Significant results of Serbian military topographical and cartographical activities

Abstract

Serbian military topographic and cartographic activity has existed for almost 150 years. During that time, a relatively small country like Serbia faced difficult temptations but successfully produced topographic maps. During this period, Serbia was affected by numerous wars and other trials. First, there was a war for liberation with the Turkish Empire, then came the Balkan Wars, the First and Second World Wars and the transformation of Yugoslavia from a kingdom into a socialist state, as well as the final disintegration of Yugoslavia. During all that time, the Serbian army managed to create maps that were a necessary tool used by many civilian institutions. Serbian military topography developed solutions related to geodetic surveying, and cartography provided and developed many maps of different scales with appropriate cartographic keys. Although it often faced difficult situations, the Military Geographical Institute - MGI managed to recover, train new personnel, and continue with topographic surveying, map making, aerial photogrammetry, application of satellite images and implementation of digital technology. In this paper, we provide primary data on the development of military cartographic and topographic activity through a presentation of results and activities from establishing the Military Geographical Institute to the present day. The topographic activity, in addition to topography, includes trigonometric and levelling surveying.