the macnaghten library first world war map … maps guide.pdf · the macnaghten library first world...

28
THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION A Short Guide Richard Hatfield

Upload: lamthu

Post on 06-Feb-2018

222 views

Category:

Documents


3 download

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

A Short Guide

Richard Hatfield

Page 2: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 2

Macnaghten Library

Collection of First World War Maps and Aerial Photographs

Catalogue as at 1 October 2013

Front cover: Montage of aerial photo of trenches near Ecurie

Page 3: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 3

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY

FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................4

THE CONTEXT: MAPPING IN THE GREAT WAR ........................................................4

Origins of British Military Mapping ............................................................................... 4

The nature of the Great War ......................................................................................... 5

THE BEF AND THE WESTERN FRONT ........................................................................5

The Cartographic Challenge .......................................................................................... 5

The Maps ...................................................................................................................... 6

Special Features ............................................................................................................ 8

Aerial Photographs ........................................................................................................ 8

THE MEF AND GALLIPOLI .......................................................................................10

The nature of the campaign ........................................................................................ 10

The Clauson Maps ....................................................................................................... 11

THE NEAR EAST AND MESOPOTAMIA ....................................................................12

The Near East and Mesopotamian theatres ................................................................ 12

The Mesopotamia Campaign ...................................................................................... 12

The Clauson Maps ....................................................................................................... 13

ENEMY AND OTHER MAPS .....................................................................................14

ANNEX 1 – HOW THE COLLECTION IS CATALOGUED .............................................16

Full Catalogue ............................................................................................................. 16

Catalogue Numbers .................................................................................................... 16

Storage ........................................................................................................................ 16

ANNEX 2 – WESTERN FRONT .................................................................................18

ANNEX 3 – GALLIPOLI .............................................................................................25

ANNEX 4 – NEAR EAST AND MESOPOTAMIA .........................................................26

ANNEX 5 – NOTE ON SCALES .................................................................................28

Page 4: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 4

INTRODUCTION

Eton’s collection of First World War military maps and associated items (photographs, newspaper cuttings etc.) is drawn from three main operational theatres: the British sector of the Western Front, the Gallipoli campaign of 1915 and Mesopotamia (Iraq). These range from small scale maps used for strategic planning (or even familiarisation with basic geography) to very detailed large scale artillery and trench maps. There are also a limited number of high level, small scale, maps covering parts of Egypt and Syria. Finally there are seven foreign maps – three French, two German and two Turkish which make for interesting comparisons with the British material – and an unexplained (but British) map of the land campaign in the 1904 Russo-Japanese war.

The collection comes from four main identifiable sources. The Gallipoli, Mesopotamian and Egyptian maps originally belonged to Lt. (later Capt.) G M L Clauson, a Kings Scholar who left Eton in 1910 and was deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and after a brief period on the staff in Egypt went on to serve in Iraq. Much of the Western Front material was originally owned by a Lt. C H Whitelegge who served in the Army Service Corps (the supply organisation). He was not an Etonian and this material seems to have been purchased for the Macnaghten Library from a dealer. A number of other Western Front maps can be traced back to a Capt W F Hope-Jones, another Old Etonian who fought in the First World War and subsequently returned as a beak. Finally, four maps were given to the College in 2007 by Valentine Fleming, the grandson of Major Valentine Fleming DSO (father of Ian Fleming the author). Major Fleming and his brother Philip were both Old Etonians who served in the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars, along with Winston Churchill. As two of these maps have hand written annotations dated to 1918 – in one case stating that it was used during the British retreat that spring – and Valentine Fleming was killed in action in May 1917, these may have originally belonged to his brother.

THE CONTEXT: MAPPING IN THE GREAT WAR

Origins of British Military Mapping

Although knowledge of the terrain has always been a vital factor in warfare, for much of history maps were either absent or hopelessly inadequate and inaccurate so that commanders were often forced to rely on local guides – with very mixed results. This was often even true when armies were campaigning on their own territory, as the British Army discovered when attempting to pursue Jacobite rebels after the 1745 rebellion. It was this that led to the commissioning of a military survey of the Highlands and eventually to the creation of the Ordnance Survey which, between 1783 and 1853, completed the first comprehensive and accurate mapping of the British Isles. Similar motives led the British East India Company to establish the Survey of India in 1767. Both organisations were to play an important role in the First World

Page 5: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 5

War, with the Ordnance Survey focussed on the Western Front and the Survey of India providing mapping support for the Mesopotamian theatre.

The nature of the Great War

During the First World War British military cartographers faced a whole set of new challenges. In the first place, all the Army's campaigns were overseas in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and the available local maps were generally lacking in both detail and accuracy. Secondly, the nature of early 20

th century warfare generated new cartographic requirements: controlling and

deploying mass citizen armies rapidly over long distances, artillery firing by map at targets over ten miles away and trench systems sometimes thousands of yards deep extending along a front of more than a hundred miles. The destruction caused by artillery used on an unprecedented scale and firing high explosive also meant that features on the landscape were frequently changed or even obliterated. High explosive even created new geographic features – most notably the huge craters resulting from the British mines exploded along the Messines Ridge.

Luckily, the First World War also provided the military mapmaker with new technological aids for gathering the necessary information, notably greatly improved optical instruments and photography, especially aerial photography. But advances in the accuracy, speed and volume of map reproduction were almost as important so that, for example, trench maps could be regularly and rapidly updated and issued not only to planning staff but front line officers.

THE BEF AND THE WESTERN FRONT

The Cartographic Challenge

When the British Expeditionary Force (B.E.F) deployed to France and Belgium in August 1914 it had to rely on existing maps normally at a scale of 1:40,000 (for Belgium) or 1:80,000 (for France), respectively equivalent to about 1.6 inches and 3.2 inches to the mile

1. While these were acceptable for the short

opening phase of mobile operations, they were of limited use when the Western Front solidified behind two continuous lines of trenches.

Trench warfare required larger scale maps with detailed tactical information not only about the terrain but also about the enemy’s defensive system for planning infantry attacks and directing artillery fire, which rapidly became the dominant battlefield weapon. It was also important to know how to find your way about your own trench system and to develop special purpose maps, for example to manage the railways and roads used to move huge armies and the vast quantities of ammunition, food (and horse fodder) and other military supplies needed to sustain them.

