In total there were around 175 dedicated anti-aircraft guns in the island, plus machine guns on anti-aircraft mountings. [5] There were over 200 standardised armour parts. [4]:9 [18]:294, Machine guns protected within casemates, on top in Tobruk pits, or in trench systems, some with thin overhead protection. Albert Speer replaced Todt. Liberation. How many fortifications were built, how long it took to build them and what were the standard plans (e.g. Each of the Islands of Guernsey had a completely different occupation experience, from total evacuation to horrifying occupation. [7]:56 The Allies knew the locations of casemates as the RAF had undertaken photographic flights during the construction years.Aerial photograph of Vazon Bay with Stützpunkt Rotenstein at the top[25] In addition, a few messages giving some detailed information, had been smuggled out of the Islands. 244,000 m³ of rock were excavated out of the Channel Islands, only a little less than the 255,000m³ in the whole of the rest of the. Using four barrels taken from a 1917 Imperial Russian dreadnaught captured in Norway and resting on platforms manufactured by Friedrich Krupp A.G., these 30.5 cm guns had a potential range of 51 kilometres (32 mi) with lightweight high explosive shells, weighing 250 kg or 31 kilometres (19 mi) with the heavier 405 kg armour piercing shells. If necessary, timber supports were installed, then the process started again. Whether the Islands were impregnable was never tested, except for Battery Blücher in Alderney. However, when it became clear this was not going to happen Hitler issued a directive in October 1941 that the Channel Islands should be converted into an indestructible fortress as part of the Atlantic Wall. The smaller Freya radar was less visible. Bruno spiral barbed wire; 7). Anti landing craft objects of steel and wood, thousands of tetrahedra and Czech hedgehog, often with teller mines attached on the beaches.[19]. Other buildings used as headquarters included the Crown Hotel, which served as the Harbourmaster's office. The forced labour came from the millions of prisoners taken during Operation Barbarossa, and arrived in the Islands in late 1942. [7]:115 Detailed death certificates were filled out and the deaths were reported to OT in St Malo. [1]:204 The civilian population in Guernsey was 23,000. Barbed wire and minefields would have protected the nest.[4]:37. Of the 96 OT workers who died in Guernsey, the majority died as a result of tunnelling accidents, a British bombing raid on St Peter Port in January 1942, and typhus in February 1943. L’Ancresse common has, in the middle of the golf course, the six gun Flak Battery Dolman, in concrete emplacements that could be used for a dual purpose as they commanded sea approaches with a 14,000m effective range. Media in category "Fortifications of World War II in Guernsey" The following 48 files are in this category, out of 48 total. The German designs incorporated certain standard features such as entrance door at right angles, armoured air intake, 30mm steel doors, ventilation, telephones,[4]:7 internal walls lined with wood, and an emergency exit. [16]:101 Naval Range-finding Tower MP 3 at Pleinmont, which has 5 observation levels and had a radar unit on the roof, has become a museum, open to the public. Most beach defences were designed to fire across the beach, the embrasures being protected from enemy fire from the open sea. 7/40 comprised 7,000m², 29,823 cu m of rock were removed and 9,053 cu m of concrete was poured. Today, many bunkers can be viewed and even explored, “The Germans laid barbed wire all along. [4]:63–4 [16]:178, 3.7 cm Flak and 5 cm Flak provided medium support (3,000-5,000m effective range) and 2 cm Flak were located for close protection of facilities, some in concrete emplacements (2,000m effective range). If they were from the Eastern Bloc, a deduction of 55% was made to pay for the cost of overseas reconstruction. Apr 8, 2016 - Explore Digital History Archive's board "WWII Fortifications" on Pinterest. It had the largest artillery pieces in the Channel Islands, tanks, and 12,000 troops:[1]:204 one soldier for every two civilians on the island, compared to France which had a 1:80 ratio, or higher. After the Wehrmacht occupied the Channel Islands on 30 June 1940, they assessed the existing defences to determine if they would be of use. Download this stock image: German WW2 fortifications on Guernsey coastal defences - MPA878 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Wood; 16). eccentric Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, when she decides to write about the book club they formed De bezetting van de Kanaaleilanden verwijst naar de militaire bezetting van de Kanaaleilanden door nazi-Duitsland die duurde van 30 juni 1940 tot de bevrijding op 9 mei 1945.De Kanaaleilanden