Fort Eben-Emael - Description

Description

Fort Eben-Emael was a greatly enlarged development of the original Belgian fortifications designed by General Henri Alexis Brialmont before World War I. Even in its larger form, the fort comprised a relatively compact ensemble of gun turrets and observation posts, surrounded by a defended ditch. This was in contrast with French thinking for the contemporary Maginot Line fortifications, which were based on the dispersed fort palmé concept, with no clearly defined perimeter, a lesson learned from the experiences of French and Belgian forts in World War I. The new Belgian forts, while more conservative in design than the French ouvrages, included several new features as a result of World War I experience. The gun turrets were less closely grouped. Reinforced concrete was used in place of plain mass concrete, and its placement was done with greater care to avoid weak joints between pours. Ventilation was greatly improved, magazines were deeply buried and protected, and sanitary facilities and general living arrangements for the troops were given careful attention. Eben-Emael and Battice featured 120mm and 75mm guns, giving the fort the ability to bombard targets across a wide area of eastern Liège region.

Eben-Emael occupies a large hill just to the east of Eben-Emael village, bordering the Albert Canal. The irregularly-shaped fort is about 600 metres (2,000 ft) in the east-west dimension, and about 750 metres (2,460 ft) in the north-south dimension. The fort was more heavily armed than any other fort in the PFL I. In contrast to the other forts whose main weapons were in turrets, Eben-Emael's main weapons were divided between turrets and casemates.

• Block B.I, entrance block with two 60mm anti-tank guns and machine guns.
• Blocks B.II, B.IV and B.VI flanking casemates disposed around the perimeter ditch to take the ditch in enfilade with two 60mm guns and machine guns.
• Block B.V similar to II, IV and VI, with one 60mm gun.
• Cupola 120, one twin 120mm gun turret, with a range of 17,5 km. There were also three dummy 120mm turrets.
• Cupola Nord and Cupola Sud each had one retractable turret with two 75mm guns, with a range of 10,5 km.
• Visé I and II each house three 75mm guns, facing south.
• Maastricht I and II each house three 75mm guns, firing north in the direction of Maastricht.
• Canal Nord and Sud were twinned blocks housing 60mm guns and machine guns covering the canal. Sud was demolished when the canal was enlarged.
• Mi-Nord and Sud are machine gun blocks (mitrailleuses) in the main surface of the fort. They were crucial in defending the top of the fort.
• Block O1 overlooks the canal and guarded the locks of Lanaye. It housed a 60mm gun and machine guns.

Underground galleries extend over 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) beneath the hill, connecting the combat blocks and serving the underground barracks, power plant, ammunition magazines and other spaces. Fresh air was obtained from intake vents over the canal.