Blitzkrieg in the West. 80 years ago, on May 28, 1940, Belgium surrendered. Belgian society, feeling completely safe behind the wall of "impregnable" fortifications and counting on help from England and France, was greatly mistaken. In Belgium, they expected a positional war in the image of the First World War, but received a psychological and lightning war.
Belgium's readiness for war
Belgium was officially a neutral country. However, Germany was considered a potential enemy, and France and England were allies. The Belgian military transmitted to the French information on the country's defensive policy, on the movement of troops, fortifications and communications. The Belgians had strong fortifications on the border with Holland and Germany. After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the Belgian authorities began to modernize the old and create new fortifications on the border. The fortifications in Namur and Liege were being renovated, great hopes were pinned on the Eben-Emal fort (built in 1932-1935) on the Belgian-Dutch border. The fort was supposed to prevent the breakthrough of the Germans into Belgium through the southern Netherlands. Eben-Emal was considered the largest and impregnable fortress in Europe, controlled the most important bridges across the Albert Canal, located north of the fort. Also, the Belgians erected new lines of fortifications along the Maastricht canal - Bois-le-duc, the canal connecting the Meuse and Scheldt rivers, and the Albert Canal.
The Belgians planned to defend the fortifications along the Albert Canal and the Meuse, from Antwerp to Liège and Namur, until the arrival of the Allies on the Diehl Line. Then the Belgian army withdrew to the second line of defense: Antwerp - Dil - Namur. The allies accepted the Dil plan. According to this plan, while the Belgians are fighting back on the forward fortifications, the allied troops were to arrive at the Dil line (or the KV line), which ran from Antwerp along the river. Dil and Dil canal, then through Louvain, Wavre to the fortified area of Namur. The Diehl plan made it possible to reduce the distance and time of the transfer of the Anglo-French forces to help the Belgians, to reduce the front in central Belgium, freeing up some of the troops for a reserve, to cover part of the center and the east of the country.
The problem was that the plan was based on the enemy's main attack in central Belgium. If the Germans struck the main blow to the south (which happened), then the allies would be under the threat of flanking and encirclement. Belgian intelligence suspected that the Germans would launch a major invasion through the Belgian Ardennes and break through to the sea in the Calais region to block the enemy group in Belgium. The Belgian command notified the high allied command of this. But their warning was ignored (as well as other "bells").
By the beginning of the war, Belgium mobilized 5 army, 2 reserve and one cavalry corps - 18 infantry, 2 divisions of the Arden Jaegers - mechanized units, 2 cavalry motorized divisions, one motorized brigade and one brigade of border guards. Plus artillery and anti-aircraft units, fortress garrisons and other units. A total of 22 divisions, about 600 thousand people, in the reserve - 900 thousand. In addition, there was a fleet, three naval divisions defended the coast. The army was armed with over 1330 guns, a small number of modern French tanks (there were only 10 AMC 35 tanks). The main combat unit of armored formations was the T-13 anti-tank self-propelled gun, the T-13 of modifications B1 / B2 / B3 was 200; there were also several dozen T-15 tankettes, they were armed with machine guns. Aviation had about 250 combat aircraft (including light and transport aircraft - over 370). The fleet renewal has just begun. Thus, in general, the Belgian army consisted of infantry units and hoped for strong fortifications, natural obstacles (canals, rivers, the Ardennes forest). The army lacked tanks, anti-aircraft artillery and modern aircraft.
Allied forces
Immediately after the start of the war, the Belgian army was to be supported by the numerous and well-armed forces of the allies - the 1st, 2nd, 7th and 9th French armies, the British Expeditionary Army (about 40 - 45 divisions in total). The 7th French army was supposed to cover the northern flank, move its mobile formations (1st light mechanized division, 2 infantry motorized divisions) to Holland, to the Breda area, and provide assistance to the Dutch army. British corps (10 divisions, 1,280 artillery pieces and 310 tanks) were to cover the Ghent-Brussels area. The central part of Belgium was occupied by the 1st French army (it included the 2nd and 3rd light mechanized divisions). On the southern flank of the Allies was the 9th French Army (there was only one motorized division in the army). The troops of the 9th Army were located south of the river. Sambre, north of Sedan. The 2nd French Army defended the Franco-Belgian border between Sedan and Montmedy and the northern flank of the Maginot Line on the Belgian-Luxembourgish border.
