German Forces

Gorgeous Wrecks.

German soldier examines an 18th century cannon carrying the monogram "GR" for "Georgius Rex", representing one of Britain's Kings George of that century, Jersey (Channel Islands). This photo was probably taken at the Elizabeth Castle, a 16th/17th century fort on a semi-tidal island off St Helier, capital of Jersey. The Germans "modernized" the Elizabeth Castle, constructing bunkers and gun emplacements and installing antiaircraft batteries. This was of a piece with their practice of fortifying the island in general to produce a sort of advance post of the "Atlantic Wall". The least that can be said for the Elizabeth Castle is that it gave good fields of fire along most of the south coast of Jersey. Many of the German fortifications on the islands would appear to have offered more limited value for money. Best regards, JR.