in 1914, most armies carried maps that were a little different to those avail for civilians. For example, the British army went to war carrying Michelin maps of Belgium and France. After the retreat from Mons had carried the British further south then maps issued at the start of the campaign, officers were able to improvise by purchasing new maps from French shops.

The development of complex trench systems from late 1914 onwards necessitaed a change in mapping. The maps of earlier wars had been defiend by natural geography such as hills, forests and rivers. Trenches changed this, and during the first world waar man-made terrain would become the key feature of maps of the western front. Easy maps were crude affairs, but they steadily increase in accuracy and sophistication. By the summer of 1915, the British army had adopted a standard style that would last until the end of the war, although locally produced maps that deviated from this template still remained in use.

Trench maps served two purposes. Firstly, they allows the user to navigate the web of trenches that made up the front line. Most sectors of the western front had a front line that consisted of two or more major trenches that lay parallel to the enemy position. These lines were further complicated but the presence of dugouts, machine gun nests and observation posts, all of which were connected by a web of smaller communication trenches that allows movement the front and rear areas. The British names trenches as if they were actually streets and even erected wooden name signs so that the soldiers moving through the network could establish their position on the trench map.

The second purpose of a trench map was to provide acurate information on enemy positions. Aerial reconnaissance provided reasonably accurate maps of enemy lines . Although these would provide the layout of the enemy system, ground level observation and reconnaissance was necessary to add important front line details such as barbed wire belts and enemy outposts in no mans land. Great time and effort was devoted to ensuring the maps of enemy positions we as accurate as possible. Knowing the layout of the enemy trenches was a prerequisite to any attack and errors or omissions in the mapping process could have fatal consequences once the battle began.

Trench maps came in a variety of forms from large-scale survey maps to detailed tactical maps that covered specific dections of the front. The most meticulous trench maps off all were those used by the artillery. These maps used an alphanumerical grid system to allow the gunners to direct and co ordinate fire on particular areas of the enemy position. Although the position of the enemy could alter, the grid system itself did not change. As the battle ebbed and flowed, gunners shifted their fire accordingly by concentrating on different areas of the grid. This ensured a degree of consistent accuracy even in the midst of battle.

The creation of maps in the British army was entrusted to the Field Survey Companies of the Royal Engineers. The maps themselves were printed but the Army Printing Section. Field Survey Companies were steadily expanded throughout the war, by may 1918 even British Army on the western front as its own Field Survey Battalion, which came complete with its on printing section. By the end of the war the British army has printed an estimated 32 millions trench maps, providing a clear testament to their importance and value.

The trench map.