That is, the two weakest French armies covered the area where the Nazis delivered the main blow and concentrated a powerful armored fist. Here were located the French reserve divisions of the first and second order. They did not have mobile formations, anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons to repel attacks by tanks and aircraft. Therefore, the 9th and 2nd armies had no chance of stopping the German breakthrough. The most combat-ready and mobile formations of the allies were located between Namur and the coast, and could not prevent the breakthrough of the German strike group.
“The situation could have developed completely differently,” the former Hitlerite general and military historian K. Tippelskirch noted after the war, “if the French command, leaving its troops west of the Maginot line at the French-Belgian border with its powerful field fortifications, would have entrusted, in spite of all political considerations, the Belgians and the Dutch to prevent the advance of the German armies and would keep the main forces of their mobile troops in reserve behind the front line. The German generals feared this decision most of all. Therefore, the news of the entry of three armies of the left wing of the Allies (1st and 7th French, British expeditionary) in Belgium caused great joy in the German camp.
Shock Eben-Enamel
In Belgium, the Germans dispensed with the threat of air terror. Belgium, like Holland, was defeated by a wave of fear. Here the Germans also successfully used special forces. On May 5-8, 1940, the Abwehr sent special forces unit Brandenburg-800 to reconnoitre the border fortifications of Belgium and Luxembourg. The commandos were disguised as tourists. They drove along the line of a travel agency and photographed the enemy fortifications.
Already on the first day of the war, May 10, 1940, the Nazis won an amazing victory in Belgium. They took the Eben-Emael (Eben-Emael) fort, which was considered impregnable. Thus, they plunged Belgium into shock and awe. The Germans took the fortress with a landing party from gliders! At that time, it seemed like a miracle that paralyzed the will of the Belgians to resist.
The fort was the foremost achievement of military engineers at the time. The fortress stood 10 kilometers south of the Dutch Maastricht and northeast of Liege. To the south, the Albert Canal stretched to Liege - a serious water barrier that had to be crossed in order to attack the capital of the country, Brussels. The banks are steep, there are reinforced concrete pillboxes along the river (every 500-600 meters). The canal covers the old fortress of Liege, the center of the entire fortified area. Fort Eben-Enamel is the northern nodal point of this fortified area. He covered the most important bridges across the Albert Canal, which were prepared for the explosion. It was impossible to restore the bridges under the fire of the fortress artillery. Also, the fort's artillery could fire at the railway junction and bridges in the Dutch Maastricht itself.
The fortress was located on a hilly plateau, it was a fortified area measuring 900 by 700 meters. From the northeast, the stronghold was covered by a 40-meter precipice adjacent to the canal. From the northwest and south - a moat. The fort was considered impregnable and had to drown any attack in blood. The fort was armed with several dozen guns and machine guns in casemates and rotating armored towers: 75 and 120 mm guns (with their help it was possible to fire at distant targets), 47 and 60 mm anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft, heavy and light machine guns. All firing points were connected by underground galleries. Plus observation posts, anti-tank ditches, searchlights and underground structures. The garrison numbered over 1200 people, but the fort had about 600 people, the rest were in reserve outside the fortress.
The Belgians took into account the experience of the First World War, when the fortifications died under the blows of powerful artillery. For construction, reinforced concrete was used instead of conventional concrete. The cannon casemates were hidden deep in the plateau, which made them invulnerable even to 420 mm siege weapons. Dive bombers and tanks were powerless against casemates on the slopes (the Germans did not have heavy tanks at that time). The Belgians could easily have shot the German tanks from the available guns. In addition, Eben-Enamel could cover the neighboring forts - Pontiss and Brachon.
