Author: Carel Toms
Publisher:
Published: 1992-08-17
Total Pages: 155
ISBN-13: 9780340589007
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Author: John Grehan
Publisher: Frontline Books
Published: 2023-04-06
Total Pages: 247
ISBN-13: 1399084259
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Incredible as it may seem today, detailed plans were drawn up to recapture the Channel Islands, the most heavily fortified of all the German-occupied territories, regardless of the potentially ‘severe’ loss of life and the widespread destruction to the property of the British citizens. Under the codenames Constellation, Condor, Concertina, and Coverlet, the islands of Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney were to be attacked in 1943. The operation against Alderney would be preceded by a bombardment by between 500 and 600 medium/light bombers and an astonishing forty to fifty squadrons of fighters. The official papers which have now become available state that: ‘The islands cannot be taken without causing some civilian casualties. In the case of Alderney, it is thought that the air bombardment will have to be on such a scale that all personnel on the island will have to become casualties.’ A similar number of aircraft would attack Guernsey while, for the assault upon Jersey, thirty-one squadrons of heavy bombers and strike aircraft would bombard the island’s east and west coasts. This would be followed, on D-Day, by parachute and infantry landings and then a commando assault in the south-west. On Day 2 of the operation the first of the tanks were to land, with more armor and infantry to follow on subsequent days. As the German garrison of the Channel Islands was some 40,000 strong, the islands would be turned into an enormous battlefield, and a vast killing ground. The consequences for the Islanders were almost too horrendous to imagine and the political fallout beyond calculation if the operations failed in their objectives after the devastation and loss of British lives that the fighting had caused. Despite all this, it was thought that such operations would become the ‘second front’ so persistently demanded by Stalin to draw German troops from the Eastern Front and might also help the Allied forces which were about to invade Italy – Operation Husky – from North Africa. Equally, the Channel Islands would be the ideal base for the D-Day invasion of France scheduled for 1944. There was much then in favor of mounting the operations against the Channel Islands regardless of the fact that it meant the death of untold British citizens at the hands of British troops and the Allied air forces. The Allied Assault Upon Hitler's Channel Island Fortress is, therefore, the first detailed analysis of what would have been the most controversial operation ever undertaken by the British and American armed forces.
Author: Charles Stephenson
Publisher: Osprey Publishing
Published: 2006-02-28
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781841769219
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Following the Fall of France and the surrender of Paris on 14 June 1940, the British Government announced that the Channel Islands had no strategic importance and would not be defended. The Germans occupied the islands from the end of June onwards and remained in control until the end of the war. On 10 October 1941 Hitler announced his intention to 'convert them into an impregnable fortress', and the islands formed the most heavily fortified and defended section of the entire Atlantic Wall. This book describes the design, construction and manning of these defensive positions, as well as considering more widely the occupation of the Channel Islands by the Germans.
Author: Chris McNab
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Published: 2014-03-20
Total Pages: 396
ISBN-13: 1782009523
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The definitive illustrated history of German World War II fortifications, covering the Atlantikwall, Westwall, and myriad other defensive works. Hitler's 'West Wall' was one of the greatest engineering projects of the 1930s. Stretching more than 390 miles and containing some 14,000 pillboxes it was a significant statement of intent. But it was only as World War II progressed that Germany's defensive requirements expanded beyond all previous expectations. Along the Atlantic coastline Germany poured millions of tonnes of concrete into chain batteries, bunkers and minefields, whilst defensive works were sunk into the mountainous terrain of Italy in an attempt to halt the advancing Allies. As well as these large-scale defensive works, Hitler's Fortresses delves into the principles and engineering of basic frontline defences, showing how the average German soldiers prepared their fox-holes and field fortifications, as well as exploring special purpose fortifications like the huge U-boat pens, V-weapon sites and Hitler's own personal constructions, from his sprawling headquarters to his mountain-top lair. This exhaustive study of German wartime fortifications reveals much about the strategic and tactical thinking of the German High Command, and combat accounts explore how effective the defences were in practice. Illustrated throughout with contemporary photographs, cutaway diagrams, artworks and maps, this edition shows exactly how key types of defensive positions looked and functioned, and provides an authoritative record of the Third Reich's defensive mindset.
Author: Richard Brooks
Publisher:
Published: 2011
Total Pages: 0
ISBN-13: 9781849082389
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In September 1944 the Allies captured the port city of Antwerp. In order to start the flow of supplies into the city they first had to clear the River Schelde of German outposts, including the island of Walcheren at the mouth of the Schelde Estuary - the most fortified stretch of coastline in the world. The Army and Royal Marines achieved this and supplies flowed in, just in time to help the Allies withstand the German Ardennes offensive.--From back cover.
Author: Paul Sanders
Publisher: Paul Sanders
Published: 2005
Total Pages: 310
ISBN-13: 0953885836
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →The British Isles have only been successfully invaded and occupied once since 1066: the German occupation of the Channel Islands from 1940-1945. This book commemorates a defining period in the history of the islands and an important aspect of contemporary British history.
Author: T. X. H. Pantcheff
Publisher:
Published: 2015-03-02
Total Pages: 96
ISBN-13: 9780750964920
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →Alderney Fortress Island
Author: Simon Hamon
Publisher: Frontline Books
Published: 2023-07-31
Total Pages: 210
ISBN-13: 1473893801
DOWNLOAD EBOOK →In 1940 British forces were withdrawn from the Channel Islands, allowing the Germans to occupy British territory. Hitler was determined to hold onto what he saw as a valuable prize, and the islands were heavily fortified. However, despite being extensively defended, the occupied Channel Islands remained vulnerable to commando-style raids. Indeed, a total of nine such operations were conducted between 1940 and 1943. Many others were planned but never executed. Each one was a bold and dangerous expedition, with small groups of men daring to trespass on Hitler’s cherished British stronghold. The first of these attacks, Operation Ambassador, took place on the night of 14/15 July 1940. The second ever raid undertaken by the Commandos, it was focused on the island of Guernsey. Though the mission failed to achieve any of its objectives, valuable lessons were learnt. In the weeks, months and years that followed, raids were also undertaken against Jersey, Sark, Herm, Burhou and the Casquets lighthouse off Alderney. The final attack, Hardtack 22, was one of the three carried out against the German garrison on Sark. After the second mission, Hardtack 7, had to be aborted, the Commandos returned to the island on the night of 26/27 December 1943, tasked with undertaking a reconnaissance and capturing prisoners. This too was a failure after the raiders entered a minefield; two men were killed and most of the others wounded. Compiled from official reports and first-hand accounts, each of the raids is packed with intrigue and drama – including the fear of reprisals being taken against the islanders. Each of the missions are explored on the ground today by the authors, with the routes taken and all key locations relating to each attack photographed and described. The planned but never executed raids are also explored. Never before have these stories been told in such detail, and never before in the words of those that took part in the raids and those who ultimately, were most affected.