The First World War was marked by an exceptional expansion in the use
and production of military cartography. But World War II took things
even further, employing maps, charts, reconnaissance, and the systematic
recording and processing of geographical and topographical information
on an unprecedented scale. As Jeremy Black--one of the world's leading
military and cartographic historians--convincingly shows in this lavish
full-color book, it is impossible to understand the events and outcomes
of the Second World War without deep reference to mapping at all levels.
In World War II, maps themselves became the weapons.
A History of the Second World War in 100 Maps traces how military
cartography developed from simply recording and reflecting history to
having a decisive impact on events of a global scale. Drawing on one
hundred key maps from the unparalleled collections of the British
Library and other sources--many of which have never been published in
book form before--Jeremy Black takes us from the prewar mapping programs
undertaken by both Germany and the United Kingdom in the mid-1930s
through the conflict's end a decade later. Black shows how the
development of maps led directly to the planning of the complex and
fluid maneuvers that defined the European theater in World War II: for
example, aerial reconnaissance photography allowed for the charting of
beach gradients and ocean depths in the runup to the D-Day landings, and
the subsequent troop movements at Normandy would have been impossible
without the help of situation maps and photos. In the course of the
conflict, both in Europe and the Pacific, the realities of climate,
terrain, and logistics--recorded on maps--overcame the Axis powers. Maps
also became propaganda tools as the pages of Time outlined the
directions of the campaigns and the Allies dropped maps from their
aircraft.
In this thrilling and unique book, Jeremy Black blends his singular
cartographic and military expertise into a captivating overview of World
War II from the air, sea, and sky, making clear how fundamental maps
were to every aspect of this unforgettable global conflict.
