Detailed Account of Belgian Defense: Day 1
Initial Alert and Actions
Alright then… First article for this page in 9 months!
10th of May 1940. Germany invades Belgium. Wehrmacht units come into contact with the Fortified Position of Liege which counts 3 modern fortresses, 6 modernised WWI era forts and 362 bunkers.
This defensive line will hold cohesively, without support and against overwhelming odds for 7 days. One fort will hold out for 11 days, one for 12 days and one will keep on fighting for 19 days, which is remarkable considering that the Belgian campaign only lasted 18 days!
Over the next 12 days, we will go through Aubin fortress’ captain’s log. He kept detailed records of all the events his fort and his garrison went through during the 11 days siege of the Aubin-Neufchateau fort.
Fortifications and Initial Engagement
BI = B1 or Bloc 1. Armed with a twin 75mm gun turret and two machine gun cupolas.
BII = B2 or Bloc 2. Armed with a twin 75mm gun turret and two machine gun cupolas.
BIII = B3 or Bloc 3. Peacetime entrance. Armed with 3 machine gun cupolas and a machine gun in casemate.
BO = Bloc O. Air intake and observation bloc.
BM = Mortar Bloc. Armed with three 81mm mortars and an observation cupola.
BP = Bloc P. Wartime entrance and auxiliary air intake. Two observation cupolas and a machine gun casemate.
CI = C1 or Coffer 1. Protects the moat. Armed with a 47mm AT gun and a machine gun.
CII = C2 or Coffer 2. Protects the moat. Armed with two 47mm AT guns and two machine guns.
CIII = C3, Coffer 3 or Anti-Tank Bloc. Armed with two 47mm AT guns in cupolas.
Chronological Log of the First Day
Day 1: Friday 10th of May 1940
0.50 Radio message received – “Alfred”-
The duty officer opens the safe and unseals the envelope inside. “Alfred”. The message is authenticated. Belgium is at war. The officers call the Fleron and Eben-Emael Fortresses. They confirm having received the same message.
0.52 Garrison woken up and put on war footing.
0.57 Observation posts called and put on alert.
1.00: Garrison starts evacuating the peacetime barracks situated on the surface and makes its way inside of the fort. From now on, those men will sleep 37 metres underground inside the fort’s wartime barracks.
2.32 Radio room receives the alert signal from area commander. Men ordered to man their battle stations.
4.10 Bunker O-363 signals German aviation over Holland (The Netherlands) and reports hearing artillery.
4.18 Bunker O-363 signals bombers flying over Holland.
4.19 An unidentified plane is spotted flying over the fort.
4.30 Bunker O-363 reports hearing heavy fighting near Maastricht. Red flares seen over Eben-Emael fortress. Request permission to send a patrol. Authorisation granted.
4.40 Planes seen over Eben-Emael fortress. More red flares.
4.52 German planes fly over the fort. The fort’s AA guns open fire. A Stuka is shot down.
5.06 Bunker O-281 (MN11) reports numerous planes crossing the border between Germany and Belgium.
5.11 Bunker O-281 and O-363 report many planes crossing into Belgian airspace from Holland.
5.18 Bunker O-363 reports firefight at the border between Belgian and German troops.
At 5.20 Belgian troops start destroying bridges and create obstructions to slow down the invading Germans.
Combat Engagements and Strategic Moves
5.30 Area commander instructs the fort to start firing at strategic locations within its area of operation to help with pre-planned destructions.
5.31 Order for one of the gun turrets to engage enemy sighted near the village of Beusdael and to fire on the Teuven bridge to destroy it.
5.37 Outside peacetime barracks set on fire. Houses that are around the fort and could obstruct the fort’s field of fire or shelter enemy troops are evacuated and destroyed with explosives.
6.56 Enemy spotted at Hombourg, one gun turret instructed to fire 50 rounds of 75mm on that objective.
9.00 German troops spotted at Aubel. They are getting close.
9.30 Belgian troops detonate the Val Dieu bridge. A patrol leaves the fort to try and locate the whereabouts of German troops in the area.
9.45 Germans spotted at Aubel train station. Commandant orders 60 rounds of 75mm fired on that objective.
10.05 Electricity cut off in the area.
(Not a problem for the fort which has its own generators)
Afternoon and Evening Skirmishes
10.24 German column spotted at the Merkhof crossroad. Commandant orders 50 rounds of 75 to be fired on the objective. Coordinates transmitted to Barchon fort so it can also engage the objective with its 105mm and 150mm guns. Observation post O-363 near Fouron has been discovered by the enemy. The crew evacuates.
12.15 Bunker O-281 no longer answers the phone.
12.25 Order given to fire 25 rounds of 75 on O-363 occupied by the Germans.
12.37 Germans spotted running out of O-363 observation post which they were occupying. Fort fires another 10 rounds of 75mm.
