European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 12, 1994, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The massive Harbor at Braye Bay was built with a 1,600-Yard-Long breakwater to shelter the British Fleet in  like a walk through military history by j. King Cruger staff writer Alderney the third largest of the Channel islands lies Only nine Miles off the Normandy coast it is a must see destination for the military history Buff. The Island measures 31/2 Miles by 1 i Miles but there is not a Headland or Promontory that in t crowned by a Citadel or fortress. The fortifications Are legacies of three distinct erase a pre victorian victorian and world War ii. The forts Seldom saw a shot fired in anger and the massive Harbor in Braye Bay Only once welcomed the British Fleet it was built to shelter. But the remains stand As a somewhat romantic memorial to grandiose military designs. The string of Stone faced forts constructed on the Island Between 1850 and 1858 Are distinctly reminiscent of castles. No fewer than a dozen of these forts ring the Island s coast All built in High victorian style with Moats towers and drawbridge. Because of the labor Force imported to build the fortifications and the men eventually needed to Garrison them the population of the Island zoomed from fewer than 1,500 to nearly 5,000 by 1861. However despite the apparent might Ness of the fortifications they were next to useless since they had become outmoded because of such developments in warfare As the increased Range and penetration of the rifled gun and howitzer a the Island s population declined until by 1891 Only 1,850 people remained and by the time world War i rolled around its big guns had dwindled from hundreds to Only four. In 1929, for reasons of Economy the four remaining guns manned by the Island s militia were dismantled along with the guns of Jersey and Guernsey. So it was that Alderney had been without coastal defences for More than a decade by the time nazi forces seized the Island on july 4, 1940. The germans found Only seven inhabitants out of a population of 1,400 the rest had been evacuated 10 Days before and were Safe in Britain Many of them never to return. The germans set about building fortifications with a vengeance. Of the victorian forts Only two were not strengthened. The total amount of Concrete for these and other Western Wall fortifications on the Island reached More than 86,000 cubic Yards by september 1944, when the occupiers Contact with the continent finally was severed. Notwithstanding this incredible amount of labor the percentage of fortress work completed by then was Only 40 percent of what was planned. Work on this vast undertaking was done by thousands of forced labourers including a Large number of spaniards who had been interned in France during the Spanish civil War and Many French jews russians poles and dutch. No one knows How Many of these slave labourers died on Alderney from the harsh conditions imposed upon them. An investigation conducted by the British after the War could find no evidence of mass Graves or wholesale Slaughter but there was ample evidence of sickening inhumanity carried out by a Large number of individuals against the prisoners. A simple memorial in five languages by the Roadside near Longy common reads Quot in memory of All the foreign labor who died in Alderney Between the years 1940-45. They also  a a v a High proportion of the Channel islanders rate Alderney As their favorite Isle. The islanders often receive. A stranger with warmth not found on the other Channel islands. A \ a a. A there Are Many Good natured jokes about the islanders fondness for drink and Rumor has it that when a Gale once prevented food from being landed by the weekly Supply boat air plane space was used  in booze instead. One jibe says that Alderney s main Export is a continuous Armada of empty bottles Drifting Over to America. Strangers Don t remain strangers Long on Alderney where three quarters of the1,686 inhabitants live in the Island s capital of Ste. Anne a charming place of cobbled streets brightly painted shops and georgian and Early victorian houses that together help to retain the. Atmosphere of a Century ago. Cars May be rented on the Island but Alderney is so Small that renting bikes is a better bet. The route around the coast taking in ail the. Fortifications is Only 12 Miles and can easily be walked in a Day. If you Bike it take a counterclockwise tour around the Island for most of the route will be downhill and less strenuous. A. While Alderney a with its magnificent and Safe family beaches excels during the summer season it s a Fine place to visit at just about any time of year. It has a mild. Sunny climate with Early Springs late Mellow autumns and relatively Frost free Winters. A. The Island has a Well tended nine Hole Golf course