René "Bilbo" Bartholemy
The Eben-Emael museum is really quite interesting to visit. And very nearby, in Kanne, you have the old "secret" bunker where, in case of nuclear war, SHAPE would have been housed. Now, THAT's another diorama I'd like to see. By the way, some other fortresses around Liège are still around and can also be visited (Boncelles for instance).

Treehugger
I think I've learned that, although the German army moved around the Maginot line, Rommel moved through a very narrow passage with armored cars and some light tanks iirc, so apparently they somehow managed to blow up a part of the defensive line to push through. All these years I thought the Germans just, totally avoided the Maginot line.

René "Bilbo" Bartholemy
@Treehugger : The ring of fortresses around Liège (Belgium) has nothing to do with the Maginot Line (France). But, during both world wars, these fortifications managed to slow down the German advance through Belgium and thence to France (around the Maginot line during WWII). Other Belgian cities had similar fortifications, Antwerp being a good example. In both wars, the invader was forced to lay siege to at least some of the fortresses, usually bombarding them with big howitzers and, in the case of Eben-Emael, by parachuting or landing a glider on top of it and taking it by surprise.

Ingo Fuchs
That's right René; In Case of "Eben Emael" It was a little bit so, that the Germans "close the door" and the belgian Fortresstroops could'nt fight any more...
Over the Years I'd visited some of the belgium Fortresses and Museums. It's always a pleasure!
(It tooks only 30 Minutes from my home to the Border... ????)

Neuling
Thanks for showing and telling this story!

René "Bilbo" Bartholemy
@ Ingo : Aachen? Ich komme ursprünglich aus Köln, lebe aber seit mehr als 25 Jahren in Brüssel...

Ingo Fuchs
@René: Knapp daneben; Düren!

Alec K
Interesting project about one of the most daring operations