31 May 1941

May 1941 Island artillery readiness and command establishment

Editorial note: Monthly report or annex; placed at the end of the reporting month because no single document date is supplied. Dates within the text retain their original meaning.

By 15 May, the two platoons of captured 15.5 cm guns on Jersey were ready to fire from their provisional positions at the south-western and north-western extremities of the island. The captured 15.5 cm battery on Guernsey had been concentrated in its position near King’s Mills and was also ready to fire. Firing by the long-base method could be carried out on an improvised basis.

All guns of the 22 cm naval battery at the south-eastern corner of Guernsey had been fully mounted; only the sights were still lacking for complete readiness to fire.

The personnel cadres requested for one captured 7.5 cm and one captured 15.5 cm battery on each of Guernsey and Jersey arrived at the end of the month and reported to 319th Infantry Division. Each cadre comprised one officer, two non-commissioned officers, seventeen men, five horses and two vehicles.

On 20 May, at the request of Army High Command, a proposal for placing the staff of the Commander of the British Channel Islands on an established footing was submitted to Ninth Army, Section T.

T-314 Roll 1603, T314_Roll_1603_English_Translation.docx. Source PDF page 0014 | Original document page 2; Source PDF page 0015 | Original document page 3