Good maps for place location

[FAAAEd]

It was reading Alan MacDonald's 'Pro Patria Mori' that decided me to look on the 8 CD National Geographic (US) map set [1] for a map including the place names mentioned in the text, including those where the various units trained and worked whilst on rest (Ha!).

This by not being able to find the maps of France used during trips through that country in the 1990s (one of which took in Vimy Ridge) and which anyway did not always have the smaller villages marked.

Am I alone in wishing that many books written on topics such as this at least provided some maps including places mentioned in the text? This is not a particular criticism of this book which shows much evidence of thoughtful illustration choice.

What do others in the forum use?

[1] This CD set has an understandable North American bias, understandable but none-the-less irritating. I was most surprised that there were not more maps specific to WW1 in Europe in this collection.

[cahoehler]

Guys

I use either www.multimap.com or www.viamichelin.com

If your knowledge of Gr Britain, France and Belgium is rudimentary (like mine) then it is helpful to know either the county in Gr Britain or the postal code system in France & Belgium to select from what is often a long list of matches

1 Salisbury Plain (Larkhill, Aldershot, Chapperton Down etc etc) is in Wiltshire

2 The postal codes in France are based on the (1790) list of department numbers eg

Nord is dept 59 and and the code for Mons-en-Pevele is 59246

Pas-de-Calais is dept 62 and the code for Vermelles is 63980

Somme is dept 80 and the code for Longavesnes is 80240

3 The postal codes in Belgium are based on the provinces

Mons (Bergen) in Hainault (7000 to 7999) is 7000

Mount Kemmel (Mont Kemmel, Kemmelberg) in West Flanders (8000 to 8999) is 8956

If the search in France/Flanders is unsuccessful then look in the other country while the towns in Belgium often have names in both languages or the spelling (in a particular language) may have been changed.

Carl Hoehler

[FAAAEd]

I use either www.multimap.com or www.viamichelin.

Carl Hoehler

Thank you for all the pointers.

As it happens my geographical knowledge of these areas is not that rudimentary but the location of many small French and Belguim villages mentioned in various accounts, particularly those in back areas which are too small to appear on any front plans is of interest.

[isanders]

Google maps is good, even for small locations.

For example Bonavis, near Cambrai is nothing more than a farm at a crossroads, but it still finds it and gives you an satellite pic too, although this is very low res.

Ian