{"id":321,"date":"2013-08-22T04:27:58","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T04:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lincoln.ac.nz\/conversation\/gis\/?p=321"},"modified":"2023-05-07T04:18:23","modified_gmt":"2023-05-07T04:18:23","slug":"a-map-of-a-disaster","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/a-map-of-a-disaster\/","title":{"rendered":"A Map of a Disaster"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>This is a post about the use of maps to tell a story. \u00a0One of the most famous maps ever produced recounts Napoleon Bonaparte&#8217;s invasion of Russia in 1812. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/NapoleonReadingMap.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-926\" src=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/NapoleonReadingMap.jpg\" alt=\"NapoleonReadingMap\" width=\"263\" height=\"192\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>So I&#8217;ve been reading a novel recently that revolves around Napoleon&#8217;s invasion of Russia, which by all accounts, was the final nail in the coffin of the French emperor&#8217;s long run of power. \u00a0Clearly it&#8217;s stirring stuff, enough to inspire Tchaikovsky to write his 1812 Overture, and Leo Tolstoy to deliver the massive tome of War and Peace. \u00a0While reading, I&#8217;ve often found myself flicking back and forth between the text and a map. \u00a0So where did he choose to cross into Russian territory? \u00a0And where is Borodino anyway? \u00a0Maps are absolutely essential for military strategists and the effect of location is a lens through which possibly all battles can be viewed. \u00a0But there&#8217;s quite a human story behind Napoleon&#8217;s ill-chosen push into Tsar Alexander&#8217;s realm. \u00a0Once in Russian territory, the Grande Arm\u00e9e seemed invincible as it relentlessly marched east to Moscow, but a combination of French hubris, Russian tactics and a lot of support from the Russian autumn ultimately brought about Napoleon&#8217;s defeat. \u00a0Here are a few highlights:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Though agreement on the actual numbers vary quite a lot, Napoleon&#8217;s Grande Arm\u00e9e\u00a0crossed into <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.co.nz\/maps?q=Kaunas,+Kaunas+County,+Lithuania&amp;hl=en&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;ll=54.867272,23.926291&amp;spn=0.016596,0.045447&amp;sll=54.864605,23.924704&amp;sspn=0.033194,0.090895&amp;oq=kaunas&amp;hnear=Kaunas,+Kauno+miesto+savivaldyb%C4%97,+Kaunas+County,+Lithuania&amp;t=m&amp;z=15\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Russia<\/a> at the <a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/crossing-of-the-niemen-400.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nieman River<\/a> with around 500,000 men (only around 40% of whom were actually French) on 24 June 1812 from what is now Poland;<\/li>\n<li>On September 7th, the Battle of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.co.nz\/maps\/@55.5273695,35.8194945,10z?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Borodino<\/a> was fought ( which the 1812 Overture was mainly written about). \u00a0The Grande Arm\u00e9e faced one of its only significant battles of the entire campaign here. \u00a0Though the French won the day, it was a Phyrric victory for the emperor &#8211; his lines were overextended and the fleeing Russians burnt their villages and crops so as to leave nothing for the invaders. (This seems to have been done spontaneously rather than as a planned strategy, at least according to Tolstoy. \u00a0The inhabitants of Smolensk started it early in the piece and everyone else seemed to think it was a good idea.) \u00a0Napoleon&#8217;s strategy had been that his soldiers would forage for food while on the move. \u00a0For someone who is credited with saying that an army marches on its stomach, this was a surprising choice;<\/li>\n<li>The Moscow he arrived in on 14 September had been veritably <a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/fireofmoscow.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">burnt to the ground<\/a> by order of Moscow&#8217;s governor;<\/li>\n<li>It was soon clear that no peace would be negotiated with Tsar Alexander and the Grand Arm\u00e9e <a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/Napoleons_retreat_from_Moscow.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">began its withdrawal<\/a> in mid-October &#8211; autumn in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of Russia&#8217;s mud season, &#8220;<a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Rasputitsa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">rasputitsa<\/a>&#8220;;<\/li>\n<li>Forced by Russian attacks to go back the way he came, Napoleon&#8217;s army marched through an increasingly <a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/300px-prianishnikov_1812.