

In newly accessible spaces used by the mapmakers themselves, the interactive exhibits shed light on how Hillside played such a significant role in shaping the outcome of the war. […]

Codenamed ‘Hillside’, Hughenden played such a critical role supporting the pilots of nearby Bomber Command that it was on Hitler’s list of top targets.

Around 100 personnel were based here, drawing up the maps used for bombing missions during the war, including the ‘Dambusters’ raid and for targeting Hitler’s mountain retreat Eagle’s Nest. Skilled cartographers produced leading-edge maps from aerial photographs delivered by the RAF’s reconnaissance missions.

The BBC News story provides more detail: some 3,500 hand-drawn target maps were produced at Hughenden Manor during the War.

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D-Day https://www.maproomblog.com/2019/06/d-day/ Thu, 06 Jun 2019 23:07:08 +0000 https://www.maproomblog.com/?p=1787403 More]]> Map from The Neptune Monograph
Map from the Neptune Monograph

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, the Bodleian Map Room Blog (no relation) has a post showing some of the Bodleian’s map holdings that deal with Operation Overlord. (The Bodleian has posted about D-Day before: see this post from June 2014 marking the 70th anniversary, and this post from September 2015.)

Maps Mania marks the occasion with links to the Library of Congress’s collection of World War II military situation maps and the Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection’s D-Day map holdings.

Meanwhile, a copy of the Neptune Monograph, a top-secret intelligence report distributed to Allied commanders before the D-Day landings that contains maps of the landing zones, can be yours for a mere $45,000. Alternatively, thanks to a Kickstarter last year, you can get a reproduction for one-tenth of one percent of that price. [Military History Now]

Update: I forgot to mention this Library of Congress blog post about a fascinating model of Utah Beach used during the invasion.

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