Description

This colossal, fascinating map was made for the restricted use of senior Luftwaffe military planners and depicts the air navigation and defensive systems of Germany and the adjacent parts of occupied countries.  It was made by the German Aviation Ministry, and is dated ‘27.6.40’ (June 27, 1940), only two days after the Nazis had completed their ‘Blitzkrieg’ invasion of Belgium and France.  The map depicts the elaborate systems for aiding Luftwaffe pilots in navigating through a realm that featured an elaborate and multilayered defensive ‘gauntlet’ to ward off air attacks from Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF).  Importantly, the present example of the map features extensive manuscript additions of special air defense zones over places that were key Nazi political, military and industrial centres; these details were likely added by a senior Luftwaffe officer not long after the map was issued,  That the present map features many markings and signs of wear is indicative of the important practical role it would have played during the conflict.

At the time that the present map was issued, the Luftwaffe was flying high.  It had superior and many more aircraft and better-trained pilots than the RAF, which had hitherto proven scarcely able to even enter German airspace, let alone pulling off major bombing strikes.  The Luftwaffe aces had proven their brilliance during the invasion of France, where they easily gained total mastery of the skies.  However, these early victories and the formidable nature of their air defenses, perhaps made the Luftwaffe overconfident, for the RAF and their Allies would subsequently turn the tables on Germany.

The map’s legend, located in the lower margin, identifies the main elements of the German air navigation and defensive systems, including: Verkhersflughafen [Civilian Airports]; Verkhersflughafen mit Nachtsbefeurung [Civilian Airports with night illumination]; Landesplatz [Landing Strips]; Wasserflughafen [Seaplane Landing Bases]; Militarflughafen [Military Airports]; Hauptstreckenfeuer (weiss); Hauptstreckenfeuer (rot); Nebensfeuer; Hohe Funkmaster (uber 75m) [Tall Radio Masts (over 75m)]; Rundfunksender [Broadcasting Stations]; Hohe Hindernisse (uber 100m) [Tall Obstacles (over 100m)]; Markierungsfunkfeuer [Marker Beacons]; Navigationsfunkfeuer [Navigation Beacons]; Sperrgebeit [Restricted Areas]; Gefahrgebeit (Uberflugverbot) [Danger Zones (Overflight Ban)]; Gefahrgebeit (Ballon u. Drachenaufstiege) [Danger Zones (Balloon and Kite Ascent)]; Standiges Blindfluggebeit; Standiges Blindlandgebeit; and Feuerschiffe [Light Ships, or Floating Lighthouses].  Additionally, the map labels all sort of conventional information, such as areas of elevation expressed through contours (with the spot heights of peaks); political boundaries; coasts, lakes and rivers; cities of various sizes; railways; roads and, of course, the Reichs-Autobahnen, the world’s first expressway system.

Of special interest are the ‘Restricted Areas’ and the ‘danger zones’, where air traffic was either totally forbidden or permitted under only the most exceptional circumstances, such that any planes entering these zones were to be immediately shot down or intercepted.  These zones were located either above sensitive areas, near Germany’s coast or along international boundaries, such that air traffic had to be channeled into narrow corridors where it could be more easily controlled.  This relates closely to the map’s manuscript additions, as explained below.

 

The Manuscript Additions: Special Defensive Zones

Importantly, the present example of the map features extensive contemporary manuscript additions, likely added by a senior Luftwaffe officer.  They seem to refer to numerous special air defense zones, whereupon areas or cities of particular political, military or industrial importance to the Third Reich are bounded and shaded over in pink crayon.

These zones include the key ports of Emden, Wilhelmshaven (the main U-Boat base), Bremen, Hamburg, Kiel (the Headquarters of the German Navy) and Rostock.  Germany’s greatest industrial centre, the Ruhr, is located within a special zone; as is Leipzig and environs; the area just north of Stettin, containing the Hydrierwerke Pölitz, a massive synthetic oil plant; and the critical coal/steel producing area around Kattowitz (today Katowice, Poland).  Also zoned in is, of course, Berlin (the Reich capital), Budapest (the capital of German-Allied Hungary) and interestingly, the area around Berchtesgaden that features ‘Obersalzburg’, Hitler’s mountaintop retreat.

Presumably, these zones were to be protected by especially frequent aircraft patrols along their perimeters, while the areas were to be covered by anti-aircraft defenses (flack towers, searchligths etc.), while the zone was to be forbidden to all but a few authorized or patrolling aircraft.  As it would turn out, the Allies would eventually breach many, but not all of these zones (Obersalzburg remained safe throughout the war, although it was destroyed after the conflict by on the order of the Americans).