At first the Ordnance Survey produced maps by enlarging and adapting existing French and Belgium maps to 1:40,000 or 1:20,000 scale but, apart from special maps of fortified zones (Plans Directeurs), many of the French

1 For table of scale equivalences see Annex 4

Page 6: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 6

maps were not sufficiently detailed or up to date. It was therefore quickly decided to carry out a new survey of the British front. One small initial team of Royal Engineers and surveyors from the Ordnance Survey in Southampton grew over the course of the war into field survey companies attached to every Army. Details of the landscape, enemy positions and rear areas were gathered and regularly updated from aerial photographs, supplemented by intelligence from trench raids, prisoners and so on.

In 1915 B.E.F. began to use new larger 1:10,000 scale, or 6 inch to the mile, Trench Maps with details of the German Front Line, machine gun posts, bunkers, communication trenches to the rear and known rear defensive positions shown in red. The maps indicated the “approximate” BEF Front Line in blue as an aid to orientation but without further detail on maps issued to frontline units. In early 1918 the colours were reversed to conform to the convention adopted by the French Army. Maps showing detailed British positions were classified as “Secret” and not supposed to be taken beyond the Brigade Headquarters into the front line in case they fell into German hands, for example during a trench raid. From Edition 2 onwards this series of maps (GSGS 3062) became the base maps for the entire British front, with smaller scale maps produced by photographic reduction.

For obvious reasons, new editions were issued more frequently for maps of areas which were the locations of major battles. Some of the first 1:10,000 Trench Maps which had been produced in 1915 based on old French maps were revised during 1916 using more accurate survey data. It was, however, important to keep the tactical information overprinted on the maps as up to date as possible and that on many of the maps in the Macnaghten Collection can be precisely dated by the rubric: "Trenches Corrected to ...”

The Maps

The collection provides good high level topographic coverage of the British sector of operations in Belgium and north-eastern France at 1:250,000 (6 miles to an inch) and 1,100,000 (2.5 miles to an inch) for general orientation and strategic planning. Below these small scale maps, the BEF used maps at three different scales for different purposes but linked to a common grid developed from the pre-war Belgian map system.

2

The 1:40,000 scale Map Sheets used for staff planning provided the foundation of this system. These were divided into quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE) to create the standard set of 1:20,000 scale maps – primarily used for artillery spotting and direction – which were, in turn, divided into four 1:10,000 maps for highly detailed tactical maps. Although both the 1:20,000 and 1:10,000 maps are commonly described as “Trench Maps”, the former were generally used for artillery planning and more concerned with the position of enemy HQs and artillery batteries.

2 See Appendix to Annex 2 for an explanation of the somewhat idiosyncratic way in

which the Belgian grid was extended initially westwards and subsequently southwards.

Page 7: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 7

The 1:10,000 scale maps in the Macnaghten Library vividly illustrate the areas of the front held by the BEF British troops between 1914 and spring 1918. (Most of the small area to the north was held by the remnant of the Belgium Army). Although the length of the front extended southwards as the BEF grew in size from 6 divisions to around 90 divisions, it is striking how little movement there was in the line during this period. In fact, the largest movement was a voluntary German withdrawal in 1917 to the pre-prepared fortifications of the Hindenburg line to pre-empt a French offensive. This withdrawal has been marked on two maps in the collection

3.

In August 1918, the Allies at last broke through all the layers of the Hindenburg defensive system and the final “Hundred Days” advance saw a return to a war of movement. This led to further changes in mapping. The armies were moving into new terrain, without heavily fortified trench systems developed over months, if not years, and the objective was to dislodge the enemy as quickly as possible before improvised defences could be turned into major obstacles. This led to the abandonment of specialised very large scale trench maps and the widespread use of a single Enemy Organisation map. This is what would today be called a “situation map” and combined information on German troop concentrations, an outline of any trenches or other defences and potential artillery targets such as hostile gun batteries, HQs and ammunition dumps.

One of the most poignant features of many of the maps is the stark contrast between the rear areas, where the dense network of farms and small settlements that made up much of this part of France in 1914 can still be clearly seen, and the lunar landscape where fighting has taken place . Buildings, hamlets, villages and even towns lie wholly or partially in ruins, some appearing as little more than labels attached to piles of rubble which provide a reference point in the wilderness. In some places woods, railways and roads have literally been obliterated and, across this wasteland runs an insanely complex maze of thin blue and red lines representing the trench networks.

The collection contains a number of maps which cover a particular area of the front at different times, illustrating the irony that, despite the lack of any strategic movement, the detail on the large scale tactical maps is constantly changing as defences are extended, individual sections of the trenches are abandoned because of flooding or shelling, and headquarters, artillery batteries and ammunition are relocated.

3 See Maps WF 53 and WF 56

Page 8: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 8

Special Features

There are a number of special purpose maps – for example maps of the strategic rail system and the road network in the Fifth Army and Reserve Army areas. To help ease the continuous flow of troops, horses, and supplies required to sustain the front, there was a hugely complex traffic system behind the front in which all but the biggest roads were one-way only and some routes were reserved for ambulances. Motorcycles and staff cars were, however, allowed to use roads without restriction! There is also a map produced just after the war showing the sites of all the known war graves around Ypres before these had been collected into the cemeteries of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The dates show that many of the individual maps were prepared ahead of a specific planned attack by the BEF. Often these will be “Special Sheets” which cover an area covering parts of two or more standard sheets to fit better with operational boundaries – for example a series of maps prepared in advance of the Cambrai offensive of November/December 19174. Perhaps the best example is a map of the Ypres area prepared for a British attack sometimes known as the (second) Battle of Langemarck during the series of battles known as “Third Ypres” (or Passchendaele). What makes this map particularly interesting is that it has been marked with planned phaselines (i.e. successive objectives) for the BEF attack and it can be read in conjunction with copies of several of the 56th Divisions handwritten Divisional Orders and Instructions for the attack5.

Other maps also have interesting annotations. Several show changes in the front line following a local advance6 and, as already noted, two show the German strategic withdrawal in early 1917 designed to forestall an Allied offensive by shortening their line and moving into the prepared defences of the Hindenburg Line. Other annotations include training areas and possible billet sites during the Final Advance7.

Finally, Lt. Whitelegge is the source of a number of specialist artillery items including an artillery firing map, a group of technical notes about artillery ammunition and copies of the artillery orders for the Canadian attack on Vimy Ridge, accompanied by his log of operations in April 1917.8 Whitelegge also collected contemporary newspaper cuttings about the progress of 1917 operations

Aerial Photographs

The collection contains some thirty aerial photographs of the western front (and four from the Mesopotamian Campaign). The catalogue relates all of these to their location using the BEF mapping system.

