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Category: Military History

The cover page of the World's Greatest War.

A Rare Atlas of the First World War

Posted by: Cynthia Smith

  On October 27, 2022, the Library of Congress held an event for members of the Philip Lee Phillips Society, the Washington Map Society, and the Friends of the Library of Congress. The event was named “Explore the Depths of the Geography and Map Division.” Unusual maps and atlases from the collections of the Geography …

A hand drawn map showing the battle of Antietam. Colorful with the river running down the center of the map.

Antietam: “The Most Terrible Battle of the Age”

Posted by: Julie Stoner

This is a guest post by Manuscript Division reference librarian Lara Szypszak. On September 17, 1862, Union and Confederate forces met just outside the town of Sharpsburg, Maryland. The battle, known by Union forces as the Battle of Antietam (after the nearby creek) and by the Confederates as the Battle of Sharpsburg (after the nearest …

This map indicates the location of ships sunk by U-boat activity in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic, and the North Sea, specifically within those areas open to unrestricted warfare.  The total was roughly 7,500 vessels.

Risky Business

Posted by: Mike Klein

During World War I, the most hazardous place to be, relatively speaking, was not on the battlefield, but inside a German U-boat. Throughout the war, Germany deployed 375 Unterseebooten, i.e. U-boats or submarines; 202 were lost in action, or about fifty-four percent. Similarly, of the 17,000 sailors who served in them, about 5,100 were lost …

Propaganda Maps to Strike Fear, Inform, and Mobilize – A Special Collection in the Geography and Map Division

Posted by: Ryan Moore

Filled with heavy topics of war and occupation, War map: pictorial and propaganda map collection 1900-1950 contains maps and messages that frequently are pointed, unapologetic, and echo the anger and desperation of nations at war. The collection of 180 maps typifies how cartographs were used to influence popular opinion and garner support for military and political efforts …