Thus, in order to invade Belgium, the Nazis had to take Eben-Emal. By all accounts, the Nazis would have had to spend two weeks on this. The fort was supposed to hold down two divisions. The Germans needed to bring up siege artillery and a strong air group. In the meantime, the Germans get bogged down at the walls of the fortress, the French and British divisions will approach, they will strengthen the Belgian army with a second echelon and reserves. Belgium will stand, the war will take on a protracted nature, fatal for the Reich. Therefore, under the protection of Eben-Enamel and other fortifications, the Belgians felt quite confident.
The shock of the Belgians was all the stronger when the Nazis took the fort on the very first day of the war. On May 10, 1940, 78 paratroopers of the 7th Air Division (Koch's assault detachment) landed on the fort with the help of gliders. This attack came as a complete surprise to the Belgian garrison. With the help of explosives and flamethrowers, the Nazis destroyed part of the fortifications. The garrison settled in shelters and did not dare to counterattack. When reinforcements approached the German paratroopers, the Belgians surrendered.
Hitler's mental strategy
It is worth noting that Hitler personally came up with the plan of capture. He rejected the traditional methods of fighting fortresses. There was no time for this. The Fuhrer came up with an original solution. I decided to attack with cargo gliders. They silently descended on the fortifications, landed a strike group, which was armed with the newly appeared shaped charges, in order to crush the armored caps of the fort with directed explosions. The plan was fantastic, any mistake could lead to failure, and therefore terrified military professionals. However, it worked. The Germans conducted a detailed reconnaissance of the enemy fortifications, from the end of 1939 they began training a small group of paratroopers who worked out the landing and assault on the model.
The Belgians knew about the parachute and landing troops in Norway and Belgium, they were ready for them. But they were waiting for the appearance over the fortress and bridges of whole squadrons of "Junkers" with hundreds of paratroopers. They prepared to shoot down planes and shoot the paratroopers in the air, to hunt the surviving paratroopers on the ground until they gathered in groups and found containers with weapons and ammunition. Instead, silent gliders appeared over Eben Enamel and landed directly on the fort. A handful of special forces courageously rushed to undermine the fortifications. The garrison was stunned and demoralized.
In addition, the Nazis were able, with the help of reconnaissance, to find the headquarters in the vicinity of the fort, from where the order to blow up the bridges across the Albert Canal was to come. Several dive bombers Ju-87 (the crews trained hard beforehand) on May 10 made a pinpoint strike and destroyed the headquarters. The order to blow up the bridges by wire communication did not go through. The order was sent with a messenger, as a result, they were late and only one bridge was destroyed. At the same time, German aviation struck the fortifications around the fort and surrounding villages, the Eben-Emal garrison disappeared underground and missed the moment of the attack. On the evening of May 10, the Germans were already bombing Antwerp. Within a few days, the German Air Force gained dominance in the skies of Belgium.
On the same day, German special forces destroy the Belgian communications center in Stavlo, disorganizing the administration in the southeast of the country. Also on May 10, the Nazis were able to organize an uprising in the Eupen border region. From a military point of view, the operation did not mean anything, but it had a great psychological effect. After the First World War, two border regions, Eupen and Malmedy, were cut off from Germany, giving them to Belgium. Organizations of German nationalists have been operating there since the 1920s. Already under Hitler, a nucleus of Nazis arose, who disguised themselves as a hang-gliding club. When the Third Reich launched the Belgian campaign, veterans and young Nazis revolted. This created the effect of a powerful "fifth column" performance in the country.
Thus, Hitler dealt several powerful psychological blows to Belgium at once. The new methods of warfare of the Reich plunged Belgian society into shock and prostration. Simultaneous operation of gliders with paratroopers, an almost instant fall of the "impregnable" fortress, which was supposed to stop the German army for a long time; pinpoint strikes by the Luftwaffe; the alleged large-scale uprising of the "fifth column" and the actions of saboteurs demoralized the Belgians. Plus the broad offensive of the Wehrmacht and the rapid fall of Holland. The Germans did everything synchronously and with lightning speed. The Belgians were felled by a series of powerful and overwhelming blows.
