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The Library has a large collection of maps relating to the First World War, including maps showing the political situation on the eve of the War, military and civilian maps showing the changing frontlines during the War and maps showing the changes to national boundaries which came as a result of the War.

When we think of First World War maps we usually think of the trench maps produced in their millions to show the ebb and flow of the front line on the Western Front, but the collection shows that this is only part of the story. There are maps used to inform the public, often produced by or in newspapers and magazines; there are the propaganda maps helped to bolster morale or persuade neutral countries to join one side or the other; there are even map based games designed to be used by the troops in the trenches.

Official/Military maps

Even before war broke out the British Government and Military were producing maps, not only of their own territory, but also that of their allies and potential enemies. The standard of these maps varied depending upon the information available. The Gallipoli campaign is notorious for the poor quality of the maps produced, with some of the information dating from the days of the Crimean War.

There are examples of a number of different types of map in our collection, firstly are the general planning maps, usually at a relatively small scale, secondly are the more detailed maps for use in the field and finally are the actual trench maps, usually showing the British front line and the enemy trenches as known to the British.

Other maps include those made to assist with the post-war rebuilding of Europe and maps made to record the history of the conflict.

In addition to the British maps there are also a number of maps produced by foreign governments, including some captured from the Germans.

Individual

These are single or multiple sheet maps which do not form part of a larger map series. Most of the items were produced by the British military or government and a small number in other countries.

Individual British official/military maps

This section contains maps produced either by the British military or other parts of the Government. Some were produced for use in specific operations, such as the map of Montauban which was made and used for artillery spotting in the trenches during the Battle of the Somme. Other maps were designed for use in planning and administration, such as the map of France showing headquarters of army corps.

Other maps date from after the war, such as the language map of Prussian Poland, used in the post war redrawing of borders, or the map of the Third Battle of Gaza in 1917, produced as part of the official history of the war in the 1920s.

Perhaps the most poignant item is the map of the Trawsfynydd artillery range, which shows Yr Ysgwrn, home of the poet Hedd Wyn.

Individual foreign official/military maps

There are a number of French and Belgian maps showing various parts of the front. Perhaps the most interesting is the German propaganda map which includes a quote from Lloyd George and which was captured by Welsh troops towards the end of the war.

Series

The maps in this category are designed so that multiple sheets can be put together to cover a larger area, the Library has some examples of such composite sheets, however, all the sheets shown here are single sheets.

The maps include large-scale trench maps which show the actual trench network, though usually only the enemy trenches. These maps would have been used in the trenches for operational use and for calling down artillery fire using the grid with which they were overprinted. The information on these maps was a mixture of original survey in the field and information copied from pre-war French and Belgian maps of the area.

In addition to these large-scale maps, smaller-scale maps were also produced for use in planning and for administrative purposes.

Atlases

The small number of items in this category consists of some intelligence manuals for use in planning and assessing the areas in question and a volume from the official history of the war covering naval operations in 1914.

Civilian maps

One of the striking features of the First World War is the way in which maps were used to inform the public of the War’s progress, this was mostly done through newspapers who printed maps within their pages, but who also published separate map supplements to accompany the news.

Many of the maps produced for the newspapers were actually drawn by commercial map publishers, in addition to this work for the newspapers they also published their own maps, sometimes rebranded versions of pre-war maps but also with additional information relating to the war.

As well as individual maps or sets of maps some publishers produced war atlases, which sometimes ran to several editions over the course of the war.

Individual

Most of the maps in this category are sets produced either by major national newspapers or major map publishers. Each major publisher has their own category, maps published by or for smaller publishers and newspapers are together in another category.

Daily Mail

The Mail’s maps were produced by the map publisher George Philip & Son. The Bird’s-eye Map of the British Front on four sheets is one of the most colourful and, at one inch to a mile, one of the largest scale commercially produced maps to show the whole British sector of the Western Front.

Daily Telegraph

The Telegraph’s maps were produced by Geographia Ltd. This company was set up by Alexander Gross in 1911. Gross (originally Grosz) was a Hungarian immigrant who Anglicised his name and heavily backed the war effort against the Central Powers, including the land of his birth. The output of maps by Gross was prolific and covered all theatres of the war not just the Western Front. Another interesting feature are the set of Peace Conference maps produced to illustrate aspects of the territorial changes proposed during the peace negotiations after the end of the war.

