Interesting resources for Crete campaing...

[KNac007]

...maybe you will be interested, maybe not.

Was searching for other maps and spotted this:

Thies, Klaus-Jurgen. Der Zweite Weltkrieg im Kartenbild, vol 4: Der Balkanfeldzug und die Eroberung von Kreta, 1941. Osnabruk: Biblio, 1996.

106 maps covering many different sectors of the Balkans at different scales. Complete divisional deployments for Yugoslavia and Greece. Detailed Italian deployment in Albania as of April 1941. Allied expeditionary forces as well as some Bulgarian, Hungarian, and Turkish units. Allied evacuations routes and German occupation of Greek islands. About thirty extremely detailed maps of the invasion of Crete, including air-naval actions and the little-known Italian invasion of the eastern tip of the island. Even shows location (and text describes) the sinking of German transports off Greece while carrying 2nd Panzer Division to Italy in May. In many ways, this is the single most impressive volume in the series to date."

[Tzar007]

KNac,

Have you managed to find any good source of WWII historical maps on the net?

British GSGS maps such as those that were digitalized for HTTR seems to be only available in a few National Library or Archives around the world.

[KNac007]

No, too bad. There was a map depot with some maps from Normandy and the Bulge, I downloaded them long time ago, now the site is dead.

Also there is site with 1:50000 original soviet maps of the Ukraine area, don't remember the adress thought. I have also some maps around Leningrad digitalized, if someone is interested.

It's damn hard to get good map sources of the time, don't count with the net to do so. As you said these are avilable in National Libraries, etc. if you have a way to watch at microfilms you can order them from the US National Library of Congress really cheap (if you know which number is). If not the only way is to go there and get copies.

Also, unfortunantly there are no good atlas (or most maps included in books), or very few, for what we want, as most of them have maps showing units at superior level and bigger scale (1:100000 at least).

[Brady]

Anyone know the ETA on this?

[Makoto]

The Sicily campaign would be nice. Perhaps Italy too. I'm not sure if the Holland tiles would be appropriate for that kind of terrain but it'd be better than trying to do say Burma or Operation Torch.

[benpark]

Of all the things the internet should have, maps is the top of the list for me. Sadly, good sources for most historical periods at scales that would suit wargamers are few. I am obsessed with squirling away the few good ones I can find. Also aerial photographs-and I do know about that site that seemed so good a few months back, and then never got up.

A great map/aerial picture resource for wargamers on the web would be a welcome addition to all here, I am sure. Maybe we can get some space somewhere, and have a byom (bring yer own maps) policy. You got em, they get put up.

[KNac007]

Yes, someone can host the files and a discrete webpage? (nothing great it's neccessary), we could send all the stuff ech one have.

[Makoto]

There's resources online for declassified maps.

[stall84]

Im all for new campaigns added to the airborne assualt genre. This is an excellent game, with never-before seen gameplay, and frankly its the best large-scale command/control wargame I have ever seen. Failing to expand on it and develop it even further into new campaigns would be a travesty to the wargaming community.
KEEP AT IT PANTHER/MATRIX... YOUVE GOT A GOLDMINE HERE!!

[KNac007]

OK, I was navigating through the NARA site right now, interesting...

Here you have a direct link on what's requiered to order copies of maps or aerial photos. The only doubt I have if it's only for US Citiciens or worldwide, I think it's available worldwide, anyway I will know early.

An other interesting site is IGN (for France) and this (for Belgium), the bad part is that it is for actual maps

[Makoto]

another problem, the maps of Belgium and France are modern, thus useless since lots of stuff has changed since 1944

[KNac007]

Less than you may think. Maybe in heavy industrialized or big cities zones have a lot has changed but in more rural areas little. Geography and topography will still the same most of the times, new roads or railroads will be running in the same places that old ones etc.

For example the Hurtgen forest would still almost the same, or the Ardenees. For Normandy, a great part of the bocage and some natural obstacles (like all the marsh around the feet of Contentin peninsula and around Carentan have been removed). But with the help of descriptions from books, more general maps included in any work or aerial photos you can do a good work.

I know it's not perfect but.

[Tzar007]

ORIGINAL: KNac007

OK, I was navigating through the NARA site right now, interesting...

Here you have a direct link on what's requiered to order copies of maps or aerial photos. The only doubt I have if it's only for US Citiciens or worldwide, I think it's available worldwide, anyway I will know early.

An other interesting site is IGN (for France) and this (for Belgium), the bad part is that it is for actual maps

This is can be good...

Let us know KNac if you are able to order through NARA digitalized maps, I certainly would look this way then.

[KNac007]

Update on NARA stuff:

I send an e-mil two days ago, it seems that they didn't recive e-mail or i didn't receive response. So I e-mailed again some hours ago from other e-mail account, just got an automatic response saying
that my request has been dispatged to one member of the staff of Cartography Department and I will get response in one day or two, which may be true as I once requested some info and I got a nice and fast reponse from one staffer and exchanged pair of e-mails (they even send me some example stuff for free from USA to Spain!), but it was other department I hope this time works.

Well, as soon as I get a response I will let you know. I have requested reference for maps made by US Army Services during the WWII period for Normandy, I know these eist and they have them, but don't know exct references so I can't order (yet). More info incoming soon...