4 See Maps WF 21 to WF 30. These relate to a subsidiary attack near

Bullecourt ,just north of the main effort 5 See Map WF 2.1 and WF 97.1 – 97.9 for related Divisional Orders and

commentary 6 See for example WF 43

7 See maps WF 59 and WF 77 respectively.

8 WF 31, WF 120 – WF 126

Page 9: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 9

The biggest single contribution comes from the purchase of a collection originally belonging to Capt Gladstone Adams RFC. Adams was a Newcastle photographer who became one of the BEF’s principal photographic officers, apparently responsible for documenting the shooting down of Baron von Richtofen. There are three individual photographs of trench systems taken by Adams in 1917, in one of which an artillery shell can be seen bursting on the ground

9. In addition Adams compiled a scrapbook in which photographs of the

Scarpe Valley area, SE of Arras, are set alongside the corresponding map extracts

10.

There are four other items which show how photographs were related to the maps: two half map, half photo composites of the Mercatel area

11; and a shot

of the Lens/Noyelles area and a map showing the precise area in the photograph.

12 The photograph of Lens/Noyelles is the only oblique, as

opposed to directly overhead, shot in the collection and has been annotated to identify the (remains of) the landmarks that can be seen. Another overhead photograph shows the devastation in the centre of Lens itself.

There is an interesting group of four photographs of Messines and the area to its northwest taken in late 1915 which show how a detailed picture can be assembled from overlapping photographs – see diagram below.

Map of Wytschaete area and Messines with superimposed photographs13

It is also interesting to compare the trench systems shown in these photographs with the much more elaborate defences shown in the two trench maps in the Macnaghten collection which date from late 1916 and 1917. Other items with interesting features are a panorama of the River Ancre created by

9 See WF 116, WF 117 and WF 118 and accompanying notes on WF 113

10 WF 116

11 WF 105.1, WF 105.2

12 WF 103.1 and 103.2 respectively

13 WF 101 and WF 100.1, WF 100.2, WF 100.3

WF 101 –

Messines (in

ruins)

Page 10: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 10

stitching several photographs together14

. These were taken in June 1918, at the end of the German Army’s Spring Offensive.

THE MEF AND GALLIPOLI

The nature of the campaign

Gallipoli was a disastrous mistake, fundamentally flawed both in concept and execution. The strategic objective was to knock the Ottoman Empire out of the war by forcing the Dardanelles and enabling a British and French fleet to reach Constantinople (now Istanbul). Even had this succeeded, it is hard to understand why it should have been thought that the presence of a fleet off the Ottoman capital or even an actual bombardment would have been sufficient to precipitate Turkey’s withdrawal from the war. In the event, the original plan to force the Dardanelles using naval power alone badly underestimated the vulnerability of warships in narrow waters defended by a combination of minefields covered by both forts and by mobile artillery which could not be engaged effectively with naval gunfire. When the naval attack had to be abandoned in the face of mounting losses it was thought that the solution was to land an army on the Gallipoli peninsula to take the forts and artillery from the landside, thus allowing the mines to be cleared and the fleet to proceed to Constantinople.

The first troops of the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force (MEF) went ashore on 25 April 1915 at Cape Helles and what became known as ANZAC Cove. The last troops were evacuated eight months later on 28 December. Allied casualties were some 53,000 killed and 100,000 wounded. Although it is estimated that Turkish casualties were somewhat greater, they were entirely successful in bottling up the MEF and preventing it from reaching its objectives. As with the naval operation, the initial plan was hopelessly optimistic, badly underestimating the quality of the Turkish troops, brilliantly led by the German general Liman von Sanders, fighting in perfect defensive terrain.

The landings were also flawed in execution, particularly in the strength and quality of the initial force, most of which was hastily assembled from new and partially trained formations, and its failure to move rapidly inland allowing the Turkish defenders to concentrate and secure the ridge lines, pinning the MEF in its bridgehead. An attempt to break the resulting stalemate by outflanking the Turkish positions through a second landing further up the peninsula at Suvla Bay in August similarly failed to exploit initial surprise and was soon contained in its turn.

The MEF was even less prepared cartographically for its task than the BEF had been on its deployment to France in August 1914. The first suggestion that the British Army might have to fight on the Gallipoli peninsula was just weeks before the first troops went ashore. Initial maps were derived from a 1908 1:63,360 (1 inch to a mile) map based on a French survey of 1854. This was converted into three 1:40,000 scale maps covering the peninsula but,

14

WF 112

Page 11: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 11

unsurprisingly, contained serious inaccuracies. This might not have mattered if the MEF had achieved the intended strategic surprise and seized the key ground on the peninsula before the Turks could mount a coherent defence. Yet, within days, the front had solidified and the MEF was confronted with the trench warfare in a rugged landscape of steep ridges rising to over 1000 feet and deep ravines.

As the previous year in France, this created an urgent need for artillery maps and detailed trench maps, especially as the terrain was much more difficult at Gallipoli and it was also difficult to deploy and use artillery in a very confined area, making it necessary to draw on naval gunfire support. These new maps were developed over the next few months by the Survey of Egypt drawing on aerial reconnaissance and captured Turkish maps.

The Clauson Maps

As already noted, the source of the Macnaghten maps of Gallipoli was Lt G M L Clauson. Clauson was posted to IX Corps which was formed in England in 1915 as the HQ for the forces landed at Suvla Bay on August 6

th to try to break

the stalemate on the peninsula. His role as an HQ staff officer is reflected in the nature of the maps in his collection. Some of the maps show the MEF’s own positions in detail and are marked “Not to be taken into an attack.”

He also has a set of the new Survey of Egypt 1:20,000 maps which cover almost all the Gallipoli peninsula, reflecting the hope that these landings would outflank the main Turkish positions and open up the battle. In the event, most of these maps went unused. As on the Western Front, the primary purpose of the 1:20,000 maps was to direct artillery and, at Gallipoli, naval gunfire support.

One of the interesting features of this collection is a group of artillery tracings of the Suvla Bay area

15. These represent a very low-tech

solution to the problem of transposing information from one map to another. They are simply sheets of semi transparent paper (like baking sheet paper) printed with standard grids of 600 yard artillery squares. These are then marked with positions of enemy batteries, HQ’s etc. reported from various sources to produce a composite picture and overlaid on 1:20,000 scale maps.

A final item, which gives a vivid impression of the Gallipoli terrain, is a page of sketches

16 taken from HMS Talbot off the western coast of Suvla Bay. HMS

15

The tracings are GA 5.2 – GA 5.7 and mostly relate to sections of the map GA 5.1 16

See GA 12

Gallipolli Map Grid

Page 12: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 12

Talbot was an old cruiser present throughout the campaign and flagship of the 3

rd Squadron at the Suvla landings.