Additionally, the map features other manuscript markings, relating to navigation, the translation of place names and perhaps aerial patrol zone boundaries (in blue crayon).

 

A Note on Rarity

The present map is very rare.  It would have been made in only a very small print run for the restricted use of senior Luftwaffe officers and Nazi officials.  Moreover, as evidenced by the present map, examples would have been heavily used, thus leading to a low survival rate.

We cannot trace any institutional examples of the present edition of the map.  However, the map was updated and reissued in 1942; we can trace only a single example of this edition, held by the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin.

It is worth being aware that a reduced version of the present 1940 edition was issued, done to half the scale (1:2 000 000); however, this map is far less detailed and is not nearly as interesting as the large-scale version.  The reduced issue, while rare, is present in several institutional collections.

 

Historical Context: Germany Loses its Advantage in the WWII Air War

At the beginning of World War II, Germany had huge inherent advantages over Britain in the air war.  The Luftwaffe employed 208,000 personnel with 4,201 operative aircraft, while the Royal Air Force (RAF) could only muster 3,700 aircraft and 167,000 personnel.  However, the Germans practical lead was even greater, as they were generally better equipped, while their pilots were more highly trained and prepared.

The Luftwaffe proved awesomely effective during the ‘Blitzkrieg’ invasion of France (May 10 to June 25, 1940), vitally supporting the ground operation that rolled over the country in only 46 days.  Upon the conquest of France and Belgium, the German air advantage was greatly augmented as the Luftwaffe controlled airfields in close range of England. Conversely, RAF bombers had to fly over hundreds of kilometres of heavily defended enemy airspace to strike German targets, while many of the key objectives (such as Munich and Berlin) were virtually out of range.  The present map shows the forbidding gauntlet that British bombers had to traverse.

However, the Luftwaffe made strategic errors that surrendered their advantage, allowing the Allies to buy time to catch up and gain the upper hand.  The German attempt to gain air superiority over England failed during the Battle of Britain (July 10 – October 31, 1940), the world’s first full-scale air war, while the ‘Blitz’ (September 7, 1940 to May 11, 1941), the intensive German bombing of London and other key British cities, failed to dent British resolve.  These undertakings came with a heavy price in men and planes and, leaving the Luftwaffe much diminished.

From June 1941, the Germans redirected most of their air power towards Operation Barbarossa, their invasion of the Soviet Union, giving Britain temporary relief and allowing the RAF to build more planes and train more pilots.  This also gave the Commonwealth countries, most importantly Canada, time to contribute mightily to the British air war effort.  Meanwhile, the war in the Soviet Union turned into a disaster for the Germans, tying up and destroying many aircraft.

The entry of the United States into the war was a gamechanger, as it provided the Allies with an almost unlimited source of equipment and manpower.  The Allies also improved their planes and dogfighting and bombing tactics.  The RAF’s bombing of Lübeck on March 28, 1942 hailed the start of frequent devastating Allied airstrikes deep into German territory.  While the Luftwaffe retaliated with the ‘Baedeker Bombings’ of England’s prettiest cities in April-May 1942, this proved unsuccessful, as it served only to galvanize British resolve.  As 1942 drew to a close, the Allies assumed air superiority over the entire Western Front, while Germany started to run low on supplies of jet fuel, as it failed to conquer the Baku Oilfields, for their invasion of the Soviet Union had been stopped cold at the Battle of Stalingrad (August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943).

In 1943, the Luftwaffe’s offensive capabilities started to fall apart, as it suffered from debilitating shortages of planes, trained pilots and fuel.  Meanwhile, the Allies were receiving massive re-enforcements from North America.  The Germans were increasingly losing their ability to defend their own cities from massive raids.  By 1944, the Luftwaffe was so depleted that in many areas, it could be described as more of a nuisance than a threat, as the Allies (which now had airfields in Italy) could carpet and firebomb cities and entirely destroy large industrial facilities anywhere in Germany.  The Allied air raids (sometimes featuring over 1,000 planes at a time) were so devastating that they gradually shut down entire sectors of German war production, while severely sapping civilian morale as entire cities were reduced to rubble.  During the remainder of the war, the Allies’ total air superiority was a key factor in their successful land invasion of Germany, precipitating the fall of the Third Reich in May 1945.

 

References: Cf. (re: 1942 edition:) Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin: 2 K 18358.