Maps Of War: Mapping Conflict Through The Centuries

Product Description

There is little documented mapping of conflict prior to the Renaissance period, but, from the 17th century onwards, military commanders & strategists began to document the wars in which they were involved & later, to use mapping to actually plan the progress of a conflict. Using contemporary maps, this sumptuous new volume covers the history of the mapping of war on land & shows the way in which maps provide a guide to the history of war. Content
Includes:: The beginnings of military mapping up to 1600 including the impact of printing & the introduction of gunpowder The seventeenth century: The focus is on maps to illustrate war, rather than as a planning tool & the chapter considers the particular significance of maps of fortifications. The eighteenth century: The growing need for maps on a world scale reflects the spread of European power & of transoceanic conflict between Europeans. This chapter focuses in particular on the American War of Independence. The nineteenth century: Key developments included contouring & the creation of military surveying. Subjects include the Napoleonic Wars & the American Civil War The twentieth century including extended features on the First & Second World Wars including maps showing trench warfare & aerial reconnaissance. Much of the chapter focuses on the period from 1945 to the present day including special sections on the Vietnam War & the Gulf Wars.