THE NEAR EAST AND MESOPOTAMIA

The Near East and Mesopotamian theatres

The First World War saw two almost entirely separate British theatres of operations in what would now be called the Middle East region. The Near East theatre was concerned with the offensive mounted from Egypt into Palestine, leading to the fall of Jerusalem and Damascus. The second, largely mounted from India through the port of Basra, was the Mesopotamian campaign which ultimately resulted in the capture of Baghdad. Most of the Macnaghten maps relate to the second British offensive of the Mesopotamian campaign, although there are a number of high level maps of the Near East theatre, from Clauson’s period on the staff in Cairo in early 1916.

The Mesopotamia Campaign

The Mesopotamian campaign was one of the sideshows of the First World War. Allied objectives were initially limited to protecting their oil supplies from the Persian Gulf region. Following Turkey’s entry into the War on the side of the Central Powers, troops from the Indian army landed in December 1914 to secure Basra and the Shatt al Arab area to deny access to Kuwait or the important oil refinery at Abadan in what was then Persia. In due course this led to two British offensives against Baghdad.

The first offensive was almost accidental. The Ottomans saw the area as of low priority in relation to other fronts and their weak counter attacks not only failed to dislodge the British landings but resulted in a serious defeat followed by a precipitate retreat up river towards Baghdad. A small British force under Major-General Townsend exploited this unexpected success by improvising an advance up the Tigris River despite the difficulties of supply. Townsend defeated several Turkish forces sent to stop him but an unwise attempt to push on all the way to Baghdad was blocked just short of the city. Unable to sustain his force so far from their supply base, Townsend withdrew downriver to Kut where he was cut off and besieged, finally surrendering in April 1916 after the failure of several relief attempts.

Page 13: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 13

During the latter half of 1916 the British regrouped and developed the logistic infrastructure to allow them to properly supply and sustain a methodical advance up river. This second British offensive was launched under General Maude in December 1916, advancing up both banks of the Tigris, forcing the Turks out of several defensive positions. The main Turkish forces were concentrated to defend Kut but they were outflanked on the other bank and nearly surrounded. After again defeating the Turks on the Diyala River, Maude’s army captured Baghdad in March 1917.

The Clauson Maps

After Gallipoli, IX Corps headquarters was initially withdrawn to Cairo before being sent to the Western Front. From annotations on several of his maps it appears that Clauson remained in Cairo briefly becoming “1st GS” of XV Corps. The precise meaning of this designation is unclear. It might denote the Corps GSO 1 (Staff Officer Grade 1) - the officer responsible for all operational planning. This would, however, normally be held by a significantly more senior officer than Clauson, a Lt Col or Col. Nevertheless, as XV Corps had only been created in December 1915 and was still in the process of getting up to strength, it is possible that Clauson was filling this position on a temporary basis. Or it may be that the designation was intended simply to indicate that he was in the principal “G branch” concerned with operational planning. Either way, within three months XV Corps HQ was also despatched to the Western Front, without Clauson. It is likely, however, that the group of the Near East maps in the Macnaghten collection come from this period and would have been used for planning for the possibility of a Turkish attack from Sinai and for a British offensive into Palestine.

These Near East maps once again demonstrate the limitations of the maps available in the more remote theatres, even after more than a year of the war. They are all small scale maps – at best 1:100,000 (about 1.6 miles to the inch) – and although most are now part of a series covering the region in a standardised format, the Topographic information remains quite basic and often derived from dated and partial sources. The most extreme example of this is a 1916 Survey of Egypt map covering the entire Middle East region17 at a scale of 1:8,000,000 (over 12 miles to an inch) which is nothing more than a “vandyked” copy

18 of a map from Max von Oppenheim’s 1893 journey across

the region taken from his travelogue “From the Mediterranean to the Persian

17

See Map NE 9 18

“Vandyking” - a lithographic process invented by F R Vandyke at the Survey of India

Mesopotamia Campaign 1916-17

Page 14: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 14

Gulf”, published in 1899. Other sources of information appear to include pre-war “holidays” by British officers.

The main interest, however, lies in the maps covering the second advance on Baghdad (and beyond) by the Iraq Expeditionary Force. The two main sets are a sequence of 4 inch to the mile maps of “Turkey in Asia”

19 which would

have been used for general planning and another set at 1 inch to the mile and four aerial photographs

20 following the line of advance up the Tigris used for

more detailed operational planning. Interestingly, almost all these maps seem to have been prepared by the Survey of India. The quality of data is variable. Some are marked “rough compilation”, while three used for the advance beyond Bagdad appear to draw on 1902 WO maps (and use the slightly different 1:250,000 scale)

21. In addition to the normal geographic and

Topographic information – which is quite sketchy in some places – the smaller scale maps are marked with crucial logistical information reflecting the difficulties facing armies trying to fight, or even move, in desert regions, and such as “only water from deep wells” or “passable by wheeled vehicles only when dry”. (Perhaps maps of Flanders might also have benefitted from similar markings)

The use of 1 inch maps (1:63000) for operational planning provides an interesting contrast with the Western Front (or indeed Gallipoli) where the normal scale would be 1:20,000 or even 1:10,000. The explanation is the much smaller force levels on both sides not only in absolute terms but relative to the space involved and the much less sophisticated defensive systems normally employed in desert conditions. Only at Kut, where the Turks concentrated for their main stand, was it necessary to produce a detailed “trench map” of the Hai bridgehead at 1:10,560 scale

22.

The final two items in Clauson’s Mesopotamian collection are very large scale map of Baghdad prepared for the occupying forces and a programme for an Army Regatta held in September 1917 with separate Gufa (circular coracles of basket work) and Dinghy races for Officers and other ranks

23.

ENEMY AND OTHER MAPS

The Macnaghten collection contains a small number of maps from other nations which provide interesting comparisons with their British counterparts.

French maps. There are three maps of the Montdidier, Soissons and Compiegne areas at 1:100,000 scale

24, probably used by the British at a very

19

See Maps IQ 1 – IQ 17 20

See Maps IQ 29.1, IQ 30.1, IQ 32, IQ 34 and IQ41 – IQ44 for aerial photographs 21

An interesting sidelight is that all the maps produced for Iraq by the Survey of India or by the Iraq Expeditionary Force itself were based on Imperial scales whereas the War Office, the BEF and the MEF at Gallipoli all used metric scales. 22

IQ 31 23

IQ 37 and 38 respectively 24

WF94, WF95, WF 96

Page 15: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 15

early stage of the war. The Montdidier map was issued by the French General Staff and is dated 1902, while the other two were commercially published maps dating from the early 1890s. This provides some indication of the state of French maps of their own country at the start of the war.

