Battery Moltke is an uncompleted World War 2 coastal artillery battery in St Ouen in the North West of Jersey. It was constructed by Organisation Todt for the Wehrmacht during the Occupation of the Channel Islands. The site includes bunkers, gun emplacements and the Marine Pelistand 3 tower, which are located on Les Landes. The main purpose of the battery was to defend St Ouen’s Bay in case there was an attack by the Allies.
On permanent display outside is a heavy French First World War field gun, that has been restored and put back in its original emplacement having been recovered from the bottom of the cliffs at Les Landes by the Occupation Society in 1991. All of Jersey’s 29 heavy coastal artillery guns were dumped over the cliffs in a massive clean up operation ordered by the States of Jersey after the liberation whose demand was “We want this island cleansed of the taint of German Occupation”.
The MP3 tower is one of nine planned towers in Jersey, to observe targets at sea. The tower is located at the top of a steep, sloping, west facing cliff. It has seven floors including a windowless underground floor and a walled top deck where a Seetakt radar was located. MP3 can be visited on special guided tours of the Les Landes defenses which the CIOS conducts. The Channel Islands Occupation Society (CIOS) is a voluntary organization that wants to study all aspects of the German Occupation of the Channel Islands and raise awareness and educate the public about the Occupation during the Second World War.
On the 10thof June our class went on a photography trip to see the bunkers located at Battery Moltke. A CIOS member began the tour by giving us insight into what the German Occupation was like in Jersey. The tour guide showed us images from World War 2 and told us his experiences as a young boy after the war had ended. We also explored the principle bunker which had been turned into a museum. There were several underground tunnels connecting to rooms where the public could see objects that were used during the Occupation.