Great War Trench
Maps :NEW GPS PRODUCT
NOW ON DVD Rom:
Please go to our New Web Site:
http://www.greatwardigital.com
Three Layers of Detail Mapping, plus two scales of Road Map
(shown here:Trenches to the East of Arras)
Great War Trenches
Modern IGN maps
Modern Aerial Photography
(included are vector overlays of the trenches, to view over modern mapping)
New GPS functionality, and 3D views are here. This new DVD Rom from Great War Digital Ltd, (shortly available) will give previously unseen views of the Western Front. Don't forget to REGISTER for more details
GPS/3D compatible 750 Trench Maps/IGN Maps/Modern Aerial Photography; all on DVD
Note: Trench maps included for France and Belgium. IGN and 3D for France only, as no Belgium Height data yet available.
Great
War Digital Ltd
NEW GPS DVD Rom of Trench Maps.
It
has now been four years since the publication of the original Imperial War Museum
CD Rom. The original CD was ground breaking, in as much as it brought a hitherto
unseen archive of 175 trench maps to the public gaze.
In
the intermediate years,technology has moved on, and Great War Digital are pleased
to announce an equally ground breaking product. Not only has DVD technology
enabled us to bring many more maps, but new software has allowed an incredible
step change in what can be done with the maps and how they are presented.
Our
Great War Trench map archive of 750+ scanned maps, has been applied to a state
of the art Satellite Navigation System (or GPS). Each map is 'georeferenced',
in such a way that it can be displayed on screen, with the system returning
a pointer to the real time location of the user.
The
system has the capability to work either on a PC/ Laptop, or on one of the now
widely available PDA devices.
In addition, when used on the PC, it will be able to swap the views from Trench Map, to modern IGN maps, and alternatively, modern aerial photography for France. It will have the capability, at the touch of a button, to display 3D images of the location chosen, which can be spun and manipulated on screen. (France only at present, not Belgium)
3D Views at the touch of a button
3D Trench Maps
3D IGN Maps
3D Aerial Photos
(Looking North. across the Ancre Valley toward Thiepval Wood, German lines on the hill, British lines below. Ref: 57d SE 15.8.1916 The Thiepval memorial is marked bottom right)
This new functionality, is as
ground breaking as was the original dumb CD Rom, and is only available through Great War
Digital Ltd, a new UK based company that has been established to bring you this product.
With this exciting new product,
the face of Battlefield touring has been changed significantly, and forever.
It is now possible, for both
expert, and novice alike, with widely available, and simple kit, to walk or drive the long
gone parapets of the front line and no-mans land. Without the need for significant pre
work or expertise.
The battlefields come alive
once more. The expert can stand on that long gone trench or dugout with certainty, and the
novice, has the front lines delivered to him/her in such indisputable format, that helps
with understanding of the places that he/she is visiting.
ACCURACY
Here there are many factors.
Having now tested many maps in
France it can safely be said that the 1918 maps are far more accurate than the 1915. The
British Army refined them constantly from aerial survey. This partly accounts for the
numerous editions.
It is also unquestionable that
the British side of the line is better mapped than the German, as obviously it was
possible to allow direct survey.
Don't forget that the maps in
paper format, have not only survived a war, but also nearly a hundred years of storage,
either, flat, folded or hanging. Therefore they may have stretched, or shrunk.
Additionally the scanning
process, turns a map, sometimes not so flat with creases, into a pixel image. The transfer
process may induce slight errors.
It must also be remembered that
these maps were merely drawings, and drawings often contain errors.
Modern GPS's can return
some mad locations sometimes, especially if located near trees or buildings.
Having said all that, to sum
up, the maths was good, and considering it was never designed for this use, I have been
amazed at how accurately it interfaces with a WGS 84 Satellite Datum.
Accuracy on average varies
between approximately 5 to 10m. The main apparent variation being the
fact that many of the mapped roads were single track in 1916, but are now built as double
width carriageway, so often an impression of inaccuracy can be given.
A small number of roads have
moved slightly, much of the mapped areas were obliterated by shelling, subsequent
development can potentially put roads where roads were not before. But in general, this is
not significant.
So there it is, a fabulous new
product, due in 2006. A product that has taken many long hours of work to complete, a fair
bit of luck, and kind help and assistance from many quarters. Not least of which, some of
the fabulous private individual collectors, that have loaned their map collections to help
complete this project.
Please see new web site http://www.greatwardigital.com if you would like to be kept informed of release dates.
Guy Smith
http://www.greatwardigital.com
GPS Product available, new Web Site: http://www.greatwardigital.com