17 March 1943

17 March 1943 Further decline in Channel Islands fortification output Annex 91

Corps Headquarters, Ia 2306/43 (1117), secret, to Seventh Army. Reference: 319th Division’s report of 12 March. Subject: permanent fortification of the Channel Islands.

Construction output on the Channel Islands in February fell to 60%—16,000 cubic metres of concrete—compared with the average for the second half of 1942 of 28,000 cubic metres per month. Guernsey is worst affected: restrictions on work owing to typhus reduced output to 45% despite every expedient. In Jersey output reached only 65%, owing to a shortage of cement.

These circumstances put in doubt completion by 1 May 1943 of the 230 permanent works stipulated in the Seventh Army order of 14 December 1942. The cement shortage also affects the troops’ work: because timber is scarce and the ground rocky, they depend on concrete construction on the islands. For Corps Headquarters, Chief of the General Staff.

T-314 Roll 1604, T314_R1604_English_Translation.docx. 17 March 1943 | Source PDF pages 293. Selected island-related text; document or report date governs placement.