Polish Cartographical Review Vol. 52, 2020, no. 3, pp. 124–139 DOI: 10.2478/pcr-2020-0011 EUGENIUSZ SOBCZYŃSKI Received: 2.11.2020 Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń Accepted: 28.12.2020 Faculty of History Toruń, Poland orcid.org/0000-0002-4092-940X; [email protected] ADAM SZULCZEWSKI Żyrardów, Poland orcid.org/0000-0002-2519-4513; [email protected] Camouflaging of areas occupied by units of the Soviet Army Northern Group of Forces (NGF) on Polish and Soviet military topographic maps Abstract. The authors present the political conditions in Poland after World War II which influenced the development of military topographic maps. The article shows examples of camouflaging on topographic maps of garrisons and field facilities occupied in Poland by the Northern Group of Forces of the Soviet Army (NGF). Keywords: military topographic maps, camouflaging military facilities, Northern Group of Forces of the Soviet Army (NGF) 1. Introduction These Soviet activities also extended to the area of mapping. In the countries of the In order to explain the secrets of camouflaging Eastern Bloc, within one to two years, legal on topographic maps of military facilities, it is acts modelled on Soviet solutions were intro- necessary to outline the political and military con- duced. The first such act, which limited the ditions which accompanied their development. free development of mapping in Poland, was After World War II, as a result of the decisions the decree of April 26, 1948 on the right to take of the leaders of world powers, Poland found aerial photos. In the following year (October 26, itself within new borders. The country’s area, 1949), a decree was issued on the protection in relation to its pre-war territory, was reduced of state and official secrets, which made maps subject to strict supervision by the government and moved west by several dozen kilometres. apparatus. This was to ensure the implemen- Poland also did not regain full sovereignty, since tation of the Soviet imperial political and military belonging to the Eastern Bloc meant that the doctrine. The decree introduced a division into Soviets and the Polish Communists decided state and official secrets. State secrets con- about the future of the country. Even though stituted “all messages, documents and other the war was over, many units of the Red Army items which, due to the defence, security or were stationed in western Poland. Followed by important economic or political interests of the a gradual militarization of the country, the arms Polish State or its allied countries, may be made race between the Eastern Bloc and the Western available only to authorized persons”. Bloc meant that most sectors of the national The conferences of surveying services of economy were aimed at satisfying the needs socialist countries and conferences of the heads of the army. Until 1956, all important positions of military topographic services of the Warsaw in the Polish Army were held by Soviet officers, Pact countries had the greatest impact on the supported by several hundred specialists and changes in geodesy and cartography in countries “advisers” (E. Sobczyński 2017). of the Soviet bloc. They were held in various Camouflaging of areas occupied by units of the Soviet Army Northern Group of Forces.. 125 countries in the years 1952−1989. After each Defense Committee of September 25, 1969 on conference, individual countries issued legal acts the increased protection of geodetic and carto- obliging civil and military surveying services to graphic materials, forbidding civil entities to undertake organizational work and activities use the “1942” system and the interwar “Borowa in accordance with Soviet recommendations. Góra” system. Simultaneously with this resolu- The most important arrangements were adopted tion, Order of the Prime Minister No. 102 was at the first conference held in Sofia from June published on the list of typical geodetic, carto- 22 to July 1, 1952. At that time, Poland and graphic, geological and gravimetric documents other Warsaw Pact countries were obliged to constituting a state secret. This regulation adopt geodetic coordinate systems and map already in the preamble ordered “increased standards used in the Soviet Union. protection” of maps and geodetic documents, The introduction of the Soviet in “1942” significantly increasing the number of documents coordinate system1 in Poland was also asso- and maps classified as secret and confidential. ciated with a great obstacle, which consisted Another document that led to the complete in making topographic maps and geodetic cut-off of the civil services from topographic coordinates secret and restricting access to maps was the Ministry of National Defense these maps for civil services2. Resolution