Panic
Belgian society and leadership were not ready for such a war. Feeling completely safe behind the wall of fortifications and counting on the help of the great powers (England and France), the Belgians made a big mistake, relaxed and quickly suffered defeat. In Belgium, they were waiting for a trench war in the image of the First World War, when most of the country outside the front line lives an ordinary life in general, and received a psychological and lightning war.
The rapid fall of Eben-Enamel and the entire border system of fortifications caused a wave of panic in the country. Rumors spread about treason at the top, this was the only way to explain the collapse of the "impregnable" positions and forts on the border, the crossing of the Albert Canal by the Germans. Then in Brussels, there were terrifying rumors about Hitler's secret weapon - poison gas and "death rays". There was nothing of the kind. Berlin during the Second World War did not dare to use chemical weapons (the enemies had the same arsenals). Rumors also quickly spread about waves of gliders with poisonous substances, thousands of Hitler's agents wreaking havoc in the rear, about the poisoning of water pipes and food. About corrupt officials who betrayed the country, about thousands of German militants who revolted in Belgium.
The Germans set off a chain reaction of an epidemic of fear. The demoralized and stunned Belgian authorities by their actions only intensified the chaos and general panic. New terrible rumors rolled around: a coup d'etat in France, supporters of an alliance with Hitler seized power; Italy attacked France; the Maginot line fell and German troops were already in France; all the villages around Liege were ruthlessly destroyed by the Germans. Immediately the roads were filled with streams of refugees, which impeded the movement of troops. As in neighboring Holland, spy mania broke out and a stupid struggle began with the "fifth column" (the scale of which was greatly exaggerated), which disorganized the rear. A stream of signals from vigilant citizens, who saw enemy agents, spies and paratroopers everywhere, flooded the Belgian military.
On the third day of the war, it was announced on the radio that German paratroopers, dressed in civilian clothes and equipped with portable transmitters, were landing in the country. This message was erroneous. Almost all the German airborne forces at this time were involved in Holland. On May 13, the government announced that disguised German agents were attacking police stations. Later it turned out that there were no such attacks. Thus, a mental epidemic of panic spread throughout the country.
The collapse of the country along ethnic lines began. Units where soldiers were called up from Eupen and Malmedy were disarmed and sent to dig trenches. They were considered potential allies of the Germans. Historically, Belgium consisted of German-speaking Flemish and French-speaking Wallonia. Walloons and Flemings disliked each other. Germany before the war supported the Flemish nationalists, and the Walloon nationalists were financed by fascist Italy. With the outbreak of war, Brussels ordered the arrest of all Flemish and Walloon national activists. And the local authorities were zealous, throwing everyone in jail. The police grabbed everyone who was not like that, everyone who seemed suspicious. The prisons were already overcrowded on 13 May. Deportations of German subjects began, among whom there were many Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany. Among the "suspicious" were nationalists, communists, Germans, and foreigners in general (Dutch, Poles, Czechs, French, etc.). Some of the detainees were shot in the course of general horror.
The collapse of the Belgian army began. The soldiers deserted, told about the invincible German army, causing new waves of fear. In parallel, crowds of refugees flooded all roads in the southeastern part of Belgium. The government ordered the railroad and postal and telegraph workers to evacuate, and everyone else rushed after them. The roads were clogged. Troops have lost mobility. The western part of Belgium has accumulated 1.5 million people. And the French closed the border for several days. And when the border was opened, the Germans were already breaking through the Ardennes to the sea. Refugees mingled with French, British soldiers retreating from Belgium to Northern France. It is clear that the fighting efficiency of the allied army in such a situation has sharply subsided. The troops also played out spy mania, here and there they seized and shot "agents of the enemy", indiscriminate shooting was conducted at ghostly saboteurs. French counterintelligence officers shot on the spot anyone suspected of espionage and sabotage.
