Channel Islands?

[Hanski]

This front page of "Deutsche Guernsey Zeitung" declares the policy adopted by the Germans towards the British civilian population.

[DrG]

In 1944-45 there were also 416 Italian soldiers (of them 17 were NCO's) of the RSI in the islands of Jersey and Guernsey.

[Andy H]

In 1944-45 there were also 416 Italian soldiers (of them 17 were NCO's) of the RSI in the islands of Jersey and Guernsey

.

Did these Italians belong to a specific RSI unit and if so what unit?

Andy H

[Deterance]

does anyone know how the german army treated the british civillian population of the channel islands?

were there any british who were arrested after ww2 for collaborating with the german army?

I think that the woman holding the noble title of the Dame of Sark was accused of collaborating with the German occupation forces.

After the liberation, I believe she was briefly placed under house arrest and then the charges were not pursued.

[Gyenes]

The Channel islands where the only part of the British empire occupied by German forces in WW2 ,correct?

[DrG]

Did these Italians belong to a specific RSI unit and if so what unit?

The text of Nino Arena's "RSI - Le Forze Armate della Repubblica Sociale - 1944" is rather unclear. On page 378 (chapter 10) he tells of those men, but he doesn't write their unit. But on page 366 (same chapter) he gives a list of German units with some "soldiers of the RSI"; of those units, these are listed as placed in the Channel Islands:
1265° Rgt.Art.Kust.
319° Rgt.Art.Fest.
827^ Sez.Flak.
510° Rgt.Art.Fest.
Sich.Gr.Alderney

[Deterance]

The Channel islands where the only part of the British empire occupied by German forces in WW2 ,correct?

Yes, they were the only part of the United Kingdom proper occupied by the Germans.

I think the only addtional part of the British Empire briefly occupied would have been stretches of the Egyptian Desert.

[redcoat]

Yes, they were the only part of the United Kingdom proper occupied by the Germans.

The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom. They are what are classed as self ruling 'Crown Dependancies' (as is the Isle of Man)
That is while they are protected by the UK due to the fact that they belong to the British Royal family, they are not subject to the laws and rules of the elected government of the UK.

ps The Channel Islands are also not part of the EU.

[Andy H]

http://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic. ... 292#360292

The above is a link to the British Liberation force (135) of the Channel Islands

Andy H

[Deterance]

The Channel Islands are not part of the United Kingdom.

That is while they are protected by the UK due to the fact that they belong to the British Royal family, they are not subject to the laws and rules of the elected government of the UK.

Redcoat,

Thanks for the clarification on he status of The Channel Islands. Do you have any more information about the possible collaboration of the Dame of Sark.

Would the islands' status prevent any of the inhabitants from being technically guilty of collaboration? Or were any collaborators (if there were any) not charged simply to prevent embarassing trials?

[PzKpKWVI]

"Would retaking one or more of the smaller Channel Islands (Alderney or Guernsey) have been a viable alternative to the 1942 Dieppe Raid?

If the operation had been successful, maybe the Allies could have kept the island instead of withdrawing afterwards. That would give the British a fighter base very near France."

also we did try to take the island by a commando assult but it was a complete and utter failure. i cannot remember specific details but i do know that at least two boats landed the commandos on the completely wrong island, i believe one landing graft sunk before it reached the beach and those few that did reach the beach dicovered that there were no germans there as they were all at a cinema at the time. so a bunch of cammandos were on the island trying to kill the germans but they were all watching a movie. by the time they riealised that not only were they ill equiped to fight the germans having only a small number of men and losing equipment as they came ashore they atempted to go back to the landing crafts that were surposed to pick them up buthte tide ad gone out so they could not come in far enough so teh commandos had to ditch their remanding gear and swimm for it. on a whole it was a complete farce and i believe they did not try to land on the beach again. on another note the landings at dieppe could have not been such a disaster if they tested teh tanks on england on shingle similar to that of the beaches of dieppe and if the tanks that did make it could comunicate with the infantry something that they had not even thought about up until that point.

[daveh]

Raids against the Channel Islands

Operation Ambassador: 9-10 July 1940. To raid Guernsey to capture and/or kill occupiers. Failed

Operation Dryad: 2 Sept 1942. To capture the crew of the Casquets lighthouse. Success

Operation Branford: 7 Sept 1942. To establish the miltary worth of a small island (Burhou, c 700 x 300 metres) off Aldernay. Success

Operation Basalt: 12 Sept 1942. To take prisoners and assess the defences of Sark. One prisoner returned to UK, 4 were shot while trying to escape....these were reported to Hitler as being shot having been tied up. This in part led to the POWs taken at Dieppe being fettered.

Operation Huckback: 27-28 Feb 1943. To recce Herm with a view to its possible base for artillery to support an attack on Guernsey. No enemy met

Operation Hardtack 28: 25 - 26 Dec 1943. Recce of part Jersey.

Operation Hardtack 7: Recce of Sark, taking of prisoner. First attempted landing ( 25 - 26 Dec 1943) failed, succeeded 2 days later. british losses 3 killed 2 wounded, 6 captured
german losses 2 or 3 killed, 1 wounded, 8 captured.

The War Then and Now in the Channel Islands.

At no time was it intended to remain on any of the islands visited.

There would have been huge difficulties involved in taking and especially keeping any of the Channel Islands. The German bases, both naval and air force, on the other islands and on the Contentin Peninsula were much closer than the British bases. The ports of St Helier (Jersey) and St Peter's Port (Guernsey) as well as the harbour on Alderney, are of limited capacity. Even without German interference the port would have been hard pressed to support the supplying of a British occupation force.. especially the AA defences (guns and fighters) that would have been required.

Overall an attack on the scale of the Dieppe raid on any of the Channel islands was not a viable option in late 1942.

[THE_BEAR]

Hi i live in the channel is lands and jersey was captured as a stepping stone to the uk main land, they made it into a island wide defence, diggin and buliding bukers all over the island i love bunker insecting, i have found thing such as rilfe shells and i also have a so call (potato masher genaded) witch i believe to be live lol. I ll be posting a section on jersey when i pass my driving test

[THE_BEAR]

I notice some one metchioned that jersey had limited harbor space, well the germans where turning st catherines brake water into a harbor for sub and battle ships, thee pictures are the first wall of the brake water that was all ready there when the gremans came, but they finished it of a fortafied it, there is a anotehr brake water that they startered to make but didnt finish

[THE_BEAR]

VIEW NOW SHOWING THE SHEAR SIZE OF THE HARBOR, THIS SHOW WHY THE GREMAN WANTED A HARBOR HEAR, FROM ST CATHERINS IT IS ONLY 12 MILES TO FRANCE, JERSEY WAS TAKEN AS A STEPPING STONE TO UK BUT ALSO WAS INTENDED AS A HOLIDAY DESTINATION FOR GERMAN OFFICERS AND FOOT MEN SORT OF A REWARD FOR SEVER THE GERMAN ARMY.