Operation Constellation was the name of one of a number of WWII missions, proposed by Vice Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten, in 1943 to take back the Channel Islands from German occupation in WWII. It was never mounted. The others were Operations Condor, Concertina and Coverlet. German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ... Admiral of the Fleet The Right Honourable Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma, KG, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCIE, GCVO, DSO, PC, FRS (25 June 1900 – 27 August 1979) was a British admiral and statesman and an uncle of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. ... 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... The Channel Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Normandy, France, in the English Channel. ... German soldiers at the Battle of Stalingrad World War II was the most extensive and costly armed conflict in the history of the world, involving the great majority of the worlds nations, being fought simultaneously in several major theatres, and costing tens of millions of lives. ...

Background

Between 1940 and 1945, the Channel Islands were the only fragments of British territory to come under Nazi occupation. On these islands were entrenched almost 40,000 German soldiers, sailors and airmen, snug behind fortifications that had consumed more than 10% of the concrete used in Nazi Germany's much vaunted Atlantic Wall, that stretched from Norway to the Pyrenees. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1945 was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Nazi party used a right-facing swastika as their symbol and the red and black colors were said to represent Blut und Boden (blood and soil). ... The Atlantic Wall was an extensive system of coastal fortifications built by the German Third Reich during the Second World War along the western coast of Europe (1942-44) in order to defend against an anticipated Anglo-American invasion of the continent from Great Britain. ... Central Pyrenees The Pyrenees (French: Pyrénées; Spanish: Pirineos; Occitan: Pirenèus or Pirenèas; Catalan Pirineus; Aragonese: Perinés; Basque: Pirinioak) are a range of mountains in southwest Europe that form a natural border between France and Spain. ...

Proposal

In 1943, British Chief of Combined Operations, Vice-Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten proposed Operation Constellation, an offensive against the Channel Islands, Operation Concertina, an offensive against Alderney, Operation Coverlet, the offensive against Guernsey, and Operation Condor, the offensive against Jersey. He suggested that: 1943 is a common year starting on Friday. ... Flag of Alderney Alderney (French Aurigny) is the most northerly of the Channel Islands and a British crown dependency. ...

"There is no doubt that the enemy has fully appreciated the value of the Channel Islands, and the potential threat those islands would offer if re-occupied by our forces"

In 1941, the Channel Islands, captured without opposition in July 1940 were turned into impregnable fortresses, never to be surrendered. These developments had been overwatched by Mountbatten, through aerial reconnaissance. Mountbatten commented: 1941 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

"Each island is a veritable fortress, the assault against which cannot be contemplated unless the defences are neutralised, or reduced to a very considerable extent by prior action."

This was the problem, "prior action, meant either naval bombardment or aerial bombing. Although most defences were on or near the coast, the inaccuracies of bombing or shelling had the potential to pulverise two thirds of Guernsey's land surface, and at least half of Jersey's. What would have happened to the sixty five thousand or so, local civilians if this happened? Because of the likely appalling, civilian casualties, the operations were shelved, and Mountbatten gained fame in South East Asia.

Although the Germans believed that occupying the Channel Islands gave them an ongoing propaganda coup, such as photographs of German soldiers talking with British "bobbies" (policemen), in strategic terms, the islands were of little value to them. They were much better placed for an invasion of Normandy by the Allies, than most offensive/defensive action by the Axis. However, Stalin's badgering was instrumental in causing a western front to be opened. Eventually, when one did come, it was not to be in the Channel Islands, but nearby mainland Normandy. However, when this was taking place, the Germans themselves removed many of their wounded to the Channel Islands from treatment. Normandy is a geographical region in northern France. ... Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ...

References

Tabb, Peter A Peculiar Occupation, New Perspectives on Hitler's Channel Islands (May 2005)