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Description

A Strange Relic of Operation Sea Lion?

Color-printed folding map of the British Isles, issued by the Nazi publication Die SA, apparently using an image taken from the Nazi newspaper Völkischer Beobachter.

The dating and purpose of the map are somewhat difficult to discern in part because it lacks any formal title or explanation. However, the key to understanding the map would seem to lie in the jagged blue fronts that extend from important areas in coastal Britain into the interior. These would seem to be possible invasion fronts in the event of a German invasion of Britain, the planning for which was generally known as Operation Sea Lion (German: Unternehmen Seelöwe).

After the Fall of France, Germany had hoped to sue for peace with Britain, but failing this, plans were hatched to invade Great Britain while the Battle of Britain was underway. The plans called for amphibious landings from Ramsgate to Portsmouth on Britain's southeast coast. In that context, the speculative fronts proposed on this map seem overly ambitious.

The map shows activity at Scapa Flow (the location of much of Britain's fleet) the Firth of Forth, and at various locations on Britain's south coast and the Bristol Channel.

An intriguing map, which would benefit from the context of its original publication, which is unfortunately missing here.