History Boy recommends: EBEN EMAEL
Amile from the village is the gigantic Eben Emael Fortress; a warren of deep tunnels, concrete embrasures and mystery, almost entirely underground but in the 1930s, the lynchpin of Belgium’s national defence.
The Belgians had two immense water obstacles thwarting any thrust from the east, the Albert Canal (amongst Europe’s widest navigations) and the Meuse. In an era soon to be characterised by agile armoured assaults, massive water obstacles were gold dust to the defender. This was a time before high speed temporary bridging kits (like the MGB used by
