En mars 1945, alors que l'Allemagne a manifestement perdu la guerre, l'Amiral Huffmeier, commandant en chef des Iles de la Manche, lance à partir de Guernesey un raid sur Granville, qui aujourd'hui encore n'a pas trouvé d'explication. Des deux journaux de Guernesey, seul le Guernsey Evening Press fait allusion à l'évènement, dans son numéro du lundi 12 mars 1945. Le journal, contrôlé par les autorités d'occupation, rapporte les faits et cite la radio de Berlin, sans ajouter aucun commentaire.

German assult troops of the Channel Island garrison, under the command of Lieut. Capt. Mohr which had been landed by patrol vessels of the German Navy carried out a coup de main on the enemy supply harbour of Granville, situated in the Gulf of Saint Malo, in the night preceeding March 9th. They destroyed the locks, set the town and harbour on fire and made numerous prisonners including a Lieut/colonel and 4 further officers. 55 German soldiers were liberated from captivity. Furthermore, one American patrolboat was sunk 5 supply vessels of together 4,800 gross registered tons destroyed, and one supply steamer captured.

Supplementing the report of the attack on Granville, the Berlin radio announced on Saturday night that troops from Guernsey and Jersey took part and that men of the French and American garrison were taken by surprise. The German prisonners of war who were liberated were found while they were shovelling coal. Before the alarm could be made, the raiding force had returned to their ships, bringing 28 prisonners with them. The supply steamer was captured and carried off as a prize as she was entering Granville harbour. "Although", concluded the radio commentator, "the Channel Island troops are completely isolated, this enterprise bears testimony that their fighting spirit is in no way impaired".

Guernsey Evening Press du 12 mars 1945, transcrit de l'exemplaire de la Priault Library.

On peut lire dans le même numéro, quelques lignes intitulées False Hopes in London, dont la teneur peut surprendre en mars 1945 :
"Competent authorities realise that the German war potential is still exceedingly strong, that the V bombs are daily making considerable havoc in the British Isles, and that Britain must exert herself to the utmost to carry on with the war."

Hans Max Von und Zu Aufsess, responsable des Affaires civiles, semble en revanche ne pas avoir été enthousiasmé par le raid. Ses commentaires, dans son Journal du 10 mars, tiennent en trois lignes :

"The commando raid on Granville has been successfully concluded from a military point of view but has not led to any material gain apart from 70 tons of coal. A number of Americans were taken prisonners and 60 German prisonners of war were freed and brought back here. Our own losses have not been annonced although they are said to be high."
(The Von Aufsess Occupation Diary. Phillmore & Co Ltd, 1985, p. 152.)

14/07/04