20 April 1944

20 April 1944 Channel Islands construction progress during March 1944

Date note: Sorted by legible receipt 20 April 1944; cover day obscured. Report status 1 April 1944.

[Scan 0992.jpg] Army High Command/Army General Staff/General of Engineers and Fortifications attached to Chief of Army General Staff[earlier heading: Commander-in-Chief Army], BranchL (IIW), Channel IslandsA. No. 787/44 [partly obscured] secret command matter. April 1944 [day obscured]. Four copies; copy 3. To Armed Forces High Command/Operations Staff/Operations, with one additional copy (copies 1 and 2).

References: 1. Armed Forces High Command/Operations Staff/BranchL (IOp) no. 441760/41 secret chiefs’ matter, 20 October 1941; 2. Army High Command/Army General Staff/General of Engineers and Fortifications (LIIW) no. 6075/42 secret, 15 October 1942.

Subject: Fortification of the English Channel Islands. Two enclosures. Enclosed, in accordance with reference 1, item 5, is a report on the state of permanent fortification of the Channel Islands as at 1 April 1944.

By order: [signature unclear]. After dispatch: Adjutant to Chief of Army General Staff (copy 3), with request to forward to Operations Branch (II). By order: [signature unclear]. Receipt: 20 April 1944, no. 1426/44; Operations Branch 22 April, no. 4154/44.

[Scan 0993.jpg] Report on permanent construction progress on the Channel Islands (position 1 April 1944). 1. Details of construction status and progress during March appear in the attached table.

2. The workforce employed on the Channel Islands during March was approximately 3,900. During the reporting month total concrete output on all three islands was 2,540 m³, compared with 7,573 m³ in February. Sixteen permanent structures became operational and six were completed in structural shell during March. There was no change in “field construction in concrete”, since, in accordance with the orders issued, work was confined exclusively to casemates for guns and anti-tank guns. Concrete output: Guernsey 300 m³; Jersey 440 m³; Alderney 1,800 m³; total 2,540 m³.

3. In tunnel construction, great emphasis continued to be placed on completing the installations already begun. Output achieved was 3,370 m³ of usable rock excavation, compared with 1,043 m³ in the preceding month. 4. Total construction-material throughput rose considerably, to approximately 9,000 tonnes against 4,250 tonnes in February.

[Scan 0994.jpg] 5. During the reporting month 9,753 new mines were laid. Total laid on 1 April 1944 was accordingly: Guernsey 47,254; Sark 2,959; Jersey 30,902; Alderney 14,780.

German Army High Command records, T-78 Roll 317. Supplied English translation T78_Roll_317_English_Translation.docx. Source images: 0992.jpg, 0993.jpg, 0994.jpg.