This Atlas is intended as an introductory guide to as many aspects of the First World War as can reasonably be put in map form: the military, the naval, the aerial, the diplomatic, the technical, the economic, and pervading all, the human. The principal books upon which I have drawn for both facts and ideas are listed in the bibliography at the end of the volume. Two of the maps are constructed entirely from material in the British Government archives at the Public Record Office in London: A Plan for the Middle East 1915 (map 34) from a Cabinet paper entitled “The Spoils” written in March 1915 by the Colonial Secretary, Lewis Harcourt, which contained the first formal proposals for the post-war future of Palestine; and British Defences Against a Possible German Invasion 1915 (map 44) from the facts given to the members of the War Council at the beginning of January 1915. I have tried to build up each map by a detailed study of the available evidence, some of it extremely well known, some obscure, and some, as with the two maps above, previously unpublished.
Many of the subjects mapped here, although written about elsewhere, have not been put in map form before. But it is my hope that the visual aspect of a map such as German War Aims in the West 1914–1918 (map 124), or British Supplies to the Allies 1914–1918 (map 140) can be as useful, and as revealing, as the printed form; and that the putting together of normally scattered and diverse facts such as Food Riots in Germany 1916 (map 77), British Labour Corps 1914–1918 (map 136) or Gold Gains 1914–1918 (map 143) can give an unexpected interest to problems which, because of their unfamiliarity, do not always find a place in general histories of the war.
During the four years in which I compiled these maps and prepared the drafts, I was fortunate in the advice given by colleagues and friends. The Imperial War Museum, and in particular Dr Christopher Dowling and Mr Vernon Rigby, gave me the benefit of their wide knowledge and critical skills. Dr Immanuel Geiss gave me the advantage of his careful study of German war aims and policy; Mr Michael Glenny gave the Russian maps the benefit of his unique blend of scholarship and zeal; Mr and Mrs Tsvi Hercberg accompanied me to several battlefields on the western front and encouraged me with their enthusiasm and suggestions; Madame Taillandier gave me a vivid insight into the effect of the war on a French village cruelly thrust into the front line. The Commonwealth (formerly Imperial) War Graves Commission provided me with excellent detailed maps of the western front on which over two thousand British graveyards mark the savage progress and preserve a sombre echo of the fighting of over fifty years ago. Mr Norman Pemberton, the Commonwealth War Graves representative at Çanakkale, kindly took me to the cemeteries which he guarded with such care upon the Gallipoli Peninsula; Mr A. G. Major accompanied me to the summit of Sari Bair from where, gazing down at the Aegean Sea across the whole Anzac area, we felt almost in the living presence of the aspirations, the folly, the suffering and the heroism of mankind. The Mayor of Eceabat (the town of Maidos on maps 35 and 38), Mr Vedat Okay, and the Governor of Çanakkale, Mr Celâlettin Tüfekçi, gave me every help while I was at the Dardanelles, and Mr Okay not only put a jeep at my disposal, but gave up his own time to ensure that my visit to the battlefields was as comprehensive as it could be. My visit there was made possible by the generosity of the Turkish Government which invited me to Turkey in connection with my work on the Official Biography of Sir Winston Churchill, and enabled me to pursue simultaneously my researches both as a historian and as a historical geographer.
Mr Arthur Banks supervised with his usual skill the activities of his team of cartographers, of whom the late Mr Terry Bicknell deserves a special mention for his high standard of cartography. Jane Cousins supervised the final cartographic corrections. Mr Joseph Robinson C.B.E. examined the maps with the thorough professional eye of a former member of the diplomatic service. Mrs Jean Kelly again gave the maps the advantage of her geographic expertise; and Sarah Graham, as well as typing all the preparatory matter, the bibliography and the index, subjected the maps to a further critical scrutiny. I am deeply grateful to all those who have helped to eliminate errors and ambiguities, but for those which remain I bear the sole responsibility.
I should welcome suggestions for future maps, and for corrections or additions to the existing ones.
Thirty-four years have passed since Mr A.J.P. Taylor gave me my last undergraduate tutorial in his room overlooking the Deer Park at Magdalen. Until his death I never ceased to benefit by his extraordinary enthusiasm for history and by his advice. It is he, for example, who, by urging me to include graphs in this Atlas, led me to prepare Casualties and Prisoners on the British Front 1918 (map 119) and British Merchant Shipping Losses 1917–1918 (map 85), as well as for the graph which appears on Allied Losses Off North America 1917 (map 86). Likewise, it was his railway enthusiasm which made me look more closely at the rail and transport problems of the First World War and to draw The Berlin—Bagdad Railway by 1914 (map 4), Communications at Ypres by 1918 (map 22) and Railway Communications of the Central Powers 1916 (map 61).
I wish above all to thank my late father, Mr Peter Gilbert, for his constant interest and true enthusiasm. By his questionings he led me to many searches which I might otherwise have neglected. Twice during my work on the Atlas he came with me to the Ypres Salient and together we would listen to the Last Post as it was sounded every night under the Menin Gate. He also tramped with me over Flanders’ fields in search of the mine craters of Messines: The Mines (map 90) and in order to find the precise location of the farms and fortifications of Churchill in Flanders 1916 (map 58). It is therefore with a sense of gratitude for this as for so many other things that I dedicate this volume to his memory.
Nine years have passed since the third printing of this atlas; for this new edition I have drawn five new maps, including British Court-Martial Executions, 1914–1918 (map 162) and two maps showing United States’ preparations for the unfought campaign of 1919 (maps 160 and 161).
17 January 1994 |
MARTIN GILBERT |
The publication of this new edition has enabled me to include nine new maps, relating to the monuments, memorials and war cemeteries on the battlefield of the Somme. Each year, the number of visitors to the battlefields of the Western Front grows, led by school groups for whom the First World War has become an integral part of their historical studies. It is my hope that these nine maps will encourage visitors to see as many of the sites as possible; and will enable the reader who does not visit to gain a picture of the courage and sacrifice of those who fought on the Western Front, and indeed on all the war fronts.
20 May 2008 |
MARTIN GILBERT |