Belgian gate
The Belgian Gate (also Cointet Barrier after the inventor, C-element in the Wehrmacht and colloquially De Ijzeren Muur , the iron wall) was a modular heavy steel fence, movable on rollers and flexible in a chain-like manner, which acted as a tank barrier against the German invasion served. Most of the elements were around three meters wide, two meters high and mounted on full metal wheels. The gates could be moved and positioned as a barrier by horses, trucks or, for a short distance, by hand.
The barrier member was one of the main components of the Belgian KW-line , a tank defensive line similar to the German Siegfried Line . The Belgian Ministry of Defense had the KW line built from September 1939 to May 1940 in order to improve the defense against an attack by the Wehrmacht or the German Reich . A total of 77,000 gates were built and installed, produced by 28 Belgian companies and installed between Koningshooikt on the Albert Canal near Lier and Wavre . Here they should prevent a German advance into the heart of Belgium.
The individual, eponymous gate-like elements were used side by side, in a zigzag line, connected with steel cables, hinges and locks, attached to the sides of concrete pillars, some of which can still be seen next to streets today. All elements of a barrier put together formed a kind of iron wall that could not be rolled over or knocked over by tanks and at the same time yielded flexibly, and could also be opened at any point if necessary. It could also be used as an armored gate for a larger barrier.
In May 1940, during a large-scale attack (see Western Campaign # Yellow Case ), however, they were easily breached by the 3rd and 4th Panzer Divisions of the Wehrmacht, as their numbers were too few and their defenses too weak. After the victory of the Germans (Belgian surrender on May 28, 1940) the Belgian gates were distributed by the Wehrmacht to Belgium, France and the neighboring countries and set up again, mainly on roads, bridges and beaches. The locations were often strategically chosen so that the Allies had great difficulties in overcoming them when they landed in 1944 .
The images of Belgian gates known today as beach barriers against landing craft come from this time. The installation took place here against the original installation individually z. Sometimes directly on the beach, a mining of the elements or their spaces was at least planned. In Normandy, however, they could not prevent the onslaught of the landing craft because the obstacles had been scouted beforehand and the tide had been selected accordingly. The elements were clearly visible above the water and could be bypassed by the boats. Shortly afterwards, the steel of these and other beach barriers was widely used to weld together hedge cutters for Allied tanks in Normandy. Whether this improvised invention accelerated the Allied advance in Normandy appreciably is a matter of dispute among historians.