German maps. There are two examples of German trench maps25

, probably both dating from 1916. These are at the exceptionally large scale of 1:1000 (i.e. about 30 yards to the inch) and appear to be detailed plans of the positions of particular German units.

Turkish Maps. The two captured Turkish maps provide an interesting contrast to the other maps in the collection. One is a 1:100,000 scale map of the approaches to Baghdad

26 which seems relatively unsophisticated compared

with the sort of maps used by the other main combatants. The second is a fascinating 1:250,000 map of Basra and the Shatt al Arab

27. This is even

cruder, more like a Japanese painting than a modern map. Unusually, in order to cover the whole off the Shatt al Arab on a single map it unpacks to approximately 8ft x 2ft and has been rotated about 80 degrees anticlockwise from the usual N/S alignment.

The Mukden map. And finally, there is perhaps the oddest map in the Macnaghten collection. This is a map of the land campaign in the 1904 Russo-Japanese war

28. The map was prepared in 1912 by the British Ordnance

Survey but its provenance and purpose are unclear. Perhaps it was used by the British Army to study the most recent war between major combatants?

October 2013

Richard Hatfield

25 See Maps WF 98, WF 99 26

See Map IQ 39 27

See Map IQ 40 28

See Map XX 1

Page 16: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 16

ANNEX 1 – HOW THE COLLECTION IS CATALOGUED

Full Catalogue The Annexes in this guide summarise the material available but College Library holds the full catalogue in the form of a Microsoft Access database which contains more information on most items. Each entry provides the following information, as available:

Catalogue number – including Theatre of operations (see below)

Title/description

Filed – where it is normally stored (e.g. OL.6 Left = the left hand side of drawer OL.6)

Type – e.g. Trench Map, aerial photograph

Issued (if known) – Issuing authority – e.g. Survey of India

Reference – if applicable

Scale (if appropriate)

Date of data/publication (Year/month/day as known)

Edition – if applicable

Source – where known

Condition notes

Comment – e.g. “map annotated with attack phase lines”.

The database also includes some additional explanatory notes, abbreviations and scales.

Catalogue Numbers The collection also contains aerial photographs and a few other items closely associated with the maps (e.g. related newspaper cuttings). Every item has a reference number composed of a two letter code indicating the relevant theatre of operations followed by a serial number. The theatre codes are:

WF – Western Front

GA – Gallipoli

IQ – Mesopotamia (i.e. modern Iraq)

NE – Near East (i.e. Sinai/Palestine)

XX - Other

If there is only one map of a particular area the serial will be a whole number. If several maps cover the same area they will be numbered with the same base number and differentiated by adding decimals – e.g. 5.1, 5.2, 5.3. These may be exact duplicates (perhaps with differing annotations) or they may have been produced at different dates. There are also several artillery tracings which form overlays for one of the Gallipoli maps and they have also been given the same number as the parent map, with a different decimal.

Storage The collection is stored in the top four drawers of cabinet OL. Drawer OL.6 (top) contains Clauson’s maps of Gallipoli, Near East and Mesopotamia. OL.5

Page 17: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 17

contains the Western Front maps of C H Whitelegge. Drawer OL.4 contains most of the remaining BEF maps. OL.3 contains specialised Western Front items (including French and German maps), Western Front aerial photos and Whitelegge’s collection of artillery memorabilia and news cuttings.

Page 18: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 18

ANNEX 2 – WESTERN FRONT

An unusual map of the 1904 Manchurian campaign was found with and is stored with the Western Front Maps.

Western Front Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

WF 1 Sheet 28 NW 2 (St Julien) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 2.1 Sheet 28 NW 4 (Zillebeke) with parts of NE 3 Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 2.2 Sheet 28 NW 4 (Zillebeke) with parts of NE 3 Trench Map 10,000 1917

WF 3 Sheet 36 NW 2 (Houplines) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 4 Sheet 36 NW (Bois Grenier) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 5 Sheet 36 SW 1 (Aubers) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 6 Sheet 36 SW 2 (Radinghem) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 7.1 Sheet 36 SW 3 (Richebourg) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 7.2 Sheet 36 SW 3 (Richebourg) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 8 Sheet 36 SW 4 (Sainghin) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 9.1 Sheet 36c NW 1 (La Bassee) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 9.2 Violaines (Givenchy) Trench Map 10,000 1918 CHW

WF 9.3 La Bassee Canal (Givenchy S) Trench Map 10,000 1918 CHW

WF 9.4 Auchy Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 10 Sheet 36c NW 2 (Bauvin) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 11.1 Sheet 36c NW 3 (Loos) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 11.2 Sheet 36c NW 3 (Loos) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 12 Sheet 36c NW 4 (Pont a Vendin) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 13 Sheet 36c SW 1 (Lens) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 14 Sheet 36c SW 2 (Harnes) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 15 Sheet 36c SW 3 (Vimy) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 16.1 Sheet 36c SW 4 (Rouvroy) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 16.2 Sheet 36c SW 4 (Rouvroy) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 17.1 Sheet 51b NW 2 (Oppy) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 17.2 Sheet 51b NW 2 (Oppy) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 18 Sheet 51b NW 4 (Fampoux) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 19 Sheet 51b SW 2 (Vis-en-Artois) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 20 Sheet 51b SW4 (Bullecourt) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 21 Plouvain (Sheet 51b NW/SW part) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 22 "U1 to C6" (51b SW/57c NW parts) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 23 Pronville (Sheet 51b/57c parts) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 24 Demicourt (57c NE part) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 25 Beaucamp (57c SNE, SE parts) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 26 Banteux (57c SE/57b SW parts) Trench Map 10,000 1917 CHW

Page 19: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 19

Western Front Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

WF 27 Hamblain-les-Pres (Sheet 51b central parts) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 28 Hendecourt (Sheet 51b/57c parts) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 29.1 Moeuvres (Sheet 57c central parts) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 29.2 Moeuvres (Sheet 57c central parts) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 30 Gouzeaucourt (57c/57b parts) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 31 Bapaume District (Part of 57c SW) Artillery Map 10,000 1917 CHW

WF 32 Sheet 20 SW (Langemarck) Trench Map 20,000 1916 CHW

WF 33.1 Sheet 28 NW (Ypres) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 33.2 Sheet 28 NW (Ypres) Trench Map 20,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 34 Sheet 36A SE (St Venant) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 35.1 Sheet 36C SW (Lens) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 35.2 Sheet 36C SW (Lens) Trench Map 20,000 1917

