The Capture of Fort Eben-Emael (1940)

The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael took place in May 1940 during World War II when German forces launched an audacious assault on the formidable Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium. The fort was considered one of the strongest defensive positions along the eastern border of Belgium and was equipped with heavy artillery and extensive underground defenses.
The German plan to capture the fort involved a combination of surprise, innovative tactics, and the use of specialized glider-borne troops known as Fallschirmjäger. Under the command of Major Hans-Ulrich Rudel, the Germans aimed to neutralize the fort quickly and secure a crucial crossing point over the Meuse River.
On the morning of May 10, 1940, German gliders silently landed on top of the fort, bypassing its heavily fortified surface defenses. The Fallschirmjäger quickly overwhelmed the garrison by utilizing their training in close-quarters combat and neutralizing the fort's defenders.
The Germans employed several innovative tactics during the assault. They used hollow charges to destroy the fort's cupolas and observation domes, rendering its main armament useless. They also used magnetic mines to disable the fort's retractable steel doors and employed flamethrowers to clear out underground tunnels.
The battle lasted for approximately 30 hours, during which the German forces secured control of the fort and its surrounding area. The fall of Fort Eben-Emael had a significant impact on the defense of Belgium and the Western Front. It allowed the German army to cross the Meuse River relatively unopposed, a vital step in their invasion of France.
History Hustle presents: the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael (1940).
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SOURCES
- The Second World War (Antony Beevor).
- Dunkirk and the Fall of France (Geoffrey Stewart).
- Hitler's Blitzkrieg Enemies 1940. Denmark, Norway, Netherlands & Belgium (Nigel Thomas).
- The Blitzkrieg Legend. The 1940 Campaign in the West (Karl-Heinz Frieser).
- Storming Eagles. German Airborne Forces in World War II (James Lucas).
- fort-eben-emael.be/ (22-0-2023).
- www.historylearningsite.co.uk/... (22-0-2023).
IMAGES
Images from commons.wikimedia.org and from:
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VIDEO
Video material from:
• Video
Het Belgisch Leger Waakt 1938/39 (Belgian Army / L'Armée Belge)
• 1940 Blitzkrieg! Belgi...
1940 Blitzkrieg! Belgium and Fort Eben-Emael
• Fallschirmjäger stürm...
Fallschirmjäger stürmen Fort Eben Emael - Kampfgruppe Granit
• German attack on Eben ...
German attack on Eben Emael 1940 - Original footage
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[@HistoryHustle]

Battle of Leuven (1940): kzbin.info/www/bejne/bqerfIh-ls14lbMsi=kVMqilV_Uhtc0JlI Battle of the Lys (1940): kzbin.info/www/bejne/mIrVfIdtZpicfNEsi=BvN7cy_VF_sZJYse

[@blitzy3244]

No way, a KZbinr FINALLY covering this? I’m still shocked channels like Mark Felton, Kings and Generals, etc still haven’t made a video on this. Most likely because it makes the big man in Germany at the time look good since it was his idea to land on the fortress with gliders.

[@HistoryHustle]

Some smaller channels did cover it.

[@marijnvanbeers-ev7sc]

I heard that the Germans build a one to one scale fort in Stolberg to train the attacking soldiers! You tell that the Germans used "Depth charges" and "Primitive charges" but in fact it was the first time that "hollow charges" (50 Kg.) were used! PS: The "mock gliders" were new to me! Thanxx for the video!!!!!

[@theodorossarafis7370]

One of the best and innovative special forces opperations

[@Bradandchristinenj]

Excellent work, Stefan. Thank you for your passion for excellence in your Historical research and presentations. I’ve been inside Eben Emael, your teaching on this brings it together. An amazing operation. Dank u wel en tot ziens..

[@mammuchan8923]

Awesome video with some special effects. This is one of my favourite stories from WWII

[@BajanEnglishman51]

Just returned to you history hustle to say I haven't forgotten about you. KZbin just hasn't been recommending me your VIDEOS so I have to literally search you up

[@mohammedsaysrashid3587]

It was an informative and wonderful historical coverage video about German paratroopers capturing the Belgium 🇧🇪 Fortes in 1940...video clearly explained that military event. Thank you for an excellent ( History Hustle) channel and good luck and best wishes for an excellent history teacher, Sir Stefan

[@charlieclark5838]

A good account Stefan of an operation that would inspire many similar actions during WW2 using the shock value of airborne forces.

