Here’s a look at what’s been happening behind the scenes recently:
Mapping Progress
The first 27 maps from the GSGS 4250 series have now been geocoded! That’s just over 14,000 km² of WW2-era maps coverage—starting with Normandy and expanding east toward Rouen and south to Falaise.
More maps are already in progress and will be added as they’re ready.
Hosting Infrastructure Updates (Maps)
Work is underway on optimising how maps are hosted, particularly the map overlay tiles used to display them interactively.
Each map can require approximately 10,000+ image tiles, so this upgrade is focused on improving speed and providing a smoother, more seamless experience when zooming and scrolling through maps (while minimising costs).
To support this, I’m also implementing a more robust disaster recovery policy. The scale and complexity of the project have outgrown traditional backups, so this new system will help ensure long-term data security and protect the project from potential data loss.
Archive Revamp
I’ve also begun a small overhaul of the archive section of the site. This is a key step toward launching the new mapping tools and making the entire archive easier to explore.
The improvements include:
Adding categories and tagging
Better searching
Improved support for geographical items like maps
Thank you again for your support—while there’s been a recent slowdown in war diary uploads and delays in publishing the new maps, all of this current work is focused on building a more scalable, sustainable platform for the long term.