WF 36.1 Sheet 51B SW (Bullecourt) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 36.2 Sheet 51B SW (Bullecourt) Trench Map 20,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 37 Sheet 57C NW (Bapaume) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 38 Sheet 57C NE (Havrincourt) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 39 Sheet 57D SE (Ancre) Trench Map 20,000 1916 CHW

WF 40 Sheet 57C SE (Gouzeaucourt) Trench Map 20,000 1917 CHW

WF 41 France - 51C (Mt St Eloi) Planning 40,000 1915 CHW

WF 42.1 France - 51B (E of Arras) Planning 40,000 1915 CHW

WF 42.2 France - 51B (E of Arras) Planning 40,000 1917

WF 43 France - 57D (Doullens) Planning 40,000 1915 CHW

WF 44.1 France - 57C (E of Bapaume) Planning 40,000 1916 CHW

WF 44.2 France - 57C (E of Bapaume) Planning 40,000 1917 CHW

WF 44.3 France - 57c (E of Bapaume) Planning 40,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 45.1 France - 62D (Somme) Planning 40,000 1916 CHW

WF 45.2 France - 62D (Somme) Planning 40,000 1918

WF 46.1 France - 62C (Peronne) Planning 40,000 1916 CHW

WF 46.2 France - 62c (Peronne) Planning 40,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 47 1st Army Area (Armentiere-Arras) Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 48 1st Army Area (Lens) Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 49 1st Army Forward Area (Armentiere-Arras) Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

WF 50 1st Army Area (Barlin area only) Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

WF 51 2nd Army Area (Ypres) Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 52 5th Army Area (Ypres) Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

WF 53 5th Army Area (Ypres) Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

WF 54 Reserve Army Area Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 55 Reserve Army (Arras-Bapaume-Doullens) Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 56 Reserve Army (Somme-Albert-Bapaume) Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

Page 20: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 20

Western Front Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

WF 57 Reserve Army (Mondicourt area only) Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 58 Reserve Army Transport 100,000 1916 CHW

WF 59 NW Europe-1 (Brussels/Lille) Topographic 250,000 1914 CHW

WF 60.1 NW Europe-4 (Bethune/Amiens) Topographic 250,000 1914 CHW

WF 60.2 NW Europe-4 (Bethune/Amiens) Topographic 250,000 1915

WF 61 NW Europe-9 (Rouen/Chartres) Topographic 250,000 1914 CHW

WF 62 NW Europe- 10 (Paris/Chalons) Topographic 250,000 1914 CHW

WF 63 NW Europe-5 (Namur/Trier) Topographic 250,000 1918

WF 64 Belgium - 2 Ghent Topographic 100,000 1912

WF 65 Belgium - 3 Antwerp Topographic 100,000 1912

WF 66 Belgium -7 Liege Topographic 100,000 1912

WF 67.1 France - 11 Lens Topographic 100,000 1915 VF

WF 67.2 France - 11 Lens Topographic 100,000 1916

WF 67.3 France - 11 Lens Topographic 100,000 1916

WF 67.4 France - 11 Lens Topographic 100,000 1916

WF 68 Belgium - 12 Valenciennes Topographic 100,000 1915

WF 69 France - 13 Calais Topographic 100,000 1917 VF

WF 70.1 France - 17 Amiens Topographic 100,000 1916 VF

WF 70.2 France - 17 Amiens Topographic 100,000 1916

WF 71 France - 18 St Quentin Topographic 100,000 1915

WF 72 France - 21 Beauvais Topographic 100,000 1916 VF

WF 73 France - 22 Soissons Topographic 100,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 74 Belgium and France - 28 (Ypres) Planning 40,000 1917

WF 75 France - 36B (Bruay) Planning 40,000 1916 WHJ

WF 76 France - Albert (Combined Sheet) Planning 40,000 1915

WF 77 France - 57B (Le Cateau) Planning 40,000 1917 WHJ

WF 78 France - 62B (St Quentin) Planning 40,000 1917 ?WHJ

WF 79 Etaves (composite sheet 57b/c, 62b/c) Planning 40,000 1918 ?WHJ

WF 80 Ypres area war graves War graves 40,000 1923

WF 81 Sheet 57B NE (Le Cateau) Trench Map 20,000 1918 ?WHJ

WF 82 Sheet 62B NW (Joncourt) Trench Map 20,000 1918 ?WHJ

WF 83 Sheet 62D NE (Mametz) Trench Map 20,000 1916 VF

WF 84 Sheet 28 SW (Kemmel) Trench Map 20,000 1917 WHJ

WF 85 Sheet 28 NW 4 (Ypres) Trench Map 10,000 1917 WHJ

WF 86 Sheet 28 SW1 (Kemmel) Trench Map 10,000 1917 WHJ

WF 87.1 Sheet 28 SW2 (Wytschaete) Trench Map 10,000 1917 JRMRB

WF 87.2 Sheet 28 SW2 (Wytschaete) Trench Map 10,000 1916 WHJ

WF 88 Schaap-Balie Artillery Positions

10,000 1917

Page 21: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 21

Western Front Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

WF 89 Sheet 57d NE 1/2 (Fonquevilliers) Trench Map 10,000 1916

WF 90 Greenland Hill Trench Map (Plouvain) Trench Map 10,000 1917

WF 91 Ypres Front (no.2) Enemy Dispositions

40,000 1917

WF 92 Scarpe Valley (Arras) Enemy HQs 40,000 1917

WF 93 Railway Map North East France Railway Map 400,000 1918

WF 94 (French) 21 - Montdidier French Map 100,000 1902

WF 95 Feuille XVII -11 (Compiegne) French Map 100,000 1895

WF 96 Feuille XVIII -11 (Soissons) French Map 100,000 1894

WF 97.1 56th Divisional Instructions No. 2 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.2 56th Divisional Instructions No. 3 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.3 56th Divisional Order 113 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.4 Amdt. 1 to 56th Divisional Order 113 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.5 56th Divisional Instructions No. 4 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.6 Dispositions of 168 Inf Brigade Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.7 56th Divisional Order 115 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.8 56th Divisional Instructions No. 5 Op. Orders 1917

WF 97.9 Commentary on 56th Divisional Orders Op. Orders 1917

WF 98 Bauplan vom Kampfabschnitt A Trench Map (Ger.)

1,000 1916

WF 99 Stellung des Res. Jnf. Rgts. 110. Trench Map (Ger.)

1,000 1916?