[@robertchubb5602]

Well covered and executed. I plan to visit sometime this year. Looking forward to it. Also...a fact is that all the main leaders were awarded Knights Crosses and the other ranks an Iron Cross 2nd or 1st Class apart from one fallchirmjager who was drunk and therefore disciplined and not awarded any decoration.

[@justanapple8510]

Informative video as always Stefan💪🏻

[@janzzen9095]

There is a nice detail to this event. The germans have been worried over the presence of anti personel mines on top of the fort. Spies and scout airplanes could not give a reliable solution. On one of the last air pictures taken an analist saw goats or sheep grazing on top of the Fort. That would not have been possible when the top of the fort was mined. A picture of some animals gave it all away.

[@rjansen6874]

It was soldiers playing football is the story i heard, the story with the priest..

[@westphalianstallion4293]

@@rjansen6874 The story I heard at the fort from experts was the football goals variation.

[@simongee8928]

Much has to be said about the German practise of Aufstragstaktic which ensured that every soldier knew how he fitted into the battle plan, what was expected of him and so could carry on regardless of the losses of officers and NCOs

[@dutchman7216]

Thank you again.

[@GideonStahl]

A well done video. Thought like some have said, the Fallschirmagers used hallow shaped charges. Having read about four books on this subject, including the Osprey Raid book you quoted at the end;it felt great to see the on location. Keep up the great work Stephen.

[@harcovanhees394]

Indeed small error of Stephan, not depth charges (see @8:14) but hollow shaped charges.

[@GoofyOldGuyPlays]

Informative as always, but really enjoyed the "re-enactments". Nice addition.

[@HistoryHustle]

😎👍

[@scottw5315]

Witzig was in the glider that suffered a broken tow rope. An NCO took over command and did a magnificent job. I think Witzig was flown in by a Storch later on the first day.

[@xvsj5833]

Excellent content Stefan ✌🏻🫶🏻

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks Jesse.

[@lachbullen8014]

The one thing I have been interested in for a while now is the forts in the Netherlands built in the 19th century I would love to see a video on that I would also love to see a video on museum ships in the Netherlands....

[@Piett_]

One interesting detail: the OKW was not sure if there were mines within in the forts borders. Then they made secretly photos of the fort with soldiers playing football. So obviously there were no mines. Landing with the Lastensegler were possible. The explosives used to destroy the domes were a new weapon called „Hohlladungen“.

[@kimwit1307]

I visited the place a few years ago. Impressive complex but clearly built for the previous war and not this one. One would think they would have taken the threat of airborne troops more serious after the invasion of Norway earlier that year. Even the dutch added extra protection to their airfields, if I remember correctly.

[@TimmieVD]

They knew about airborne attacks. In that case there would be a prior warning. In this case the Germans used glider planes. That was something that was never done before. By that they could bring all the weapons (like the hollow charge) with them.

[@kimwit1307]

@@TimmieVD I do think that having machine guns and some cannon covering the top of the fortress, where the gliders landed, would have made a lot of difference. It's pretty much how the dutch turned their airfields around The Hague into a graveyard for the german airborn troops and planes.

[@TimmieVD]

​@@kimwit1307 I think you missed my point: I'm not saying it would have made no difference. It would sure have. I'm just saying that an attack like on Eben-Emael (with gliders on a limited space) had never been done before. So the Belgian commanders didnt even know this was possible. That's why the MG bunkers on top were the last ones being manned on the morning of the 10th of may 1940. The base line: don't look at the facts of 80 years ago with the eyes of today.

[@kimwit1307]

@@TimmieVD 20 20 hindsight is always difficult

[@gumdeo]

An intriguing operation, worthy of study.

[@Mathguy363]

Thank you for covering this, my great grandpa was at this battle and got captured as a POW by the germans

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for your reply!

[@bigsarge2085]

Learned something new!

