The Channel Islands 1941–45: Hitler's impregnable fortress

Charles Stephenson

May 2013 · Fortress Book 41 · Bloomsbury Publishing

About this 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.

About the author

Charles Stephenson has been bracketed amongst 'the world's leading maritime historians' (Edward M. Furgol, The Navy Museum, Washington DC, writing in the International Journal of Maritime History, Volume XV, Number 1 (June 2003)). This is his third book for Osprey and second in the Fortress series. He has recently completed a book on 19th-century chemical warfare: The Secret War Plans of Lord Dundonald: Conceiving Weapons of Mass Destruction 1811–1914. Originally from North Wales he is now based in Cheshire, UK.

Chris Taylor was born in Newcastle, UK, but now lives in London. After attending art college in his home town, he graduated in 1995 from Bournemouth University with a degree in computer graphics. Since then he has worked in the graphics industry and is currently a freelance illustrator for various publishing companies.