[Maps of the Gallipoli Peninsula.]

£7,500 · Offered by Maggs Bros Ltd

Rare and important: a complete set of maps of the Gallipoli Peninsula produced under the direction of T.E. Lawrence in Cairo and based on captured Ottoman maps. In June 1915, working on the basis of a partial set of maps found on a captured Turkish soldier, T.E. Lawrence’s Arab Bureau produced this series of six maps, each separately mapping the entire length of the Gallipoli Peninsula in a format designed to be issued to officers fighting in the field. The maps are as follows: Kurija Dere; Bogali; Anarfarta Saghir; Chanak; Krithia; and Damler. Of these, Kurija Dere (now Kocadere) is the most important, being an advanced topographical rendering of the Ari Burnu sector (named after the sea point located in the centre of the map), in the north-western part of the Gallipoli Peninsula. It was issued in the summer of 1915 while the Gallipoli campaign was still ongoing. It adds the toponyms Anzac Cove, Brighton Beach, Hell Spit, and Maclagan’s Ridge, while noting the critical battles of August, 1915: Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair . The maps provide a clear understanding of the extreme difficulty that both the ANZACs and the Ottoman defenders faced while operating in such rugged territory. Soldiers often had to climb slopes of over 45° in gradient while enduring enemy fire. A series of red numbered grids, all orientated to the magnetic north to aid the use of the map in the field, have been added as Allied troops previously encountered severe orientation problems using the old maps of G

• Year: 1915

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