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Maps

It is hoped that some maps of lesser-known Napoleonic battlefields will be made available soon. In the meantime, here is an example of a contemporary map of the kind used by Napoleon.

Those of us who complain about the accuracy of modern maps may get something of a shock when we see what an 18th century military commander often had to use. Before he left Paris in 1796 (to go and command the Army of Italy) Napoleon borrowed a number of books and maps, one of which was a map of Piedmont by an engineer called Borgonio. This dated back to the 17th century, and was fairly rough in its representation of the topography. If you click on the thumbnail here, you will see a larger version of the map (96k).

It shows the area of Italy where some of the most important movements of the initial part of the 1796 campaign were carried out. Savona is in the bottom right corner, and Altare is in the centre. Montenotte may be seen to its north, and Cosseria is towards the top left. It is worth reflecting on the difficulties facing a strategist when he had to use such crude maps.

There is now also a black-and-white map showing the field of Montenotte (104k, 848x1030 pixels). This is taken from a War Department contour map dating from 1943, which, I believe, is no longer covered by copyright. It is itself derived from an Italian map of 1933. There is little point in showing a thumbnail, because it just looks like a blurred collection of pixels at that scale.

A further black-and-white map has been added showing the area around San Michele and La Bicocca (64k, 498x626 pixels). Once again, it is taken from a War Department map of 1943, derived from an Italian map of 1933.

There is now a plan of the castle of Cosseria (579x533 pixels).