Rand McNally Map of Africa

Political map of Africa published during the height of the Third Reich.

This compelling political map of Africa, published by Rand McNally & Company c. 1940, serves as a real-time ledger of a hemisphere at war. While centered on the African continent, the image extends to include a fractured Europe and the Near East, offering a comprehensive view of the era’s shifting fronts. The map features critical indicators of the early Axis-Allied struggle: the Soviet annexation of Cernauti (June 1940) is clearly delineated, and the French colonial empire is shown under the administration of Vichy, a brief period of neutrality that would soon be tested by Operation Torch.

The cartography highlights the grand scale of British imperial ambitions, represented by the celebrated “Cape to Cairo” route, a contiguous chain of pink-colored territories stretching across nearly the entire continent. The Portuguese, Italians, and Belgians also claimed vast swathes of African lands, with the few independent nations including Libya and Egypt. Beyond the political drama, the map is a rich geographic and ethnographic record. Major features like the Rub Al Khali and the Tibesti Massif are meticulously labeled, while the Sahara is dotted with fascinating toponyms and the traditional territories of various African tribes.