Chapter 206 The Attack Begins

In the struggle between powerful nations, the repercussions extend beyond the powerful nations themselves, ensnaring many small nations in the abyss of war. This is mainly due to their strategically vital positions, coveted by both warring factions.

Belgium, though small, stands as an industrial powerhouse. Leveraging its robust industry and geographical advantages (with a dense network of rivers), it can symbolically resist the German onslaught, safeguarding its honor.

Of course, the most crucial aspect is Wilhelm's concern that surrendering Belgium prematurely might fail to lure the British and French forces into the historically famous encirclement. This could jeopardize Germany's operational plan, hence keeping Belgium as bait.

Similarly, Luxembourg, as a small nation, has a population of only 300,000 people. Despite its prosperity, it has long maintained a neutral role in the disputes among major powers and hasn't emphasized the development of armed forces. Additionally, it lacks the strong industry that Belgium possesses. According to modern warfare's maximum mobilization capacity of 12% of the total population, it can at best mobilize 36,000 people for wartime service. Deducting logistics and labor needed for war industry, it could muster a military force of at most 10,000.

Therefore, when the German envoy approached, Grand Duchess Charlotte von Nassau-Weilburg of Luxembourg readily expressed acceptance of any conditions Germany proposed.

The German forces smoothly took control of Luxembourg's defenses. The 19th Armored Army led by Guderian and the 41st Armored Army led by Reinhardt formed an armored cluster, penetrating the Ardennes Forest.

"Maintain formation!"

"Keep the distance between vehicles, don't crowd."

"Crowding will only slow down our progress!"

Guderian stood on the roof of the armored command vehicle, observing the endless convoy ahead and behind. Finally, he understood why the French were so confident in considering this region an insurmountable barrier—they hadn't stationed heavy troops here.

How could this be called a road?

Rugged and uneven, even the wider sections might accommodate two tanks abreast, but in narrow areas, passing a single tank was exceptionally difficult, occasionally resulting in collisions or overturning. Not far away, another tank slipped into a small ditch.

"Damn." Guderian watched as engineers approached to deal with the tank, couldn't help but mutter, "At this speed, when will we get through this damned forest!"

"Probably another 60 hours. General, don't be impatient. What can we do if we rush?" the adjutant consoled.

No one here wasn't anxious. With such a turtle-like movement, despite the forest cover, it couldn't completely rule out the possibility of being discovered by the French. Once this large and cumbersome force was found by the French, artillery bombardment could lead to unimaginable consequences. It might even bury the entire Army Group A in this vast forest.

But impatience couldn't solve the problem at all. All the forces, various tank models along with numerous armored vehicles, were congested here, and speed was simply impossible.

"Ah." Guderian sighed, jumped down from the armored vehicle. He'd rather wander around at this time. Anyway, the troops could only crawl forward at this turtle-like speed.

In other directions, the B Army Group commanded by Fedor von Bock split into two—one entered the Netherlands, and the other launched an attack on Belgium.

Because Belgium willingly abandoned its neutral stance, the German forces saw no need for useless words and directly initiated an attack.

Their initial target was the renowned Fort Eben-Emael.

Situated on the Dutch side of the Belgium-Netherlands border between the cities of Maastricht and Visé, Fort Eben-Emael held a strategic position. It was a crucial stronghold and a vital support point for the Albert Canal Line, an extension of the Maginot Line's northern section, serving as the core of Belgium's eastern defense system.

In 1914, the German forces entered Belgium through this region. To resist a potential future German invasion, Belgians began constructing this magnificent fortress project in the early 1930s.

Modeled after the intricate defense works of the Maginot Line, the fortress was built on a granite elevation, stretching 900 meters north to south and 700 meters east to west. Its northeast and northwest sides were nearly vertical cliffs about 40 meters high, with the turbulent Albert Canal flowing beneath. To the south, a broad anti-tank trench and a 7-meter-high protective wall formed barriers. The fortress's various facets were surrounded by so-called "canal zones" and "trench zones", fortified with reinforced concrete bunkers containing searchlights, 60mm anti-tank guns, and heavy machine guns. The fortress's eastern side had the Meuse River parallel to the Albert Canal, creating an outer obstacle.

At first glance, each fortress seemed scattered within a pentagonal area. However, it was an ingeniously integrated defensive system, combining fortifications, rotating armored gun turrets, anti-aircraft artillery positions, anti-tank gun positions, heavy machine gun positions, and more. All sections were connected by underground reinforced tunnels and communication trenches spanning 4.5 kilometers.

Every weapon was carefully arranged to maximize its effectiveness. The fortress allowed easy observation in all directions. Each tunnel leading into the fortress could thwart enemy attacks. No exposed stonework marks or visible buildings of the fortifications were present on top; everywhere was overgrown with weeds. At the fortress's top were four concealed gun turrets served by hydraulic lifts for ammunition supply. To confuse the enemy, the Belgians set up dummy gun turrets throughout the fortress. The artillery firepower could control all river crossings within 16 kilometers of the Albert Canal and the Meuse River.

The defense force at Fort Eben-Emael consisted of 1,200 troops commanded by Major Jean-Baptiste Piron, part of the 7th Infantry Division. All personnel could be located in shelters below 25 meters from the ground, with provisions for long-term water, food, and ample ammunition. The fortress was well-equipped, featuring numerous shelters and covered trenches along the fortress's periphery, trenches and riverbanks. It also had mutually supporting firepower positions. For general shelling, Fort Eben-Emael was undoubtedly resilient.

Constructed during peacetime by a group of experts and meticulously executed over three years, the fortress was completed in 1935. It was widely regarded as impregnable and a cornerstone of European defense installations, vividly likened to the "gateway" on the eastern side of Belgium and a "lock" on the Albert Canal Line.

However, they failed to consider one thing—enemies might come from the air, landing in the open space between the gun emplacements and armored gun turrets. Moreover, the entire fortress had only four 7.62mm anti-aircraft machine guns, which seemed perplexingly inadequate.

When German gliders forcefully landed on the top of Fort Eben-Emael, two out of these four anti-aircraft machine guns malfunctioned. Additionally, one of the intact machine guns was overturned by the glider's wings.

A assault team of 84 German paratroopers, transported by 11 towed DFS-230 gliders, air-landed on the top of Fort Eben-Emael. After more than thirty hours of combat, they forced the Belgian forces in the fortress to surrender.

Although this airborne assault was very classic, Wilhelm decided to change the approach for the next offensive.