255:, where it produced maps for the Polish army in the West, and copies of pre-war maps for the underground Polish resistance movement (a full set of 482 sheets). Quite separately, in 1941, British GSGS produced their own set of approx. 220 copies of WIG 1:100,000 maps (series number GSGS 4177), which covered (in colour) central Poland and (in black-and-white) an irregular section of a pre-WW2 eastern border of Poland with the Soviet Union. In the same manner, GSGS produced copies of all of the WIG 1:300,000 maps, which were by 1944 superseded by 1:250,000 maps of Central Europe (GSGS 4346).
294:) maps of Poland in the scale 1:100,000 produced from 1944 onwards, as well as for the British 1:250,000 and 1:500,000 air maps of Poland from the same period. After World War II, AMS also produced in 1952 a set of 1:25,000 maps of Poland (AMS 851 series), which was a melange of German (1:25,000, Messtischblatt), Polish (WIG 1:25,000) and Russian (1:42,000, 1:84,000) sources. Last noted use of WIG map is on an AMS 1:50,000 map of Czechoslovakia from Bieszczady area, dated mid-1955, which is based on a war-time German 1:50,000 map, which in turn, is a magnified WIG 1:100,000.
22:
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287:(1:100,000) mapping system, re-issuing WIG maps both in black and white and in colour, with some minor updates. 4-sheet reprints, mainly in colour, alongside 1:25,000 maps were also published. The latter were either copies of pre-1939 Polish 1:25,000 maps, or blown-up copies of 1:100,000 or (from 1944 onwards and in limited numbers) new sheets based on Polish cartographic materials captured in 1939, but with minor updates.
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added by overprinting. From 1929 onwards “type three”, i.e. two- and four-coloured maps were published. In 1931 a four-colour version became the standard type (known as “normal type” or referred to as the “tactical map of Poland”). By 1939 all 482 sheets for the area of pre-war Poland were published, together with around 280 additional sheets (
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Instead, the maps were to be delivered only after mobilization started, a few days before the outbreak of war. During the German invasion in
September 1939 the wartime map distribution system broke down due to unexpectedly rapid German advance, and Polish units often lacked detailed topographic maps of the areas in which they were fighting.
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By 1926 40% of the area of Poland was mapped. From 1927 onwards, WIG began to draw a uniform triangulation network and to print its own, original 1: 100,000 map, known as “type two”. These maps were two-coloured (black topographic elements, brown contour lines), some sheets contained two more colours
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Polish topographic maps published by WIG were highly regarded in pre-war Europe and should have increased the combat effectiveness of the Polish armed forces. However, to help keep their wartime deployment locations secret most combat units were not issued the needed topographic maps in peacetime.
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Also, prior to the partition of
Czechoslovakia, Czech army topographers copied some WIG 1:100 000. Although no written sources have been identified, several sheets of those maps are known which indicate a coverage of southern strip of Poland, up to the line of Katowice (and perhaps further north).
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in 1945 - 1948). From 1945 onwards the
Institute was active, copying both pre-war maps and producing new ones, particularly, from 1948 onwards, a new edition of 1:100,000 to cover the whole of Poland (known in Poland under the informal name of "Borowa Gora"), and was active until 1949. During the
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Nowadays the maps by WIG are a valuable source of information not only for the historians, but also for tourists and people searching for their roots. In recent years mainly the maps of popular hiking areas have been reprinted by several Polish publishers. Currently there is an ongoing effort to
270:(the "Polish People's Army" formed in the USSR in 1943). A few officers who returned to Warsaw by 1940, either voluntarily or under threat went back to work for the German-run Institute which became the biggest hub of German war-time map production in Nazi Germany (
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After the Soviet Union invaded Poland on 17 September 1939 several officers of the
Institute were captured by the Red Army, some executed on the spot, others later murdered in the well-known Soviet
274:). There are reports of some collaboration while, at the same time, a resistance cell was active in the institution, smuggling out maps to pass them on to the underground movement (the
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or "Home Army"). At the turn of 1943, probably due to the German counter-intelligence efforts, most of the members of the resistance inside the institution were arrested and executed.
