Channel Islands Part 4 - Organization Todt - Der Westwall - Battery Mirus - Occupied Guernsey

[@andrewl2787]

1:18 points the rifle right into his face. Haha gotta love our elder generations

[@absolut2013]

Just found your channel after credit from an older Mark Felton vid brought me here; I’ve always been perplexed by the sheer resources and energy poured into the Channel Islands when they seem to have had no impact on the defence of “Festung Europa”.

[@M1945]

Nice, I'm glad to have you with us. Take a look at the most recent uploads, we've gotten better.

[@waltie1able]

Thank you for placing these wonderful films on KZbin. Very interesting and highly unusual. You should get an award for your effort.

[@markedwards5106]

Awesome footage, appreciate all your hard work, thank you! Interesting to see the potted trees camouflaging the gun emplacement at 8:28.

[@CJB-]

Always hard to understand, all this work to protect islands which were proven to be strategically unimportant, as the allies by passed them. Thanks for another great video.

[@mdsf01]

Another wonderful example of how much primary source footage there is that we have yet to see. Such a treat to watch. :) The mix of weaponry is truly amazing. From what I gather much of it must be French; the tank and the turret in the final scene (looks like it could have been taken from the Maginot Line) are prime examples. However, I wonder if the field artillery was "sourced" from other countries (perhaps even England as huge quantities of materiel were abandoned at Dunkirk).

[@shaunmarsh7930]

There were quite a lot of captured weapons from France, Russia and Czech among others (and yes some of the French stuff came from the Maginot line) alongside a large quantity of German weapon's (some of which came from the west wall)

[@shaunmarsh7930]

I meant to add that I am unaware/Can't remember of any British Weapons used in the Channel Islands

[@bradyoung4304]

Among other units, the Germans "left" the full-strength 319 Infantry Division on the Channel Islands. The invasion of Normandy (and subsequent breakout) made the German garrison irrelevant and the German units there did nothing further in the war. They surrendered in May, 1945. One wargame of the Normandy campaign has an optional rule whereby the Germans can move the 319th to fight in Normandy (it would have moved at night, in smaller boats). Like other German infantry, it would have been fairly effective defending in hedgerow country.

[@shaunmarsh7930]

Nice one

[@M1945]

Thanks for watching

[@everardotalamantesmoyron7854]

Excelente trabajo 👍

[@conradward1873]

HI, great channel. Really enjoy your informative videos. Would be awesome if you have footage of DFS 230, Gotha 242 & ME 321. Cheers

[@M1945]

yes, I have the material and will eventually get to it

[@mojoblues66]

5:49 Atlantik-Wall. Very impressive footage, is there more of it?

[@M1945]

Yes, there is more. I will likely be doing a new Rommel video with some of it

[@mamamikaeli]

Great channel! Enjoy it very much. Background music is exquisite. How can i find these music pieces? Could you please give me titles?

[@M1945]

Here are some of the more common ones I use... 1812 Overture, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Hungarian Rhapsody No 2, Liszt Mendelssohn's Symphony No 3 in A minor - Movement 1 Beethoven's Coriolan Overture, Op. 62

[@mojoblues66]

4:20 I know this is beyond the scope of this channel, but perhaps someone has more information on what remains of the german-built installations today.

[@M1945]

Yes, there is plenty. The museum I mentioned at the end is a good start. They have a website you can look at

[@shaunmarsh7930]

In the Channel Islands there are a number of group that are engaged with that sort of research Channel Islands Occupation Society Guernsey (original) and Jersey Festung Guernsey among others and a lot of individuals doing their own work which gets published in a number of ways

[@miguelferreiramoutajunior7932]

If the Germans perfected the tunnel tactics, then Vietnam were to be much earlier in history...

[@M1945]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean. Please explain

[@miguelferreiramoutajunior7932]

@@M1945 . Thank You for your attention. I remembered that after seeing the German soldier exiting from a camoufled bunker , with a machine gun , at 0:19. I wondered of a system of relatively small tunnels under vast extensions of land, who knows could turn the war tide. Allies feared most the hypothesis of hidden bunkers and fortress under Bavarian Alps , at the end of war . Proportions kept , and terrain differences observed, such a system was the weapon which vietcongs achieved to damage United States , at its Achiles’ Tendon, with uncomparable weaker resources. And contributed for most of the US defeat then.

[@shaunmarsh7930]

@@miguelferreiramoutajunior7932 I spent my childhood exploring and playing in these tunnels and the bunkers. At the last construction report map of March 1944 indicates there were up to 41 tunnels planed, (there are some gaps in the numbering system) there were also other smaller tunnels built by the army construction units on top of this list They were to be used in a number of ways form Ammunition stores, Fuel stores, Personnel Shelters/quarters, power Station, Hospital and artillery Garages the 41 tunnels in Guernsey do not include the tunnels in Alderney and Sark or Jersey but the Amount of rock removed from the tunnels in all four island had reached 244,00m/3 in 1944 and the work carried on into 1945 to some degree