[@icecoffee1361]

Love the in location episodes, Belgium is a slightly bit closer than some of the places you’ve been 😅 happy new year Stefan 👍🏻

[@HistoryHustle]

🎆👍

[@coling3957]

Belgians made an awful lot of mistakes .. which the Germans capitalised on .. i was reading about this recently. Belgian troops guarding bridges were given contradictory orders. troops on one side of the bridge were issued with grenades, but not the detonators. the Belgian commander asked for a bomb-proof shelter for his HQ .. he was refused, and in the first minutes of German air attack, the commander and his staff were killed as a result.. the Fort itself was ill-equipped and garrisoned by low quality troops. when the Germans landed on the roof - guns that should have swept them off were not active, either not manned or not even installed in their positions. !! the Belgians ended up being trapped within their fortress, unable to harm the Germans either on the roof or coming over the bridges, which had been taken on day one. when a Belgian officer went out to parley with the Germans he was dismayed to see his troops , without orders, following him out with their hands up. the fortress fell.

[@snapdragon6601]

Interesting. I guess none of the allied countries were prepared for the fast paced maneuver warfare that the Germans were about to unleash on them in 1940, although they did get a preview in Sept '39 during the invasion of Poland.

[@bartb7790]

I was told during a tour of the fortress that the Belgian crew didnt have accurate maps of the roof of the fortress because that was regarded a secret.... Th Germmans had maps of the roof because of arial photograpy. The story also mentioned that the fortress was surrenderd after a explossion (set off by the Germans) resulted in a over pressure and smoke inside the fortress and the commander feared it was a gas attack and the gas filters failed.

[@TimmieVD]

The Germans have a word for this: Hineininterpretierung. Saying that the Belgians made mistakes is right, but (defending) armies always make mistakes. It's a war. The attacking side has the initiative and can choose where and how to attack. As a defender you can never predict all scenarios. That being said: the Fort of Eben-Emael was not ill-equipped at all. The fort was built in the 1930s to defend the gap of Visé, where the Germans crossed the Meuse-river in 1914. The fort had 12x75mm in 4 casemates, 2 turrets with 2x75mm guns each and a main turret with 2 120mm-guns. Those guns would be used to prevent the Germans from crossing the Meuse around Visé (to the south) or the Albert Canal to the north. There were only two machinegun bunkers on top of the fortress, but with the experience of the last world war, they were expected to be the last ones to see action (when the enemy was on top of the fortress, these bunkers were actually meant as a last ditch defense). Bear in mind that in 1940 there were no examples of glider landings. After the facts it's easy to say they should have done this or that, but again: that's called Hineininterpretierung. When on may 10th 1940 the fortress was attacked, the Germans blew up all the observations domes on top (with new and secret hollow charge weapons, that again no one knew they even existed). The Belgian soldiers saw the Germans running around on top, but thought they were safe under the thick steel. Most of the guns pointing in the direction of the Albert Canal bridges were also put out of action. After that, the fortress still resisted for 24 hours, but since they had almost no means of fighting back (and there was a lot of chaos/the connection with the outside world broke down), they gave up fighting on the 11th of may. As always: reality is far more complicated than the stories that are being told.

[@Gibbo81]

Great video!

[@CARL_093]

The fort was neutralized by glider-borne German troops (85 men) on 10-11 May 1940 during the Second World War. This was the first strategic airborne operation using paratroopers ever attempted in military history. The action cleared the way for German ground forces to enter Belgium, unhindered by fire from Eben-Emael.

[@theodorossarafis7370]

Basically it was air assault operation not airborne. Still one of the greatest operations

[@alfaromeo2011]

The history of the Belgium fortresses surrounding Liege is very divers and interesting. Neufchateau and Battice hold up the German attackers much longer and caused them much more casualties.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@michaelhemphill8575]

"Good to hear from you" Instructor"...."been awaiting..the newest "report" ...."Welcome back Aboard"...."for 2024"!!

[@HistoryHustle]

Many thanks. Best wishes for 2024!

[@tonnywildweasel8138]

Interesting vid on this daring raid 👍 Greets from Grun' 🇳🇱, TW.

