Mergelgrotten and Fort de Eben-Emael

selling mushrooms in the Mergel Grotto
history of the war (read .. Voltaire's Bastards by John Ralston Saul.. Chapter about the arrogance of the Staff and Foch etc
Detail of Gun (Panorama)	Mergel Groeven 'Het Avergat' 16km under Kanne	Let the baker pass (he uses the 11 degrees to store dow)
the mushroom cultivation in the cave	Mushrooms	Champignons
explanations in dutch about raising champignons on horseshit	Selling champignons	underground at 11 degrees, blocks of Sandstone 17th Century
Mergelgrotte Dinosaurus now in Louvre Paris	Dinosaurs in Gulpen Lilxe Krijt Doline	Mosasaurus 1776
Ground Water very close to bottom of caves	Sculpture	the dick is missing
cutting sandstone out of the Grotto	dark spots on ceiling from Karbidlampen	Display of tools used things found
Grotto Ale is served	Grotto Ale is stored	Agricultural work in front of old military fort of Eben-Emael
www.fort-eben-emael.be	the entrance	Jail
toilets	The pub inside	Museum motorcyclist
modern communications	Long stairway	600m underground tunnels
endless tunnels	view towards the Meuse (Fort used to continue further)	long walks
munition lift	Leather pad for spent cartridges	Gun tower from inside and below
Gun detail (automatic loading)	Gun details	Gun detail
one degree was 1000m in 39km distance (or so)	50kg Hohlladung sprengte Eisenbarrikade, Hohlraum mit Sand und 2 Stahltueren..	50kg Hohlladung prallte von der gegenuberliegenden Wand wieder ab und ...
Eben-Emael was a Belgian fortress between Liege and Maastricht, near the Albert Canal, defending the Belgian-German border. Constructed in 1931.1935, it was reputed to be impregnable. But on 10 May 1940, 78 paratroopers of the German 7th Flieger (later 1st Fallschirmjaeger Division) landed on the fortress with gliders (type DFS 230). One day later, they were reinforced by the German 151st Infantry Regiment. At 13:30 h on 11 May, the fortress surrendered. 1200 Belgian soldiers were captured. Eben-Emael, an underground fort, was Belgium's hope to defend the eastern side from invasion, charged with defending or destroying three key bridges. It also gave protection to the south of what was called the Gap of Vise. A fortress to protect this approach to Liege had been conceived in the latter 19th century, but only became politically convincing after the Albert Canal was dug (to provide a route for Belgian river transport that did not require entering Dutch territory). Thus the fortress was only completed in 1935, being sited between the river and the canal that bypassed it. With its steel and concrete cupolas, Fort Eben-Emael was thought to be impenetrable. However, the Germans had planned the capture of the fort well in advance. In preparation they had practiced assaulting a full-scale mock up of the fort's exterior in occupied Czechoslovakia using the recently built and captured Bene. Wall that was modeled to a large degree on the western designs. Adolf Hitler himself conceived of a plan to take over the fort by getting men on the fort by using gliders (it would have been difficult and messy to parachute a large number of men into the small area) and utilizing the new top secret shaped charge (also called "hollow charge") bombs to penetrate the cupolas. Good espionage and superior planning, combined with unpreparedness on the Belgian side, helped make the May 10, 1940 execution of Hitler's top secret plan a swift and overwhelming success. The capture of Eben-Emael involved the first utilization of gliders for the initial attack and the first use of hollow charge devices in war. The gliders led by First Lieutenant Rudolf Witzig landed on the "roof" of the fortress. There they were able to use the hollow charges to destroy or disable the gun cupolas. They also used a flamethrower against machine guns. The Belgians did destroy one of the key bridges, preventing it from being used by the Germans but also preventing a relieving force from aiding the fortress. After its capture, the fort was evaluated for use as an underground factory for the V-1 rocket, but production was never undertaken. Fort Eben-Emael is now open for the public to visit. also see the amazing Fort Aubin (and the Roechling Projectile) in Neufchateau Fort CLICK HERE!!
gesprengte Tuere	und zerstoerte die LIftanlagen und Stufen	50kg Hohlladung sprengte von der Kameraseite die Stahltueren usw
Blick in den tiefen Luftschacht	Luftfilter	Luftfilter
Der Abstieg	116 Marches 21M (116 steps)	The soldier's quarters
Musee du fort de Flemalle ph 2335749 or 2346450 1st Daterday of the month	La Ligne Maginot - Fort du Michelsberg - Thionville +32 3 82346667 Sundays April to September	Wissembourg Maginot Line Elsass Alsace Schoenenburg Sundays JuliAugust +33 88547078
Fort de Battice Last Saturday of the month march to November 13h30 Fr+32 87 679470 germ: Rogge 02408 2791 Flams: 011-884222	The bunker in the forest	trwin gun from the top
Gun tower	Hohlladung (Hollow bomb) without much effecht on 56 cm best belgium steel	Gun turret
The gun turret in the fields like a UFO that has landet	Blackberries very yummy	Picnic att he Fort
Fort in the forest	Gun turret with ineffective Hohlladung (56cm of best Steel)	Church service in Eben-Emael
Maas	Fort Eben-Emael seen from the Maas	cementwork on the river Maas
cementwork on the river Maas	at the cementwork

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