10 October 1943 Part 4

10 October 1943 Guernsey Army and naval artillery communications

Reported to the signals officer of Army Coastal Artillery Regimental Staff 720 for special employment.

The regimental commander, who is also the artillery commander, must be able to direct his two subordinate army coastal artillery battalions and one battalion of divisional artillery, together with the naval artillery, against land targets. The naval artillery commander directs the fire of all Army and Navy batteries against sea targets. This requires extensive signals links, particularly to the numerous measuring stations. The authorised and fixed telephone equipment is barely sufficient for these links.

Army Coastal Artillery Regimental Staff 720 for special employment is not authorised portable radio sets under KAN 404. Before the twelve Torn.Fu.Ger. f sets were handed over, all army coastal batteries and the divisional artillery batteries had a third set. Sets could therefore be redistributed within the regiment to maintain the most important wireless links. According to the regimental signals officer, that is no longer possible.

Wireless links are regarded as particularly important because the entire British cable network is being used as the fortress network and is buried only about 30 cm deep. The naval artillery batteries each have three wireless sets.

Inspection of the signals equipment installed at Army Coastal Artillery Battalion 452 and at one army coastal battery: authorised and available fixed signals equipment is installed in considerable quantity. For example, eight small drop-shutter switchboards are installed at the battalion command post. They are needed principally for links to the numerous measuring stations and to the naval artillery.

Editorial note: the portable-radio suffix is reproduced from the typed text; a faint marginal annotation is not resolved. KAN denotes the equipment establishment. This is a Guernsey inspection and must not be reassigned to a Jersey battery.

Original source image 00108.jpg — T-312 Roll 1563. Guernsey Army and naval artillery communications.

German Seventh Army records, NARA T-312 Roll 1563. T312_R1563_Jersey_and_Channel_Islands_English_Translation.docx. File 41703/36 • Scan 00108 • Translation. Local scan references identify the supplied image filenames, not substituted microfilm frame numbers.