Originally Posted by
Jailer
Already on my shortlist, this great TR and pics moved it up a few notches.
From what little I know, Hitler was so enamored with having a piece of Great Britain under his heel that way too many resources were spent on the defense of the Islands, and in that way the Channel Islands contributed to the war effort.
The German garrison was simply island-hopped over, akin to the American strategy in the Pacific.
Still, Churchill was annoyed that the population capitulated so readily with little guerrilla sabotage efforts and so relief came late leaving both the citizens and occupation force to stave till the very end of the war.
I am sure that my take is overly simplistic as what I have gleaned is only from fictional accounts. Still, I would venture with certainty that the Channel Islands was not the best place to spend the duration…although undoubtedly there were worse.
It's a pretty little place to go and plenty to fill up a week. I'm sure while there there would be someone who can explain what went on more accurately than i ever could.
So far as i understand the British, aware that they could not easily defend the islands fully, demilitarised some days/weeks before the German invasion but sadly that detail wasn't received by the Germans who believed the islands to be fully combative at the time of their invasion. When there was no resistance, the garrisons were bused in as you say.
Considering the proximity to mainland Europe it's easy to see how the islands could be a tactical advantage, and i believe it's why Hitler wanted them as part of the Atlantic Wall.
I also heard somewhere that he planned for the islands to be a kind of Nazi holiday camp after they had won...