[@jokodihaynes419]

Fallschirmjägers they were called the green devils by the allies

[@arminpp9681]

There are some inaccuracies. Witzig was a Lieutenant during this raid, a Colonel at the end of the war. Koch was a Major. Each glider team had two targets, a primary and the secondary only if another team had failed. The operation against Belgium and the Netherlands was a strategic deception in order to enable the surprise attack through the Ardenne mountains against France.

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@jokodihaynes419]

the Belgians put up quite the fight and fought to the bitter end

[@coling3957]

no they didnt ..

[@TimmieVD]

Yes they did. Hundreds of Belgian soldiers died on the 10th of may 1940 in the surroundings of the Eben-Emael fortress, while they tried to defend the bridges over the Albert Canal. In 18 days of fighting all in all 10.000 Belgians were killed. @@coling3957

[@gothfields]

I visited the fort five years ago. one of the tourist guide, an old artillery man from the belgian army. told us that the last working canon is aiming towards wallonia. I assume this was dark flemish humor.😅

[@HistoryHustle]

Guess so. Thanks for sharing.

[@talpark8796]

there's no such thing as an *''artificial'' trench* . it's simply a *moat* . tyvm for another upload 🍻🇨🇦😁

[@dvvws]

Mooi om weer te zien. (Je had mooi weer :-) )

[@HistoryHustle]

Mooie dag ja.

[@user-gc9ld1gn4l]

If you allow one correction: commander Witzig was a First Lieutenant, not a Colonel. With him arriving in the afternoon only, it left the detachment fighting without any officer on the lead for the significant part of the battle

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing.

[@gibraltersteamboatco888]

Very good.Thanks. BZ

[@HistoryHustle]

👍👍👍

[@patrickverlinden71]

Before they could unfold the plan they had to be sure there was no minefield on top of the fortress. So the Germans attached a spy cam on a commercial flight from Berlin to Paris. One day the recorded spy footache showed soldiers playing football on the fortress roof ...That's how they found out.

[@michelvondenhoff9673]

Toen ik er was (ong.10 jaar geleden) was het Fort gesloten en heb toen een wandeling rondom en boven op gedaan 😅

[@salsheikh4508]

Nice jacket

[@bernarddekesel4459]

Granpa was suplytrucker for thé fort

[@rjames3981]

Interesting 👌

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks.

[@Dani87178]

Nice : )

[@me67galaxylife]

while it's certainly a showing of good paratrooper planning and skill, it's even more a showing of belgians mistakes and the general malaise of belgium in the 30s

[@Adrian-ju7cm]

The fort was a big part of the invasion of Belgium in the history books

[@HistoryHustle]

Indeed.

[@JB-rt4mx]

Great Work🤓

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@stephanottawa7890]

I wonder what the origin of the name is? Does not sound very Flemish or French.

[@Kededian]

Is named after the 2 nearby villages. Eben and Emael.

[@stephanottawa7890]

Thanks, Mr. Kediedian for the quick answer.......@@Kededian

[@TheConfederate1863]

He means hollow charges instead of depth charges I think 😊

[@HistoryHustle]

Guess so.

[@christianvik3400]

The Germans did off cource not use depth charges(!) but new hollow charge bombs.

[@HistoryHustle]

I see.

[@nudaveritas6322]

The Detonation charges weight around 50 Kilo each.....................

[@HistoryHustle]

👍

[@jamesnell1999]

I think the Belgian commander of this for should have been court-martial. #1 The German gliders should have been shredded by AA guns but the AA guys were ordered away from their post while on "high alert" to tear down an administrative building. #2 The canister rounds that you would use to spray the top of the fort with death could not be found. Only armor piercing shells where available. #3 The big 120mm guns never fired once. Some one "misplaced THE firing pin". As if such guns only had one firing pin available. What army doesn't test their big guns to make sure they work?