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dark a<\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/300px-prianishnikov_1812.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">utumn<\/a> along the road that had already been ravaged &#8211; no food, little shelter, and constant guerrilla warfare from Russian forces;<\/li>\n<li>The Grande Arm\u00e9e <a href=\"https:\/\/maps.google.co.nz\/maps?q=Barysaw,+Minsk+Province,+Belarus&amp;hl=en&amp;ll=54.251086,28.486691&amp;spn=0.067395,0.181789&amp;sll=54.864012,23.929853&amp;sspn=0.033195,0.090895&amp;oq=barysaw&amp;hnear=Barysaw,+Minsk+Province,+Belarus&amp;t=m&amp;z=13\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">crossed<\/a> the <a href=\"http:\/\/gis.lincoln.ac.nz\/Minard\/berezyna.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Berezyna River<\/a> with great loss of (French) life. \u00a0The river usually freezes over but this year, it hadn&#8217;t, though that&#8217;s not to say that it wasn&#8217;t icy. \u00a0Pontoon bridges had to be built and the Russians were moving in from three sides. \u00a0At about this time, Napoleon abandoned the army to address a coup d&#8217;etat back in Paris, leaving the survivors of this crossing to limp home;<\/li>\n<li>When the army crossed back into French territory in November, it crossed with about <strong>10%<\/strong> of the soldiers it began with. \u00a0By some estimates, 380,000 men died along the way from starvation or typhus or bitter cold, and 100,000 were captured (or deserted). \u00a0By 1814, Napoleon was forced to abdicate his throne, and exiled to the island of Elba. \u00a0After his <a href=\"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Sj_9CiNkkn4\">defeat at Waterloo<\/a> and second exile,\u00a0he died (of stomach cancer) on the island of St Helena in 1821.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>So, what does this have to do with GIS? \u00a0Well apart from the whole &#8220;Geography Matters&#8221; point of view, this event inspired one of the most famous maps of all time. \u00a0Charles Joseph Minard was a French engineer and specialised in the building of bridges, canals and harbours. \u00a0He also liked to create informative graphics that told stories. \u00a0And here&#8217;s the one he put together for this one:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-924\" src=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard.png\" alt=\"Minard\" width=\"800\" height=\"381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard.png 800w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-300x143.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-768x366.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And here&#8217;s an Anglicised version:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-919\" src=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2.jpg\" alt=\"1812-2\" width=\"1296\" height=\"612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2.jpg 1296w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2-300x142.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2-1024x484.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/1812-2-768x363.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1296px) 100vw, 1296px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>(see below for a translation of the caption &#8211; apologies &#8211; this was the largest image I could find) This map is famous for its relative simplicity in telling a complicated story that takes place in space and time. \u00a0Geographic features themselves are kept to a minimum &#8211; no roads, few rivers, no contour lines, just the facts, ma&#8217;am. \u00a0What is often pointed out are the five dimensions of the story that are portrayed here:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The size of the army is shown by the thickness of the brown and black bands. \u00a0This allows us to see how the size of the army changes through time (and note the decrease in width when the Berezyna River is crossed during retreat at center left);<\/li>\n<li>Direction is indicated by the colour of the band &#8211; brown for advance, black for retreat;<\/li>\n<li>Location is shown as the army moves at the centre of the coloured bands.<\/li>\n<li>The location is also shown with respect to dates;<\/li>\n<li>Temperatures during the retreat are plotted along the bottom showing how it changed with time and location (Interestingly, the temperature scale is degrees R\u00e9aumur &#8211; values can be multiplied by 1.25 to get degrees Celsius). \u00a0The maximum temperature reached is zero.