"Fortesque on the Utility of Maps" Topic

Been reading Sir John Fortesque's multi volume "History of the British Army" on and off since the 70's.

Returned to the preface of the first volume yesterday and among his very thoughtful comments found this:

"Maps and plans have been a matter of extreme difficulty owing to the inaccuracy of the old surveys and the disappearance of such fugitive features as marsh and forest I have followed contemporary plans wherever I could in fixing the dispositions of troops but in many cases I should have preferred to have presented the reader with a map of the ground only and left him to fill in the troops for himself from the description in the text Blocks of red and blue are pleasing indeed to the eye but it is always a question whether their facility for misleading does not exceed their utility for guidance Actual visits to many of the battlefields of the Low Countries with the maps of so recent a writer as Coxe in my hand did not encourage me in my belief in the system although in deference to the vast majority of my advisers I have pursued it"

Coxe wrote a history of Marlborough published in 1818 by the way.

So what do you all think?

I'm sure the great man is right but I'm glad he listened to his advisers. Certainly has made setting up scenarios easy :)

Bob