Quick pit stop visit to Fort Eben-Emael whilst driving back to Berlin…
On May 10th & 11th 1940, this Fort was attacked by an assault force of German Fallschirmjäger as part of “Fall Gelb” – the German invasion of Belgium, the Netherlands, and France.
The Fort is situated close to the Belgian-Dutch border and it sits at a key crossroads that the Germans needed to control to ensure the quick procession of forces into Belgium.
On the 10th of May, some paratroopers landed atop the fort via gliders, whilst others secured 3 bridges over the nearby Albertkanal. (One of those bridges can be seen in the final photo above).
The assault on the fortress lasted 2 days, and the fort was only finally subdued when elements of the German 18th army arrived and helped blast the defenders into submission.
The assault on the Fort was one of the few examples during the war when the Germans successfully utilised paratrooper units.
Today, the Fort hosts a museum detailing the events of May 1940 whilst also honouring the American soldiers who re-captured the Fort from the Germans in September 1944.
(This is a repost from Instagram from August 5th, 2024)