omvatten de Kroonbezitten van de baljuwschappen Guernsey en Jersey, die geen deel zijn van het Verenigd Koninkrijk en ook de kleinere eilanden Alderney en Sark omvatten. Film Synopsis: . [22], Widerstandsnest (Resistance nest) (WN) formed a smaller defensive zone, filling in between SP's, and protecting specific points, like artillery batteries or a radar station. Aerial photograph of Vazon Bay with Stützpunkt Rotenstein at the top, Resistance in the German-occupied Channel Islands, Civilian life under the German occupation of the Channel Islands, Fort Hommet 10.5 cm Coastal Defence Gun Casement Bunker, "World War II anti-landing devices found in Guernsey", Guernsey Grammar School and Sixth Form Centre, Policy and Resources Committee of Guernsey, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=German_fortification_of_Guernsey&oldid=993985887, Military history of the Channel Islands during World War II, Channel Islands articles missing geocoordinate data, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. The island of Guernsey has … The OT organisation designated the Channel Islands work area as Insel Einsatze.[10]:29. [16]:63 Army troops were rotated to Alderney for three month tours of duty. Ruins of German WW2 fortifications at the coastline of Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK Batterie Dollman gun pit, a WW2 German installation on Pleinmont headland, Guernsey. Clearance in the wood along t… Oct 28, 2020 - Explore Marcel Edwards's board "world war 2 Guernsey German soldiers 1940-1945" on Pinterest. [3]:14–26 Tunnelling could be continued 24 hours a day with two 12 hours shifts as lighting in the tunnel could not be seen outside at night. The crew room and ammunition store was below each open gun placement. Wehrmacht defence works fell into three categories:[5], Festungspionierstab 19 (Fortress Engineer Staff 19) arrived in Guernsey in July 1941, to make plans for the construction works. Guernsey had to pay for the German troops, providing them with and paying for their food, accommodation and transport.[9]:89. Camouflaged barrier and machine-gun nest; 10). Luftwaffe fighter groups JG27 and JG53, equipped with Me Bf 109s, had been based during Kanalkampf in Guernsey in 1940. Fittings such as air purification systems, showers, gas proof doors, telephones, periscopes, and wiring were standardised. [1]:200, Consumable materials were sourced: cement, steel, timber for shuttering, sand and aggregate. Shuttering for concrete walls and if the ceiling was to be done, overhead supports were installed and concrete poured. [7]:59–60, It was not just men that became OT workers; a number of women also found themselves in work camps. The Germans found the Islands' fortifications antiquated and woefully inadequate for modern warfare. Published. Guernsey, although the smallest of the two, was given special treatment and had 12,000 troops inland, that’s one German soldier for every two civilians. Seventeen additional 4.7 cm Pak 36(t) were emplaced in field positions. In this section you will find: Guernsey Occupied - this is a past exhibition about the occupation in general. Each location had defences and facilities to suit its specific needs, the thickness of walls, floor, and ceiling were standard. The German occupation of the Channel Islands lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until their liberation on 9 May 1945.The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are two British Crown dependencies in the English Channel, near the coast of Normandy.The Channel Islands were the only de jure part of the British Empire to be occupied by Nazi Germany during the war. into an impregnable fortress as part of his infamous âAtlantic Wallâ, heavily fortifying the only British territory he would ever conquer. A Stützpunktgruppe (Strongpoint group) was a cluster of SP's and WN's under command of a Battalion. Individual troops – field fortifications, slit trenches etc. It features accommodation bunkers and two fortress quality ammunition bunkers, all linked by deep, concrete-lined trenches. During the Occupation, German troops went about fortifying Guernsey, building reinforced bunkers as well as adapting existing fortifications … Cavities filled with rubble. Many roadside walls received painted arrows and numbers in red or yellow to indicate directions. Divisional engineers – mines and flamethrowers, Army Construction Battalions – reinforced constructions to provide protection of “Vf” Reinforced field-type constructions quality, Fortress Engineers and Fortress Construction Battalions – mounting heavy weapons, some tunnelling, reporting, maps, supervising. Reinforced wire obstacle; 6). They therefore had a high level of skills and quickly worked out the details of what was needed.[3]:8. 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