Series consists of single sheet maps and aerial photographs that were produced in support of major Canadian operations along the Western Front. The records have been broadly collated under the major battle headings. Each grouping begins with a brief account of the battle, which places the items within their historical context. Within each battle grouping the maps are listed chronologically under eight functional categories.
The information shown on these battle plans is not necessarily the same for each operation. Likewise, the frequency with which each type of map was published also varied over the course of the war. These changes were to be expected, given that the map needs of the Canadian Corps had to adapt to the ever fluctuating progress of the war. This is particularly true of battles fought at the beginning and end of the war when the fighting was considerably more mobile than at the height of trench warfare.
The Series is broken down into the following sub-series:
Sub-series 3.1 Ypres (including Hill 60 and Gravenstafel Ridge) April 1915 - May 1915
Sub-series 3.2 Festubert and Givenchy (including La Bassée, Bethune and Violaines) May 1915 - December 1915
Sub-series 3.3 St Eloi and Mount Sorrel (including Hooge) January 1916 - September 1916
Sub-series 3.4 The Somme (including Courcelette, Martinpuich, Le Sars, and Pozières) July 1916 - December 1916
Sub-series 3.5 Vimy January 1917 - May 1917
Sub-series 3.6 Lens (including Hill 70 and Avion) April 1917 - May 1918
Sub-series 3.7 Passchendaele June 1917 - November 1917
Sub-series 3.8 Cambrai (1) October 1917 - December 1917
Sub-series 3.9 Amiens May 1918 - September 1918
Sub-series 3.10 Arras (including Oppy, Ecurie, Roclincourt, and Mount St. Eloi) July 1918 - September 1918
Sub-series 3.11 Cambrai (2) August 1918 - October 1918
Sub-series 3.12 Valenciennes (including Douai and Mount Houy) October 1918 - November 1918
Sub-series 3.13 Mons October 1918 - November 1918
Sub-series 3.14 Namur November 1918 - December 1918
For each battle, the maps are grouped under the following themes:
Administrative Maps
Maps of this type were usually issued at scales of 1:100,000 or smaller, although the 1:40,000 scale was sometimes also used. Administrative maps were generally made to show the entire area under the Canadian Corps= control and often show the Corps= boundaries in relation to other units along the western front. They also show the distribution of units within the Corps= boundaries. Also included within this category of mapping are town plans and panoramic sketches. The town plans were generally drawn at the 1:5,000 scale. If a town plan shows military information, it is classified under the category Trench Maps.
Communication and Route Maps
The maps included under this category provide details on areas behind Canadian lines. Usually drawn at scales of 1:40,000 or larger, they offer information on methods of communication between front and rear areas, and will include information on: traffic directions, water supply schemes, telephone cable routes, railway lines and tram routes.
Intelligence Maps
These maps were usually produced at small scales by General Staff, Intelligence Section, at General Headquarters, to show the disposition of enemy units, and to provide information on the German rear organization, in particular hostile aerodromes, supply dumps, billets, and lines of communication. By mid 1918 much of this information was also being incorporated on the 1:20,000 trench series maps.
Artillery Maps
Almost without exception, artillery maps were issued at the 1:20,000 scale. Although they were produced under a variety of titles, artillery maps were usually of two types: barrage maps or enemy organization maps. The latter provided information on the nerve centres of the German army C their battery positions, lines of communication and supply, etc. C so that the artillery could direct their fire accordingly and harass the enemy with the greatest effect. Barrage maps, on the other hand, directed artillery fire into boxes or creeping barrages to support the infantry in their assault on German positions.
Trench Maps
Trench maps were usually issued at scales of 1:40,000 or larger, and were intended to provide an accurate representation of hostile trenches. British trenches, on the other hand, were treated quite differently depending on the scale, the date of publication, and the purpose of the map. In some situations, British trenches were not shown at all; in others, only the front line; and with others, only the first 600 yards were shown. If all the trenches were included, they were usually distorted, that is there was no distinction made between new and old trenches, or between used and unused trenches.
Also included in this category of monographic maps are the following:
1. Town Plans. These maps were issued at the scale of 1:5,000 on towns and villages that were expected to play a prominent role in major battles. The maps offer detailed information on the streets and buildings, sometimes noting such features as methods of building construction; the location of cellars, masonry walls, and wells; and of course, enemy trenches. Town plans without military information are listed under AAdministrative Maps@ (see definition above).
2. Message Maps. These maps were compiled from small sections of the regular 1:10,000 trench series map. A form on the reverse side provided room for messages. These maps were particularly useful for communicating between the Front and headquarters during the course of a battle.
3. Situation Maps. These maps show the positions reached by the infantry during a major assault and would be issued during the course of a battle. Usually the information was overprinted onto an existing 1:10,000 or 1:20,000 trench map.
4. Large-Scale Plans. This type of plan includes detailed sketches of redoubts, machine gun emplacements, and other points of concentrated defence. These plans were usually left in manuscript format since they were not intended for general circulation.
Operational Maps
Maps included under this category were issued in a variety of large and small scales. They were intended to show troop movements, specifically Canadian Corps dispositions, boundaries, objectives, and advances made over a given period of time. The maps were often issued with operational orders and usually consist of hand-drawn notations on a trench or topographic series map. In some cases, these notations might also be applied to a published map by a small hand press. As might be expected, operational maps were generally limited to short production runs.
Aerial Photographs
A number of the aerial photographs in the collection were produced by Canadian Corps Intelligence. The photographs include both vertical and oblique perspectives. The vertical photographs were printed both as single frame photographs and as mosaics. In most cases, the coordinates for the area shown in the photograph are clearly identified; usually the coordinates refer to the 1:40,000 topographic map.
Secondary Documents
Most of the maps included under this heading were prepared by the Canadian Expeditionary Force Historian, General Staff, Department of National Defence. The maps were produced in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s as part of the Department's programme to provide a definitive history of the war. In a number of instances, the maps provide excellent day-to-day summaries of Canadian Corps operations during the major assaults. Although some of the items offer information that could be classified under one of the other headings C for example, artillery and administrative maps C they are placed together at the end of each section to remind researchers that they were not created as part of the normal war record, but instead were compiled much later, using primary documents, many of which are included in this guide.
(the preceeding is adapted from Jeffrey Murray's "Guide to Maps of the First World War")