236:). Around 50 volumes (up to 300 pages each) are known to have been published. They include valuable historical and geographical information on the land and peoples of pre-war Poland.
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regained its independence in 1918 it faced a challenge of making a new set of maps for a new country. The invaders left behind nine triangulation systems with 8 reference points. The
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purges of the 1940s and early 1950s, most of the senior staff were arrested and the
Institute was disbanded. Its functions were taken over by the
51:
266:. Of those who survived, some joined the "Anders' Army" marching out of the Soviet Union to Iran in 1942, while others, later on, joined the
140:. Its first task was to form a coherent and updated system from the maps of Polish territory originally drawn by the partitioning powers (
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1,260 - 1600 (approx) of the planned 3915 sheets were published (32.2%). The exact number can not be verified due to lack of records.
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Małgorzata
Tomaszewska, Mapy topograficzne ziem polskich: 1971-1945. T.1 Polskie mapy topograficzne wydane w latach
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Jadwiga Madej, Dzieje polskiej kartografii wojskowej i myśli strategicznej: materiały z konferencji Białystok
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An operational map of Poland and neighbouring countries (1:300,000), 43 sheets (number unverified)
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WIG also produced several detailed, multicolour maps of popular tourist destinations (e.g., the
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55:
251:, where it was re-activated. After the fall of France in 1940 WIG was evacuated again, to
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or “for internal use only”) to cover the adjacent areas of neighbouring countries, i.e.,
152:). The maps in various scales were the foundation of the 1:100,000 scale Polish maps.
221:), for walkers and skiers, as well as 1:300,000 road map of Poland, city plans, etc.
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WIG was re-activated in Warsaw after the war (maps and machinery was returned from
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Photo (taken in 2010) of the
Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny building in Warsaw.
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Between 1927 and 1939 the
Institute published, together with a section of
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From at least 1936 onwards, Germany incorporated WIG maps into their own
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collect and scan all the maps by WIG and make them available online.
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After World War II broke out the
Institute was evacuated, first to
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A detailed map of Poland (1:25,000). Up to the beginning of
136:(the "Geographic-Military Institute") was set up in 1919 in
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A map of Poland and neighbouring countries (1:750,000),
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A map of Poland and neighbouring countries (1:500,000),
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1:100,000 scale WIG map of Tatra mountains and Zakopane
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290:WIG maps were also a basis for the American AMS (
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308:Oddział Topograficzny (IX) Sztabu Generalnego WP
228:("Geographic Society of Military Science"), the
43:but its sources remain unclear because it lacks
366:Military history of the Second Polish Republic
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226:Geograficzne Towarzystwo Wiedzy Wojskowej
213:An International World Map (1:1,000,000).
116:was the Head of the Institute from 1926.
74:Learn how and when to remove this message
345:, 5 May & 6 May 1980 r., Warsaw 1982
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314:(the "Military Cartographic Works").
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272:Kriegskarten und Vermessungsamt II
184:Other maps publications of the WIG
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234:Geographic Service News Quarterly
376:1949 disestablishments in Poland
247:(Lwów, Lviv) and via Romania to
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312:Wojskowe Zakłady Kartograficzne
230:Wiadomości Służby Geograficznej
107:Military Geographical Institute
158:wyłącznie do użytku służbowego
134:Instytut Wojskowo-Geograficzny
130:Wojskowy Instytut Geograficzny
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341:oprac. Bogusław Krassowski,
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381:National mapping agencies
322:Bibliography (in Polish)
150:Austro-Hungarian Empires
132:, originally called the
120:History of the institute
29:This article includes a
58:more precise citations.
371:Poland in World War II
348:Eugeniusz Sobczyński,
338:1918-1945, Warsaw 1979
331:(1919–45), Warsaw 1974
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109:from 1919 until 1949.
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31:list of references
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