Fort Eben Emael: The key to Hitler’s victory in the West PDF

Simon Dunstan ist ein etablierter Autor, Filmemacher und Fotograf und hat mehr als 50 Bücher über Militärgeschichte geschrieben, insbesondere über den Zweiten Weltkrieg und Vietnam. Er hat auch zahlreiche Dokumentationen zur Militärgeschichte für den History Channel geschrieben und inszeniert.

Fort Eben Emael: The key to Hitler’s victory in the West pdf von Simon Dunstan

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.