Fort Aubin-Neufchâteau
The Belgian fortress of Aubin-Neufchâteau was built between April 1935 and the beginning of 1940 as the easternmost structure of the Liège fortress ring . Triangular in plan, this complex was less heavily armed than the neighboring forts:
- two sunken domes , each with two 75 mm guns
- five 60 mm anti-tank guns in trenches and armored domes
- three 81 mm wing mine launchers in the basement casemate
- various heavy and light machine guns for trench and close-range defense
Fighting in World War II
The rapid offensive of the German Wehrmacht passed Fort Aubin-Neufchateau, during which Fort Eben-Emael in the thrust was quickly incapacitated by German airborne troops. The commandant of Aubin-Neufchâteau, D'Ardenne, capitulated on May 21, 1940 at 5:05 p.m.
Fort Aubin-Neufchateau today
The domes were scrapped. On the roof of the fort there is a fairly dense thorn bush. The severe external damage to Block 1, the main entrance to the fort, did not result from fighting. During the war, the Germans occupied the fort and tested the so-called "Röchling grenade" on the conquered fort. These grenades were supposed to penetrate the reinforced concrete masses of forts. They were fired from a howitzer eight kilometers away at the forts of Aubin-Neufchâteau and Battice .
The fort can be visited every third Sunday of the month between April and November at 2 p.m. The tour lasts around two hours.
There is also a plaque commemorating the defenders.
Web links
Footnotes
Coordinates: 50 ° 43 ′ 20 ″ N , 5 ° 47 ′ 20 ″ E