The First World War did not impact greatly on life in the majority of African countries. During this period, German military services worked on creation of maps of their African colonies, as German government realized that soon they will have to defend them. In the 20 years of the 20th century, the territory of the German colonies was conquered by the troops of the Entente.

Events of the Second World War contributed to the weakening of the political domination of the European states in the colonies of Africa. In the first half of the XX century, many colonies embarked on the path of rapid economic and technological progress. In the context of colonial policy and rivalry military topographical service of Europe switched some of its forces in the colonies mapping, creating maps of areas of possible collisions.