Festung Guernsey, Volumes 4.3, 4.4 & 4.5

The Channel Islands of Guernsey and Jersey nestle in the lee of the French coast. They are, however, British and in 1940 they became the first and only British territory to be occupied by the rapidly moving armies of Hitler's blitzkrieg.

Hitler swiftly became obsessed by his conquest. Determined that they should not be retaken he set in place a massive series of fortifications designed to make the islands impregnable fortresses or Festung, as part of the Atlantic Wall.

In 1944 Lieutenant Colonel Hubner was charged with making a record of the immense fortifications. His team was drawn from the Divisionskartenstelle, the Divisional Cartographic Section, with some fourteen non-commissioned officers working across: drawing, photography, cartography, calligraphy and printing. The result is a stunning and comprehensive picture of the fortifications and a complete guide to their workings.

"Festung Guernsey" consists of 22 chapters and was originally published as a limited edition of 135, two volume sets, bound in leather. This paperback version consists of 10 separate volumes, each consisting of 1, 2 or 3 chapters and replicates the page numbering of the original edition. Volumes are being published every four months with the 10th being completed in May 2015 the 70th anniversary of the liberation of the islands by Force 135.

By 1944 Guernsey was the most fortified place in the world. These immense fortifications were built using slave labour. Please pause for a moment before turning the page and remember the men of many nationalities upon whose privations, ill treatment and lives this Festung was built.

This volume covers the coastal fortifications along the west and south coasts from Rocquaine bay to Corbiere Point.