WF 100.1 Sheet 28 SW2 (NW of Messines) Aerial Photo 10,560 1915

WF 100.2 Sheet 28 SW2 (NW of Messines) Aerial Photo 5,280 1915

WF 100.3 Sheet 28 SW2 (NW of Messines) Aerial Photo 5,280 1915

WF 101 Sheet 28 SW4 (Messines) Aerial Photo 10,560 1915

WF 102 Central Lens (Sheet 36c SW1) Aerial Photo 4,000 1918

WF 103.1 Lens & Noyelles - oblique (Sheet 36c SW2) Aerial Photo 10,000 1917

WF 103.2 Sheet 36c SW2 (Lens & Noyelles) Trench Map 20,000 1917

WF 104 Sheet 51b NW1 (east of Ecurie) Aerial Photo 12,000 1918

WF 105.1 Sheet 51b SW1 (Mercatel) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 105.2 Sheet 51b SW1 (Mercatel) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 106.1 Sheet 51b SW1 (Neuville Vitasse ) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 106.2 Sheet 51b SW1 (Neuville Vitasse ) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 106.3 Sheet 51b SW1 (Neuville Vitasse ) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 107 Sheet 51b SW3 (Boiry St Martin) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 108.1 Sheet 51b SW3 (Hamelincourt) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 108.2 Sheet 51b SW3 (Hamelincourt) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 109.1 Sheet 51b SW3 (Boyelles) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 109.2 Sheet 51b SW3 (Boyelles) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

Page 22: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 22

Western Front Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

WF 110 Sheet 57c NW1 (SSE of Courcelles-le Comte) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 111 Sheet 57d NE 2 (Ayette) Aerial Photo 12,000 ?

WF 112 Panorama - Sheet 57d SE4 (River Ancre) Aerial Photo 5,280 1918

WF 113 Capt Adams RFC - Aerial Photographer Background Notes

n/a Adams

WF 114 Segment of Somme battlefield (copy) Trench Map 20,000 1916 Adams

WF 115 Segment of Picardy battlefield (copy) Artillery Map 40,000 1917 Adams

WF 116 Sheet 28 NW4 (east of Ypres) Aerial Photo 5,280 1918 Adams

WF 117 Sheet 57d SW1 (Trenches near Beauquesne) Aerial Photo 5,280 1918 Adams

WF 118 Sheet 62 d NW (Bray sur Somme) Aerial Photo 12,000 1918 Adams

WF 119 Scrapbook of photos/maps in Picardy Aerial Photo 12,000 1918 Adams

WF 120 Letter to Whitelegge with Lecture notes Letter 1916?

CHW

WF 121 Gun and Howitzer Ammunition in Use Technical notes

1916?

CHW

WF 122 Artillery Circular No 7 Technical notes

1916?

CHW

WF 123 Storing Ammunition in Lorries Technical notes

1916?

CHW

WF 124.1 63rd (RN) Div Artillery Order 55 Op. Orders 1917 CHW

WF 124.2 63rd (RN) Div Artillery Order 55 (addendum) Op. Orders 1917 CHW

WF 124.3 Extracts from 3rd Canadian Div Op Order 52 Op. Orders 1917 CHW

WF 125 Log of operations in April 1917 Operations Log

1917 CHW

WF 126 1917 Western Front Battle Reports Cuttings 1917 CHW

WF 127 1917 Battle Maps Cuttings 1917 CHW

WF 128 Battle of Cambrai Cuttings 1917 CHW

WF 129 Catalogue of AIF War Pictures Booklet 1918

WF 130 "Gazette des Ardennes" French Magazine

1917

WF 131 VII Corps Traffic Map Arras Transport 100,000 1917 CHW

Other Items

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

XX 1 Campaign in Manchuria Historic 750,000 1912

Note: Although the Manchuria map has no obvious connection with the

Western Front it was found with the material above. It may have been used for

some form of historical comparison.

Page 23: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 23

Appendix to Annex 2 - The BEF mapping system

The BEF used maps at three different scales for different purposes with a hierarchical numbering system linked to the 1:40,000 scale Map Sheets used for staff planning. The 1:20,000 scale maps – primarily used for artillery spotting and direction - were quadrants (NW, NE, SW, SE) of the Map Sheets and the 1:10,000 Trench Maps were, in turn, four (numbered) sub-sections of these quadrants. So, for example, the trench map for the Ypres area in Belgium is: Sheet 28 NW 4 – i.e. section four of the NW quadrant of Sheet 28.

1:40,000 Map Sheet Numbers. Because the BEF’s first maps were based on

existing Belgian maps, the BEF Sheet numbering system was an improvised and rather awkward extension of pre-war Belgian numbering. The Belgian sheets covering the battlefield areas of Flanders were:

Map 4: Belgian coast (north)

Map 12: Belgian coast (south)

Map 20: Dixmude area

Map 28: Ypres area

Map 36: Armentières-Lille area The first three new sheets for France, adjoining Belgian Map 36 were numbered as 36A, 36B and 36C. Later maps to the south simply extended the Belgian system by adding A, B, C . to the last Belgian number as the maps moved from west to east. (Had this been adopted from the start, 36B and 36C would have been 44b and 44A respectively). Going south the main sheets covering the BEF were:

Map 36C: La Bassée-Loos

Map 51C: West of Arras

Map 51B: Arras-Cantin

Map 51A: Hordain area

Map 57D: Hebuterne area

Map 57C: Bapaume-Gonnelieu

Map 57B: Clary area

Map 62D: Méaulte area

Map 62C: Péronne area

Map 62B: Ramicourt area

Map 66E: Moreuil area

Map 66D: Nésle area

Map 66C: Berthenicourt area

Map 70D: St. Gobain area BEF Basic Map Grid

Page 24: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Grid references. BEF maps did not use latitude and longitude coordinates for

grid references but an artificial grid of 1000 yard “artillery squares” which was common to all the different scales. A grid reference number is built up from:

1. 1:40,000 Map Sheet number 2. 6,000 yard square (A-X) 3. 1,000 yard square (1-36) 4. one of four 500 yard sections (a-d) 5. 100 yard grid co-ordinates with eastings to northings (0-9)

For example, a grid reference for a location on the Map Sheet 28 NW4 (Ypres) would be given as:

(1) Sheet 28. (2) I. (3).12. (4) b. (5) 5.9 = Map 28.I.12.b.5.9

Page 25: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 25

ANNEX 3 – GALLIPOLI

Gallipoli Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

GA 1 Gallipoli - Krithia Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 2 Gallipoli - Damler Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 3 Gallipoli - Chanak Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 4 Gallipoli - Boghali Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.1 Gallipoli - Anafarta Sagir Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.2 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay N) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.3 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay N) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.4 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay N) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.5 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay S) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.6 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay S) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 5.7 Gallipoli (Suvla Bay S) Artillery Tracings

