as-1902
1940: German WW2 invasion preparations for England's South Coast
Generalstab des Heeres [German General Staff] :
Südküste. Text- und Bildheft mit Kartenlagen
Berlin: [Department for War Maps and Surveying], 1941.
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6 inches x 8.5 inches (15 cms x 21 cms). An extraordinary 450-page book containing some 380 half-tone photographs, printed both sides, of coastal towns and locations on England's South coast plus 40 maps annotated with landing conditions (flat coast,
steep coast, cliffs, beaches, etc).
In near-immaculate condition internally, as issued in original green wrappers, with an army library cancellation stamp and another stamp taped onto the front cover.
This work was issued in Berlin in 1940 as part of Militärgeographische Angaben über England (effectively translating as Military/geographical Report on England) by Abteilung für Kriegskarten und Vermessungswesen (Department for War Maps and Surveying), and was intended Nur für den Dienstgebrauch! (For official use only) by the Generalstab des Heeres (German General Staff).
Following the Battle of Britain in 1940, the Germans postponed their plans for Unternehmen Seelöwe (Operation Sealion), the invasion of England by large-scale troop landings along the South Coast for which this work was originally prepared. However, whilst abandoning their immediate plans to invade, the German High Command continued to gather together detailed information to prepare the ground for any future invasion or occupation of Britain.
In short, this extensive book of photographs and maps which seldom comes onto the market is one of a number of confidential documents prepared at the beginning of the Second World War for the use of high ranking military planners, officers and their
staff within the top echelons of the German war machine in Berlin.
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