Underground Strategy Fortress Britain 3 with Gordon Barclay
The third part of our Fortress Britain series takes us north, where Gordon Barclay joins us for a deep dive into Scotland’s defense plans during the Second World War—and how they’ve been misunderstood ever since.
We talk about stop lines, airfield vulnerabilities, pillbox design, and the sheer logistical push it took to prepare the country for invasion. Gordon breaks down how anti-tank ditches, coastal artillery, and naval fortresses fit into a larger strategy—one that included Polish and Norwegian forces defending the Scottish coast. We also look at how these defenses evolved, what still survives today, and how some of it is only just being re-discovered.
Toward the end, we discuss how Gordon’s research was misrepresented during Scotland’s independence debate, and why wartime history—when twisted—can still fuel modern mythmaking.
Gordon’s work
If Hitler Comes: Preparing for Invasion – Scotland 1940 by Gordon Barclay – https://amzn.to/4kvhT6B
Other books mentioned
Fortress Britain: 1940 by Andrew Chatterton – https://amzn.to/3Sd5iJ4
Britain’s Secret Defences by Andrew Chatterton – https://amzn.to/4jYuT4x
More from Underground Strategy
Discover Number 788 – https://amzn.to/3BQGmm7
Join the mission – https://undergroundstrategy.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.