of Order No. 4/MON of February 17, 1971. Under the Council of Ministers No. 570/52 of July 9, this order, the topographic maps of the “1942” 1952 on the classification of topographic maps system in the possession of the civil services and the Order of the Prime Minister No. 60 of had to be destroyed. In its place, for the needs July 29, 1964, as well as the instructions issued of geodetic measurements and civil topogra- on the basis of them on the protection of clas- phic mapping, the “1965” system developed by sified information limited the access of civil military surveyors3 was introduced, while keeping services to topographic maps and general its mathematical foundations secret. All civilian geographical maps up to the scale of 1:500,000 topographic maps were derived from military included (geological up to 1:1,000,000). This maps and were heavily censored, and their order reads: “Topographic maps at the scale content was distorted and falsified. Despite 1:100,000 (1:50,000) compiled in the period such restrictions, most of these maps were still 1930−1954 and at scales greater than 1:100,000 confidential. B. Konopska (2012) and W. Gry- published in the years 1920−1954 are confiden- gorenko (1991) have extensively written about tial”. Only schematic tourist maps and sche- the influence of the government apparatus in matic administrative and communication maps the years 1944−1989 on Polish cartographic shall remain public. publications for general use, especially about During the conference of surveying services the censorship and deformation of civil maps. of socialist countries in Moscow in 1965, the The Order of the Prime Minister No. 75 was Deputy Chief of Staff of the United Armed Forces issued on December 31, 1976 and listed in detail of the Warsaw Pact, General Anatoly Gribkov, geodetic data, cartographic, photogrammetric, categorically ordered all heads of state delega- gravimetric and magnetic materials subject to tions to take decisive actions (within 3 years) special protection. Thus, it concerned most to limit the “1942” system only for the army and cartographic materials produced in the country, state security services (Historie... 1993, p. 81; e.g. even sheet indexes of maps in the “1965” D. Unverhau 2006, p. 59). coordinate system were subject to protection. In Poland, the withdrawal of the “1942” system This order also concealed most of the geodetic from civil geodesy and cartography was a con- data and cartographic materials, and listed sequence of the Resolution of the National several dozen types of field facilities that were forbidden to be displayed on confidential to- 1 The “1942” system was introduced on the territory of pographic maps, e.g. high-voltage lines, water the USSR by the decision of the Council of Ministers No. 760 intakes, pumping stations, pipelines, equipment of April 7, 1946, but had been used in the production of maps at railway stations, and state triangulation points. in decimal scale systems since the 1920s. Open topographic maps were not in civilian use. 2 Although the civil services had limited access to military maps, Head Office for the Control of Press, Publications and Performances, established in 1946, also censored civil topo- 3 In the Soviet Union, the “CK-63” system had been intro- graphic maps. duced into civil surveying two years earlier. 126 Eugeniusz Sobczyński, Adam Szulczewski On December 14, 1982, another act on the pro- frastructure of Russia, China and other Eastern tection of state and official secrets was issued, Bloc countries using remote images. which stated that: “... a state secret is a mes- The control of the distribution of military sage, the disclosure of which to unauthorized maps and the camouflaging of militarily important persons may endanger the defence, security facilities are characteristic not only of the “Cold or important interests of the state, concerning War” times and of Soviet and Polish cartography. in particular: data in the field of geodesy, carto- In the history of military cartography, numerous graphy, topography, (...), aerial and photogram- examples are known in this regard, and some metric photographs...”. Despite these restrictions, date back to the 16th century. The most famous military maps were also subject to strict inven- concerns the King of Prussia, Frederick II the tory and distribution control. Each year, special Great (1712−1786), who was almost paranoid commissions checked all the maps, and used in controlling access to his Plankamer. The king copies were destroyed by a commission. ordered a secret instruction to be drawn up for An additional safeguard of military secrets4 the use of the maps, and each viewing required on secret maps was the camouflaging of military his personal consent. facilities