28 January 1944 Part 5

28 January 1944 Channel Islands construction progress during December 1943

Date note: Cover apparently 28 January, received 29 January 1944; report status 1 January 1944.

[Scan 0979.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. 197/44 secret command matter. 28 January 1944 [partly 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 January 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: 29 January 1944, no. 386/44; Operations Branch no. 997/44.

[Scan 0980.jpg] Report on permanent construction progress on the Channel Islands (position 1 January 1944). 1. Details of construction status and progress during December appear in the attached table.

2. Following the withdrawal of further firms from the Channel Islands to the mainland, the workforce fell by 2,450 during the reporting month, leaving only 4,200 workers available for construction on 1 January 1944. Concrete output in December, 5,039 m³, also fell considerably compared with the previous month’s 10,356 m³. However, increased output is expected in coming months as a result of the enlarged winter construction programme. Three permanent installations became operational and five were completed in structural shell during December. Concrete output: Guernsey 2,498 m³; Jersey 485 m³; Alderney 1,235 m³; subtotal 4,218 m³. Additional anti-tank walls, ring stands, captured tank turrets, etc. on all three islands: 819 m³. Total 5,037 m³. [The source gives 5,039 in the narrative and 5,037 in the table.]

3. In rock-tunnel construction, greatest emphasis was placed on completing the installations, so output of 3,258 m³ of usable rock excavation remained low compared with preceding months. 4. Total construction-material throughput in December was 2,976 tonnes.

[Scan 0981.jpg] 5. A total of 2,124 new mines were laid on the islands during the reporting month. Total laid on 1 January 1944: Guernsey 38,066; Jersey 29,619; Sark 2,582; Alderney 11,320. [Figures reproduced as printed.]

German Army High Command records, T-78 Roll 317. Supplied English translation T78_Roll_317_English_Translation.docx. Source images: 0979.jpg, 0980.jpg, 0981.jpg.