Eben Emael And The Defence Of Fortress Belgium 1940

Author : Clayton Donnell
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 1526779838
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.30/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Eben-Emael & the Defence of Fortress Belgium, 1940 written by Clayton Donnell and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-11-24 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early morning of 10 May 1940, the sky literally fell on the heads of the defenders of Fort Eben-Emael, considered to be Belgium's most powerful fortress. This huge structure, with its powerful artillery and infantry weapons, was the key to the Meuse and Albert Canal defences. In the darkness of the pre-dawn, German DFS 230 gliders drifted silently over the southern Netherlands, landing one by one on top of Eben-Emael. Within minutes German Special Forces troops destroyed most of the fort’s weapons and observation capabilities. The following day, the garrison surrendered, and the door to Belgium and France was open. But, as Clayton Donnell relates in this perceptive and meticulously researched study, Eben-Emael was only one of the nineteen forts of the fortified positions of Liège and Namur attacked in May 1940. Three new and sixteen refurbished forts held out for several days, and fought to the death. The story he tells contradicts the common assumption that these static defences were rolled over or bypassed –powerless to resist the overwhelming force of the German combat engineer’s assaults, Stuka bombs and heavy artillery shells. In vivid detail he demonstrates that their importance in the 1940 campaign has been seriously under reported, and he gives clarity to some of the legends that have grown up around the capture of Eben-Emael itself.

Author : Chris McNab
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780962622
Total Pages : 82 pages
Book Rating : 4.27/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Fall of Eben Emael written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In early May 1940, the fortress of Eben Emael was a potent sentinel over the Belgian–Dutch borderlands. The fortress covered 75 hectares on the surface, had 5km of tunnels underground and was studded with bunkers, gun turrets and casemates. Add a garrison of 1,200 men and the natural protection of 60m-high canal walls, and Eben Emael gave the impression of near-impregnability. Yet on 10 May just 78 elite airborne soldiers managed to defeat this fortress in an operation of unprecedented tactical skill. Deployed by glider onto the very top of the fortifications, they utilized elite training, fast movement and specialist explosives to destroy many of the gun positions and trap much of the garrison within the fortress. Simultaneously, three other assault detachments conducted high-risk glider operations to capture critical bridges over the Albert Canal. By the end of 11 May, following the arrival of German infantry reinforcements, Eben Emael was in German hands. This Eben Emael RAID title tells the complete, fascinating story of this unique action.

Author : James E. Mrazek
Publisher : Presidio Press
ISBN 13 : 9780891414063
Total Pages : 214 pages
Book Rating : 4.61/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Fall of Eben Emael written by James E. Mrazek and published by Presidio Press. This book was released on 1991 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Designed to delay a German invasion long enough for Belgium and France to mobilize their defending forces, Eben Emael was the linch-pin upon which rested the vaunted Maginot Line. The fortress fell to a seventy-seven-man force of glider-borne German paratroops in barely more than a day (twenty-eight hours). The daring aerial assault on Eben Emael is one of the most spectacularly successful special operations in history. Book jacket.

Author : Chris McNab
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1780962630
Total Pages : 166 pages
Book Rating : 4.34/5 ( download)

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Download or read book The Fall of Eben Emael written by Chris McNab and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2013-02-20 with total page 166 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In early May 1940, the fortress of Eben Emael was a potent sentinel over the Belgian–Dutch borderlands. The fortress covered 75 hectares on the surface, had 5km of tunnels underground and was studded with bunkers, gun turrets and casemates. Add a garrison of 1,200 men and the natural protection of 60m-high canal walls, and Eben Emael gave the impression of near-impregnability. Yet on 10 May just 78 elite airborne soldiers managed to defeat this fortress in an operation of unprecedented tactical skill. Deployed by glider onto the very top of the fortifications, they utilized elite training, fast movement and specialist explosives to destroy many of the gun positions and trap much of the garrison within the fortress. Simultaneously, three other assault detachments conducted high-risk glider operations to capture critical bridges over the Albert Canal. By the end of 11 May, following the arrival of German infantry reinforcements, Eben Emael was in German hands. This Eben Emael RAID title tells the complete, fascinating story of this unique action.

Author : Clayton Donnell
Publisher : Pen and Sword Military
ISBN 13 : 1526779854
Total Pages : 274 pages
Book Rating : 4.54/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Eben-Emael and the Defence of Fortress Belgium, 1940 written by Clayton Donnell and published by Pen and Sword Military. This book was released on 2021-12-30 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the early morning of 10 May 1940, the sky literally fell on the heads of the defenders of Fort Eben-Emael, considered to be Belgium's most powerful fortress. This huge structure, with its powerful artillery and infantry weapons, was the key to the Meuse and Albert Canal defences. In the darkness of the pre-dawn, German DFS 230 gliders drifted silently over the southern Netherlands, landing one by one on top of Eben-Emael. Within minutes German Special Forces troops destroyed most of the fort’s weapons and observation capabilities. The following day, the garrison surrendered, and the door to Belgium and France was open. But, as Clayton Donnell relates in this perceptive and meticulously researched study, Eben-Emael was only one of the nineteen forts of the fortified positions of Liège and Namur attacked in May 1940. Three new and sixteen refurbished forts held out for several days, and fought to the death. The story he tells contradicts the common assumption that these static defences were rolled over or bypassed –powerless to resist the overwhelming force of the German combat engineer’s assaults, Stuka bombs and heavy artillery shells. In vivid detail he demonstrates that their importance in the 1940 campaign has been seriously under reported, and he gives clarity to some of the legends that have grown up around the capture of Eben-Emael itself.

