Saturday matinee: Assault on Fort Eben-Emael
Following World War I, the Belgians built a system of fortifications — similar to France’s Maginot Line — surrounding Liège to prevent another German invasion. In 1935, they completed the anchor of their network, Fort Eben-Emael, which was the largest fortress ever built. Eben-Emael featured multiple 60-, 75-, and 120-mm gun emplacements protected by armor plating and reinforced concrete as thick as 13 feet. Barbed wire, cliffs, anti-aircraft batteries, machineguns and additional fortresses in the surrounding area protected the underground fort.
As the Wehrmacht moved west toward France in May, 1940, the Germans had to capture the bridges spanning the Albert Canal intact (they were rigged to detonate), and the guns at Eben-Emael had to be silenced.
With some 1,200 soldiers manning the technologically advanced fortress, defeating Eben-Emael would be extraordinarily difficult. But Adolf Hitler himself figured that a few dozen engineers with specialized explosives landing directly on top of the structure could pull off the operation.
What followed was the world’s first combat glider landing and perhaps one of the most daring raids in military history.
I don’t know who was worse: the French or the Belgians. You would think that, being so close to Germany, they would take military strategy at least somewhat seriously.
But to be fair, I don’t think historians will look kindly on U.S. military strategy (following World War II) either. We have the finest warriors on the planet. But none of that matters when they are led by agenda-driven politicians and commanders.
That was one of the most non tactical thinking Military Army I have heard of lately. Surely they must have known if they were that well built that somebody would need to get close to them during the night, Not having ANY guards or above ground bunkers or even booby traps cost them a lot of money and men.
I’m curious if the combat engineers were awarded a gold star on Glider Wings for the first Combat Glider assault.
RLTW