[@jamesnell1999]

Fort Eben-Emael should have blown up the 3 bridges if their "surprised" guards didn't. Did they have to wait for German troops to be on Belgium soil to fight back? They were already in the Netherlands. There were a few Belgians who fought bravely that day and didn't wait until it was time to surrender. They kept firing those 60mm guns facing the canal for 24 hours doing significant damage. I salute them! My sources are Tim Saunders, "Fort Eben Emael" and James E. Mrazek, "The Fall of Eben Emael". If there is anything questionable about their work, please let me know. I understand that as a professional history teacher, it is not your role to judge soldiers and commanders. As an under credentialled history student, I have no such constraints.

[@jamesnell1999]

Perhaps this is the result when in the face of Hitler and the Nazis, your government changes policies and adopts an ostrich policy of stinking their collective heads in the sand or dreaming of being junior partners with Nazi Germany like Maxime Weygand and Léon Degrelle. Why should anyone try to hold a forward position far north of the Dyle Line? Unless you have highly motiativated units like the Ukrainian Azov Regiment, scrap it. Leopold III's surrender 13 days later denied history of a proper "after action" report. There is a strong case to be made, based on what really happened, this is not the way to fight any war. It should be studied at Coëtquidan, École royale militaire in Brussels, Sandhurst, and West Point.

[@TimmieVD]

You need to check your facts. The AA guys were not tasked with evacuating the administrative building. The crews of the MG-bunkers were tasked to do that (since no one knew a glider landing was possible, they were expected to be the last ones to see action). There were 4 AA-MG's on top of the fortress, but they were knocked out in the first seconds of the attack, by a glider that landed so close that it knocked over one of the MG's.

[@bobvanpeborgh6312]

As a Belgian, I cannot say we can be proud of this "Fort" that had cost millions of Belgian tax-payer money, only to be completely subdued in a matter of hours; and this due to none other than ourselves, or actually the ludicrous and incompetent military commander of the fort and due to "money-saving"orders, like the removal/replacing of several of the initial pieces of artillery to be used elsewhere than in the fort, the replacing of the initially combat-ready troops(also because they were deemed more useful elsewhere)with un-experienced, demoralised(due to the long periods inside the fort) drafted soldiers, who were supposed to be capable to hold this fort... BUT a crucial weakness of Eben-emael's commander was that he didn't make sure the 4 machine-gun nests, which were present on top on the roof and having been placed there especially to prevent what exactly happened in May(Belgian military intelligence had heard of airborne tactics, and on their advice, these defences were the last to be placed on the fort), would stay operational at all times... So what happened with them? Unfortunately, on that day, only half were manned and the other half didn't play a large role neither in the battle, one machine-gun immediately jammed(due to poor maintenance) and was abandoned, the other barely got time to release one salvo before it got put out of action by the Germans... And after the war, the commander of the fort had to defend the ultimate bad decision to, instead of organising his troops for a counter-attack(which was still doable in the early stages of the fight), gave no such order but instead gave the order to start BURNING sensitive files from the officers'desk, all while doing absolute nothing else, wasting time that would turn against the defenders... A sad page in the Belgian history-book it was...

[@HistoryHustle]

Thanks for sharing this.

[@marcoskehl]

Very nice location. It seens the channel is all around the world these days. 🚀 Plesase, more from Machu Picchu, if possible. Obrigado!, Stefan ヽ(͡◕ ͜ʖ ͡◕)ﾉ 🍀 🇧🇷

[@zillsburyy1]

belgian maginot line lol

[@HistoryHustle]

Sort of...

[@sergeipohkerova7211]

"The most daring thing the Germans did that day was go out in public with those dorky nerd helmets and dreadfully cut uniforms." -- Bitter French and Belgian people afterward 😂

[@Sturminfantrist]

Its not a Uniform its some Sort of Overall you wear over the Uniform, Fallschirmjägers called it the "Knochensack" (Bonebag) , the Helmet was a streamlined Version of the Wehrmacht helmet even the Bundeswehr Fallschirmjäger used it for a short time after the foundation of Bundeswehr and later the BGS special Kommado GSG 9

[@MrBagpipes]

Eban-Emael sounds like a cheese. 😁😂

[@peterlinz2733]

Das Fort galt als Uneinnehmbar.Ja,aber Uneinnehmbar gibt es nicht!

[@HistoryHustle]

Indeed.