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Amongst cartographers, this is an exemplar of good design and ability to tell a story. \u00a0Edward Tufte features this in his landmark book, the Visual Display of Quantitative Information, where he says it &#8220;may well be the best statistical graphic ever drawn&#8221;. \u00a0Properly categorised, this is a flow map, one that shows the flow of objects be they people, wine, oranges or orang-utans. \u00a0Here&#8217;s another example of his work &#8211; the exports of wine from France for 1864:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/French_wine_exports_for_1864.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-923\" src=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/French_wine_exports_for_1864.jpg\" alt=\"French_wine_exports_for_1864\" width=\"300\" height=\"220\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>And another one of Hannibal&#8217;s crossing of the Alps:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-925\" src=\"https:\/\/d-blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal.jpg\" alt=\"Minard-hannibal\" width=\"2414\" height=\"1054\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal.jpg 2414w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal-1024x447.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal-768x335.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal-1536x671.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2013\/08\/Minard-hannibal-2048x894.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2414px) 100vw, 2414px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>A quick search on Minard and Napoleon will deliver scads of pages on discussions about his work. \u00a0His map of the invasion ranks right up there with Snow&#8217;s cholera map and the London Tube map, though may not be quite as widely known. \u00a0An interesting permutation is <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wayfind.com\/napoleon.html\">here<\/a> and a slew of other attempts to revise the original can be found <a href=\"http:\/\/www.datavis.ca\/gallery\/re-minard.php\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Though I&#8217;m struggling to find a reference, I&#8217;m reasonably sure that Napoleon said something to the effect that in invading Russia, he came to fight men, not the weather. \u00a0Ultimately, his undoing was driven by choices he made about how the invasion was carried out. \u00a0As a record of his hubris, Minard&#8217;s map is an visually eloquent statement, and an ideal we mere mortal cartographers can hope to achieve when next we hit the layout button.<\/p>\n<p>C<\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s a translation of the French caption for the 1812 figure:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Figurative Map<\/strong> of the successive losses in men of the French Army in the Russian campaign 1812-1813.<\/p>\n<p>Drawn up by M. Minard, Inspector General of Bridges and Roads in retirement. Paris, November 20, 1869.<\/p>\n<p>The numbers of men present are represented by the widths of the colored zones at a rate of one millimeter for every ten-thousand men; they are further written across the zones. The red [now brown] designates the men who enter into Russia, the black those who leave it. \u2014\u2014 The information which has served to draw up the map has been extracted from the works of M. M. Thiers, of Segur, of Fezensac, of Chambray, and the unpublished diary of Jacob, pharmacist of the army since October 28th. In order to better judge with the eye the diminution of the army, I have assumed that the troops of prince Jerome and of Marshal Davoush who had been detached at Minsk and Moghilev and have rejoined around Orcha and Vitebsk, had always marched with the army.<\/p>\n<p>The scale is shown on the center-right, in &#8220;lieues communes de France&#8221; (common French league) which is 4,444m (2.75 miles).<\/p>\n<p>The lower portion of the graph is to be read from right to left. It shows the temperature on the army&#8217;s return from Russia, in degrees below freezing on the\u00a0R\u00e9aumur scale. (Multiply R\u00e9aumur temperatures by 1\u00bc to get\u00a0Celsius, e.g. \u221230\u00b0R = \u221237.5\u00a0\u00b0C) At Smolensk, the temperature was \u221221\u00b0 R\u00e9aumur on November 14th.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This is a post about the use of maps to tell a story. \u00a0One of the most famous maps ever produced recounts Napoleon Bonaparte&#8217;s invasion of Russia in 1812. So I&#8217;ve been reading a novel recently that revolves around Napoleon&#8217;s invasion of Russia, which by all accounts, was the final nail in the coffin of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4971,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321\/revisions\/4971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.lincoln.ac.nz\/gis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}