  • Aa 1053: The Daily Telegraph war map of Siberia and the Murman coast
  • Aa 1054: The Daily Telegraph war map of the German Peace
  • Aa 1058: The Daily Telegraph No.6 peace conference map of Germany
  • Aa 1059: The Daily Telegraph No. 5 peace conference map of Alsace - Lorraine
  • Aa 1060: The Daily Telegraph No.4 peace conference map of Eastern Europe
  • Aa 1061: The Daily Telegraph [No.1] peace conference map of Europe
  • Aa 1062: The Daily Telegraph [No.2] peace conference map of the world
  • Aa 1063: The Daily Telegraph war map of Europe
  • Aa 1067: The Daily Telegraph map of Germany
  • Aa 1303: The Daily Telegraph war graves map of the western front
  • Aa 1557: Peace conference map of Central and South Africa
  • Ab 2207: Races of Eastern Europe
  • Aa 1008: The Daily Telegraph picture map of the Dardanelles, Bosporus including the whole of Turkey in Europe
  • Aa 1009: The Daily Telegraph war map. Showing on a large scale the Italian and Austro-German fighting areas
  • Aa 1010: The Daily Telegraph war map of Eastern Europe
  • Aa 1011: The Daily Telegraph war map of Western Europe
  • Aa 1012: The Daily Telegraph war map of Western Europe
  • Aa 1013: The Daily Telegraph war map of the naval fighting areas
  • Aa 1016: The Daily Telegraph war map
  • Aa 1017: The Daily Telegraph war map
  • Aa 1018: The Daily Telegraph war map
  • Aa 1019: The Daily Telegraph war map of the French fighting line
  • Aa 1020: The Daily Telegraph war map of the Western Balkans
  • Aa 1021: The Daily Telegraph war map of the French fighting line
  • Aa 1022: The Daily Telegraph war map of the new British front
  • Aa 1023: The Daily Telegraph large scale and complete war map ...
  • Aa 1032: The Daily Telegraph war map of the Eastern Balkans
  • Aa 1033: The Daily Telegraph war map of the Russian war areas (No. 17.)
  • Aa 1034: The Daily Telegraph war map of the Belgian and British fronts
  • Aa 1035: The Daily Telegraph war map of the British advance on the western front
  • Aa 1036: The Daily Telegraph war map of Palestine
  • Aa 1037: The Daily Telegraph war map of the British front
  • Aa 1038: The Daily Telegraph war map of the British front
  • C21:2 (5): The British front

Bartholomew

John Bartholomew and Son was based in Edinburgh and established in 1826, it was one of the oldest and largest firms of cartographers in Britain. In addition to producing their own maps they made maps for a number of other publishers. Many of their maps are repurposed pre-war maps with minor additions, perhaps the most interesting are the maps showing the post-war territorial changes.

W & A K Johnston

The firm of W. & A. K. Johnston was based in Edinburgh and established in 1826. In addition to producing their own maps they made maps for a number of other publishers. Much of their output consists of repurposed pre-war mapping.

G W Bacon

George Washington Bacon was an American who moved to London in 1861 and after a number of failed business ventures established a business making maps in 1870. Much of the output consists of repurposed pre-war mapping often with additional information overprinted as is the case with the map of the Balkans where Fortresses and main roads have been overprinted onto a general map.

George Philip

The firm of George Philip and Son was established in Liverpool in 1834, later moving to London. They were one of the largest firms of cartographers in Britain. In addition to producing their own maps they made maps for a number of other publishers including the Daily Mail. Philip’s maps show some of the most innovative and newest, as opposed to repurposed, mapping of the war. Unlike many of their competitors they have a number of maps which show the frontline rather than just the pre-existing topography. Together with the maps produced for the Daily Mail they are one of the more prolific map producers of World War One.

Stanford

Edward Stanford established Stanford’s Ltd. in London in 1853. Perhaps the most interesting items are the propaganda maps produced by the company not just for the domestic market but also for overseas, such as the Spanish language map aimed at neutral Spanish speaking countries. Stanford’s produced a large number of maps, many of which show the frontline rather than just the pre-existing topography, particularly the half-inch maps.

Other individual maps

This category contains a number of interesting maps including a map in Welsh of the Middle East combining information about the ongoing war with historical information from the Bible; War maps issued by an Aberystwyth clothing shop; a cartoon map showing European powers as various breeds of dog and a map-based board game produced for the use of soldiers in the trenches, with bullets to be used as pieces.

Atlases

In addition to all the individual maps published by the various publishers they also published a number of atlases showing the progress of the war, some of these went through a number of editions over the course of the conflict, such as those published by Nelson. Also included is a sale catalogue for items from the Kinmel Park camp near Rhyl which saw a mutiny of Canadian soldiers who were waiting to go home after the war.

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