20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 6 Gallipoli - Karnabili Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 7 Gallipoli - Taifur Tactical 20,000 1915 GLMC

GA 8 Squares 105/106 (Suvla Bay) Trench Map 10,000 1915 GLMC

GA 9 Squares 118/119 (Suvla Bay) Trench Map 10,000 1915 GLMC

GA 10 Squares 134/135 (Suvla Bay) Trench Map 10,000 1915 GLMC

GA 11 Squares 136/137 (Suvla Bay) Trench Map 10,000 1915 GLMC

GA 12 Suvla Bay Terrain Sketches

10,000 1915 GLMC

Page 26: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 26

ANNEX 4 – NEAR EAST AND MESOPOTAMIA

Near East Near East Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

NE 1 Sinai - Sheet 1 (Port Said) Topographic 250,000 1915 GLMC

NE 2 Sinai - Sheet 2 (Rafa) Topographic 250,000 1915 GLMC

NE 3 Sinai - Sheet 3 (Suez) Topographic 250,000 1915 GLMC

NE 4 Sinai - Sheet 4 (Akaba) Topographic 250,000 1915 GLMC

NE 5 Egypt - Sheet C12 (Ismailia) Planning 100,000 1914 GLMC

NE 6 Egypt - Sheet C5 (Port Said) Planning 100,000 1916 GLMC

NE 7 Egypt - Sheet C18 (Turkey in Asia)

Planning 100,000 1916 GLMC

NE 8 Egypt and Syria Topographic 750,000 1913 GLMC

NE 9 von Oppenheim's Journey Physical 8,000,000 1916 GLMC

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

IQ 1 Turkey in Asia - 2C Baghdad Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 2 Turkey in Asia - 2D Kerbela Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 3 Turkey in Asia - 2G Mandali Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 4 Turkey in Asia - 2H Kut-Al-Amarah

Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 5 Turkey in Asia - 2I Murivan Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 6 Turkey in Asia - 2J Juanrud Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 7 Turkey in Asia - 2K Zorbatiyah Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 8 Turkey in Asia - 2L Ali-Al-Gharbi Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 9 Turkey in Asia - 2N Kirmanshah Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 10 Turkey in Asia - 2O Pul-i-Madian Rud

Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 11 Turkey in Asia - 2P Dawairij River Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 12 Turkey in Asia - 3A Diwanie Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 13 Turkey in Asia - 3E Samawa Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 14 Turkey in Asia - 3I Nasiriyah Topographic 253,440 1910 GLMC

IQ 15 Turkey in Asia - 3J Khamsieh Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 16.1 Turkey in Asia - 3M Amarah Topographic 253,440 1916 GLMC

IQ 16.2 Turkey in Asia - 3M Amarah Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 17 Turkey in Asia - 3N Basrah Topographic 253,440 1915 GLMC

IQ 18 S. Asia - Southern Persia Physical 2,000,000 1912 GLMC

IQ 19 S. Asia - Northern Persia Physical 2,000,000 1914 GLMC

Page 27: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 27

Mesopotamia Summary

Cat. No.

Title/Description Type Scale Year Source

IQ 20 SE TIA - 1 Baghdad Topographic 500,000 1907 GLMC

IQ 21 SE TIA - 2 Amara Topographic 500,000 1907 GLMC

IQ 22 SE TIA - 3 Samawa Topographic 500,000 1907 GLMC

IQ 23 SE TIA - 4 Basra Topographic 500,000 1907 GLMC

IQ 24 ETIA - 37 Kifri Topographic 250,000 1914 GLMC

IQ 25 ETIA - 38 Khanikin Topographic 250,000 1915 GLMC

IQ 26 Lower Mesopotamia Physical 1,000,000 1907 GLMC

IQ 27 E Turkey, Syria, W Persia Physical 2,000,000 1910 GLMC

IQ 28 TC 63 Shaikh Saad & Kut Op. Planning 126,720 1916 GLMC

IQ 29.1 TC 72 Falahiyah-Shumran Op. Planning 63,360 1916 GLMC

IQ 29.2 TC 72 (A) Falahiyah-Shumran Op. Planning 63,360 1917 GLMC

IQ 30.1 TC 74 Shumran-Baghaila Op. Planning 63,360 1916 GLMC

IQ 30.2 TC 74 Shumran-Baghaila Op. Planning 63,360 1916 GLMC

IQ 31 TC 75 Hai Bridgehead Trench Map 10,560 1917 GLMC

IQ 32 TC 83 Aziyah Op. Planning 63,360 1917 GLMC

IQ 33 TC 87A Baghdad Op. Planning 253,440 1917 GLMC

IQ 34 TC 86B Baghdad Op. Planning 63,360 1917 GLMC

IQ 35 TC 94 Khanikin Op. Planning 253,440 1917 GLMC

IQ 36 TC 95 Samarrah Op. Planning 253,440 1917 GLMC

IQ 37 City of Baghdad (post capture) Administrative 5,280 1917 GLMC

IQ 38 Army Regatta Programme Booklet 1917 GLMC

IQ 39 (Turkish) Approaches to Baghdad Topographic 250,000 ? GLMC

IQ 40 (Turkish) Basra & Shatt Al Arab Planning 100,000 ? GLMC

IQ 41 Kut El Hai Aerial Photo 7,920 1916 GLMC

IQ 42 Baghailah Aerial Photo 7,920 1917 GLMC

IQ 43 Sannaiyat Position Aerial Photo 5,280 1917 GLMC

IQ 44 Ramadi Aerial Photo 3,168 1917 GLMC

Page 28: THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP … Maps Guide.pdf · THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION ... THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

THE MACNAGHTEN LIBRARY FIRST WORLD WAR MAP COLLECTION

Page 28

ANNEX 5 – NOTE ON SCALES

Scale Imperial equivalent

Modern example

8,000,000 126.26 miles to the inch

2,000,000 31.57 miles to the inch

1,000,000 15.78 miles to the inch

750,000 11.84 miles to the inch

500,000 7.89 miles to the inch

400,000 6.31 miles to the inch

253,440 4.00 miles to the inch Road Atlas

250,000 3.95 miles to the inch

126,720 2.00 miles to the inch

100,000 1.58 miles to the inch

63,360 1.00 miles to the inch Old OS Map

50,000 1.27 inches to mile OS Landranger

40,000 1.58 inches to mile

25,000 2.53 inches to mile OS Explorer

20,000 3.17 inches to mile

10,000 6.34 inches to mile

5,280 12.00 inches to mile

1,000 27.78 yards to the inch Similar to Land Registry map