Operation Overlord - Bogus Maps

Discussion in 'NW Europe' started by Packhow75, Apr 6, 2010.

  1. Apparently,the 1939 Michelin Guide was also issued by the Allies for the invasion.It was also said that the Germans used the same edition in their blitzkrieg operation into France.

    Perhaps Brian (Sapper) can confirm some of these points.

    I can confirm it. I still have the map issued to my father in 1944. It appears to be a direct copy of the Michelin map, on good quality paper as it is unyellowed and not brittle. The map itself bears the Michelin symbols at several locations. It is bound to a cover of less quality paper, brown colored with the US Army information printed on it. The map itself is in four or five five colors, covers southern France on one side, northern France, Belgium, souther Holland, & the edge of Germany on the other side. My father used it when leading his air squadrons ground element from south England to the forward airfield near Rheims in September 1944.

    He also had a "escape" map of Germany. It was printed on silk. Unfortunatly it was destroyed in a fire in 1972.
     
  2. Drew5233

    Drew5233 #FuturePilot 1940 Obsessive

    Hi Carl,

    Any chance of some detailed pictures or scans of it ?

    Cheers
    Andy
     
  3. Sheldrake

    Sheldrake All over the place....

    I took some photos of the Bogus maps in the Firepower archive. These false names on Bogus Maps were more than a Pre D Day security measure. False names for towns continued to be issued. Here are a list issued by VIII Corpsas part of their Op Epsom orders.
     

    Attached Files:

  4. idler

    idler GeneralList

    From 48 Royal Marine Commando: The Story: 1944-46:

     
  5. Richard Lewis

    Richard Lewis Member

    I've uploaded a Bogus Map of Normandy in the Gallery.
     
  6. AB64

    AB64 Senior Member

    A 50 Div handout on bogus grid references and place names - this came with a paybook to a lad who was with 102 A/T regiment RA

    33.jpg 34.jpg
     
  7. Robert-w

    Robert-w Banned

    One of my aunts was with SHAEF and initially with a section working on maps. They were using maps, photos from PRUs and on the ground reports (from the Resistance?) and checking roads through villages, over bridges etc for width etc against the dimensions of Allied tanks, trucks etc and annotating the maps. One wouldn't want to secure a line of advance only to find someone had jammed their tank between the boulanger and the auberge. Whether or not these were the same maps I cannot say and my Aunt's rackety lifestyle caught up with her in the 80s so we can't ask.
     
  8. 8RB

    8RB Well-Known Member

    A bogus map (the one and only I have got) from my own collection, of Juno Beach (scanned in parts, which causes the difference in color of the top right corner, which on the original is not there). ALBA = Courseules ; ALMA = Bernierrres ; CAIRO = Saint Aubin
    Juno Beach - NAN Sector.jpg
     
    stolpi likes this.
  9. Staffsyeoman

    Staffsyeoman Member

    The D-Day Museum (sorry, D-Day Story) in Gosport sell a t-shirt, tea towel, and enamel mug of the bogus map of Pegasus Bridge. The objective is labelled Venice
     
    Chris C likes this.
  10. Richard Lewis

    Richard Lewis Member

    Links to more Bogus Maps of Normandy (1:5,000 & 1:25,000) from the US National Archives are listed in the latest version (2020.1) of Topographic Maps in Resources. Listed under “France (Bogus Map)”.

    Richard
     
  11. D-DayDodger

    D-DayDodger Member

    They also have a print of this one in two sizes; small 11" x 14" without a mount (£8.95) and a large mounted one measuring 16" x 20" (£29.95).
    They kindly posted the large one to me in Guernsey as it was too big for my case.
     

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