Author : Simon Dunstan
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1782006923
Total Pages : 188 pages
Book Rating : 4.23/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Fort Eben Emael written by Simon Dunstan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 188 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the outbreak of World War II, Fort Eben Emael in Belgium was the strongest fortress in the world, and it lay exactly across the German invasion route of Belgium and France. The fort's elimination was essential for the success of Hitler's invasion of the West. Deemed impregnable to conventional attack, Hitler himself suggested the means for its capture with the first glider-borne assault in military history. On 10 May 1940, ten gliders carrying just 77 paratroopers landed on top of the fort. Using top-secret hollow-charge weapons for the first time in warfare, the assault pioneers of Sturmgruppe Granit subdued Fort Eben Emael within just 30 minutes, and the fortress surrendered within 30 hours. It remains one of the greatest raids in the annals of Special Forces.

Author : Tim Saunders
Publisher : Casemate Publishers
ISBN 13 : 1844152553
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.51/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Fort Eben Emael written by Tim Saunders and published by Casemate Publishers. This book was released on 2005-01-01 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The seizure of the Belgian fortress stronghold at Eban Emael by German Airborne and Special Forces was the dramatic opening shot in the Nazis' devastating May 1940 offensive. Codenamed Operation GRANITE, it involved glider forces in a daring 'coup de main' operation achieving total surprise and success. The simultaneous assaults on key bridges on the Albert Canal are also described in graphic detail.

Author : Jean-Michel Veranneman
Publisher : Pen and Sword
ISBN 13 : 1783376074
Total Pages : 241 pages
Book Rating : 4.70/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Belgium in the Second World War written by Jean-Michel Veranneman and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2014-09-30 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the Nazis invaded neutral Belgium in May 1940, defeat and occupation were inevitable but Belgian armed forces held out against a vastly superior enemy for 18 days. The elected Government went into exile in London but King Leopold III controversially remained with his people as a prisoner.??As described in this authoritative book, Belgians continued the fight both outside and inside their country. There were eventually two complete Belgian RAF squadrons. The Colonial Army defeated the Italians in East Africa and the Belgian Brigade fought from Normandy to Germany.??The Belgian Resistance organized escape routes, sabotaged their occupiers' activities and spied for the Allies. 17,000 died or were executed and a further 27,000 survived detention. Meanwhile others collaborated and fought for the Nazis and large numbers were tried post-war for war crimes and treason.??About half the Jews in Belgium in 1940 died in the Holocaust and there are many stirring stories of courage, as well as tragic ones.??This is an overdue and honest account of one Nation's very varied experiences during five years of Nazi occupation and oppression.

Author : Simon Dunstan
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN 13 : 1849080291
Total Pages : 66 pages
Book Rating : 4.93/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Fort Eben Emael written by Simon Dunstan and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-11-20 with total page 66 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: At the outbreak of World War II, Fort Eben Emael in Belgium was the strongest fortress in the world, and it lay exactly across the German invasion route of Belgium and France. The fort's elimination was essential for the success of Hitler's invasion of the West. Deemed impregnable to conventional attack, Hitler himself suggested the means for its capture with the first glider-borne assault in military history. On 10 May 1940, ten gliders carrying just 77 paratroopers landed on top of the fort. Using top-secret hollow-charge weapons for the first time in warfare, the assault pioneers of Sturmgruppe Granit subdued Fort Eben Emael within just 30 minutes, and the fortress surrendered within 30 hours. It remains one of the greatest raids in the annals of Special Forces.

Author : Jonathan A. Epstein
Publisher : BRILL
ISBN 13 : 9004269738
Total Pages : 300 pages
Book Rating : 4.36/5 ( download)

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Download or read book Belgium's Dilemma written by Jonathan A. Epstein and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2014-03-27 with total page 300 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Belgium’s Dilemma: The Formation of Belgian Defense Policy, 1932-1940, Jonathan Andrew Epstein presents, for the first time in English, a detailed examination of the formation of Belgian defense policy in the eight years leading up to the crucial World War II Blitzkrieg campaign in Western Europe. Belgium’s decision to renounce military ties with France in 1936 has been widely criticized as a fatal mistake but it was in fact a reasonable response to Belgium’s situation and was not a significant factor in the Allied defeat. Drawing on Belgian documents, Jonathan Andrew Epstein looks at the leaders and issues that shaped the Belgian army of 1940 and demonstrates that while mistakes were made, most of the decisions were sound.