Eben-Emael was a Belgian fortress in between Liège and Maastricht, near the Albertcanal, defending the Belgian-German border. Constructed in 1931-1935, it was reputed to be impregnable. But on the 10th of May 1940, 85 German parachute troopers landed in the fortress with gliders (type DFS 230). One day later, they were reinforced by the German 151st Infantry Regiment. At 1330h on the 11th of May, the fortress surrendered. 1200 Belgian soldiers were captured.

Eben-Emael, a diamond-shaped fort, was Belgium's hope to defend the eastern side from invasion, charged with defending or destroying three key bridges. It also gave protection to the south what was called the Gap of Vise. Although conceived in the latter 19th century, the fort was not completed until 1935. With its steel and concrete cupolas, Fort Eben-Emael was thought to be impenetrable. However, Adolf Hitler himself conceived of a plan to take over the fort by getting men on the fort by using gliders (it would have been difficult and messy to parachute a large number of men into the small area) and utilizing top secret new "hollow charge" (also called "shaped charge") bombs to penetrate the cupolas.

Good espionage and superior planning, combined with bad luck and unpreparedness on the Belgian side, helped make the May 10, 1940 execution of Hitler's top secret plan a swift and overwhelming success. The capture of Eben-Emael involved the first utilization of gliders led by First Lieutenant Witzig, to lead an attack and also the first use of hollow charge bombs in war. Belgian soldiers did succeed in destroying one of the key bridges, thus preventing it from being used by the Germans. Later, the British would use gliders to capture the Pegasus Bridge in the first and key attack of D-Day.

Fort Eben-Emael is now open for the public to visit.

External links

• A great page on Eben-Emael
• Fort Eben-Emael Official website
• Some pictures taken at Eben-Emael
• Brief timeline of Eben-Emael
• Site with photos of Eben-Emael, along with other forts