A VERY RARE ORIGINAL WW2 BRITISH "DEFENCE AND TOPOGRAPHICAL OVERPRINT" map which was produced for OPERATION GATWICK. This was planned as a heavy RAF bombing attack followed by an armoured ground assault to capture the German town of CLEVE (KLEVE) and progress to the River Rhine.

However, despite the huge bombing attack taking place on the 7th October 1944, the ground assault phase (planned for the 10th) was suddenly cancelled on the 8th.

This edition was produced on the same day as the RAF attack, and was clearly intended for the ground assault. It's an unusual sheet in that it has been surveyed from areas normally covered by two standard sheets (4203 and 4202), and it's been given an alternative title of "SHEET C (RHINE)". I don't know how many different sheets there were in this specially produced series, but having also seen sheets 'D' and 'F', I can safely say that there must have been at least six !

To the rear is a detailed 'DEFENCE LEGEND' explaining the symbols used.

This map would only have been produced in very small numbers, and this particular example was actually retained in the British military archives. It was eventually disposed of around two decades ago with the closure of one of their map depositories (hence the red ink stamp in the margin). As such, it has always been stored properly and has never been folded. Other than a little light creasing, it is in mint condition.