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Abstract
Abstract. In acknowledgment that no war can be fought without maps, German military cartography between 1915 and 1918 gradually extended its cartographic involvement in the Ottoman theaters of Sinai, Mesopotamia and Palestine. By the end of the Great War, six topographical map series had been specially produced: Operationskarte in 1:800,000, Karte des türkisch-ägyptischen Grenzgebietes in 1:250,000, Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien) in 1:400,000, Karte von Nordbabylonien in 1:200,000, and Karte von Palästina in three scales 1:100,000, 1:50,000, and 1:25,000. The paper makes the first attempt on a carto-bibliographical appraisal of these map series.
Highlights
Strategical background to German wartime cartography of Ottoman AsiaWhen the Ottoman Empire agreed to join the Central Powers on 3.8.1914 (at first secretly), German hopes were that the addition of about 300,000 soldiers, in whose armies numerous German staff officers already served at the highest command posts, would, first, pull significant Entente forces away from the European fronts, and second, offer Germany an allied base to directly attack the British Empire, which was barely tangible in Central Europe
Introduction to the organization ofGerman military cartographyThe organization of the German Empire’s official cartography is rather complicated
Reflecting the Empire’s federal structure, the Kingdoms of Prussia, Bavaria, Saxony, and Württemberg during peacetime all maintained separate General Staffs with survey sections, which only during wartime were directed by the Prussian General Staff and its Kartographische Abteilung der Königlich Preußischen Landesaufnahme (= Cartographic Section of the Royal Prussian Survey) (Espenhorst 2016: 90)
Summary
When the Ottoman Empire agreed to join the Central Powers on 3.8.1914 (at first secretly), German hopes were that the addition of about 300,000 soldiers, in whose armies numerous German staff officers already served at the highest command posts, would, first, pull significant Entente forces away from the European fronts, and second, offer Germany an allied base to directly attack the British Empire, which was barely tangible in Central Europe. Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – Kirmanschah British re-capture Kut al-Amara. Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – 5d Baghdad (2nd edition) 2nd Battle of Gaza, Ottomans fend off British entry into Palestine, resulting in a relative stalemate until October. Operationskarte, 1:800,000 – Erzerum Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – 5d Baghdad (3rd edition) British capture Ramadi. Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – 3d Wadi Hauran, 4a Wan (1st edition), 4c Samarra (4th edition) British capture Beersheba, break of Ottoman defense line Gaza-Beersheba. Operationskarte, 1:800,000 – Bosra, Der es-Sor (2nd edition) Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – 5d Baghdad (4th edition) British capture Jerusalem Ottoman-Russian Armistice. N.W., Karte von Mesopotamien (und Syrien), 1:400,000 – Kaf
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