13.15 Ammunition loader of gun turret B1 jammed. Engineers are working on it.
13.20 Patrol signals German infantry digging in on Aubel market place. Confirmed by Observation post O-380 which communicates coordinates. 25 rounds of shrapnel are fired on that objective.
13.26 Patrol by volunteers wearing civilian clothes is organised. They have orders to come back to the fort once night has fallen.
(Only volunteers were sent out of the fort in civilian clothes carrying fake ID. If caught by the Germans, they were liable to be summarily executed as spies).
13.35 German troops back in O-363 observation post.
Ten rounds of 75mm are fired on that position, the Germans abandon it again.
13.55 Area commander requests 25 rounds be fired on an objective near Aubel. More patrols are sent out to locate the enemy whereabouts.
15.47 Enemy spotted by a patrol near the Snowenberg farm; they seem to be working on setting up an outpost there. 25 rounds of 75mm are fired on that objective.
16.42 Enemy spotted at the Fouron post office. Mortar bloc ordered to fire 50 X 81mm bombs on the objective.
16.44 Area commander communicates coordinates for a German artillery battery being set up near the Dutch border. OP-201 confirms. At 16.53 the fort opens fire on the coordinates of the German artillery battery. OP-201 reports the 7th shell lands in the middle of the battery. So does the following one. German artillerymen spotted running away, abandoning their destroyed canons behind them.
17.00 German convoy spotted near the Magis castle. 25 rounds are fired on that crossroad. Convoy spotted doing a U-turn and retreating.
17.30 MN18 reports being under fire from the enemy, they have been spotted.
18.12 Order received by area commander to fire 20 rounds an hour on two important local crossroads all night long to dissuade the Germans from using them.
18.37 The crew from La Heydt Observation Post arrives at the fort. They had to fight their way out of their position and abandon it in order to avoid being surrounded.
18.47 Bunker OP-296 signals only one man has come back from the patrol they sent out. The Belgian patrol bumped into a German one; a firefight erupted. No news as to what happened to the other members of the patrol.
18.52 Enemy spotted crawling 200 metres from the fort! Gun Turret B2 opens fire with grapeshots. B2 machine gun cupola opens fire also, as does the observation cupola from Bloc P (wartime entrance). Request is sent to Barchon fortress for covering fire around the fort with its 105mm and 150mm guns.
19.15 A patrol comes back to the fort. They lost 3 men to a firefight with German soldiers.
19.40 Anti-tank bloc (C3) ordered to target a house at the bottom of the street where German soldiers seem to be. 25 rounds of 47mm are fired on that objective.
20.00 Enemy artillery battery spotted near Appleboom. 50 rounds at a high rate of fire are ordered on that objective.
(The 75mm cannons inside the gun turrets had a rate of fire of 12 rounds per minute. It was possible for a short period to fire at a faster rate. The guns could be water-cooled to that effect).
20.18 Germans spotted in the cemetery just in front of the fort.
20.19 Spotters still on the fort’s roof are ordered to get back inside.
20.21 Order to fire shrapnel at the 3 chimneys crossroad where enemy infantry has been spotted (200 metres from the fort).
20.28 MN18 calls for help; it is surrounded and engaged by the enemy. Order to fire 50 rounds of 75mm around the bunker at a high rate of fire.
20.36 Mortar bloc fires 25 bombs at the 3 chimneys crossroad as B1 bloc reports its machine gun cupolas are being fired upon from that position.
20.43 Gun turrets ordered to fire shrapnel at the 3 chimneys crossroad. Whatever was opening fire on Bloc B1 machine gun cupolas no longer does so.
21.12 A patrol comes back to the fort. The sentry at Bloc P opens fire when he requests the password but the patrol does not answer. It is a tragic accident. One member of the patrol is killed, the other one is wounded and sent to the hospital in the underground barracks.
21.30 Enemy is setting up camp at the Magis castle. Both gun turrets ordered to fire 50 rounds on those coordinates at a maximum rate of fire.
22.30 Urgent request arrives to fire at the Warsage bridge. 40 rounds of 75mm are fired toward that objective. Mortar bloc ordered to fire 10 bombs around the fort’s AA battery (situated outside the moat) to secure it, 10 rounds around Bloc P (wartime entrance), and 10 rounds in the cemetery in front of the fort.
23.08 German machine gun team spotted near a decoy (fake machine gun turret in a field opposite the fort). Engaged and neutralised by mortar bloc.
23.20 Mortar bloc ordered to fire around the decoy. One of the gun turrets is ordered to fire on the ruins of the peacetime barracks.
See you tomorrow for day 2!
-RBM.