Fort of Ében-Émael
Bassenge, Liège - Belgium
O “Forte d'Ében-Émael” localiza-se em Ében-Émael, na comuna de Bassenge, província de Liège, na Bélgica.
À época de sua construção era a maior de seu género no mundo, e tinha a reputação de ser inexpugnável.
A sua conquista-relâmpago por forças da Wehrmacht em maio de 1940 marcou a entrada da Bélgica na Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1945), assim como a Campanha dos 18 dias e a Batalha da França.
História
Construção
Entre 1870 e 1890 foi projetado e construído um anel defensivo de 12 fortes, com o objetivo de defender o país de uma invasão francesa ou alemã.
Em fins da década de 1880, o engenheiro militar belga, general Henri Alexis Brialmont (192-1903), autor desse vasto projeto, reclamou a construção de um último forte, entre a cidade de Visé, a nordeste de Liège, e Maastricht a fim de bloquear um invasor vindo do leste ou do Meuse, enquanto se aguardava a chegada de reforços. De fato, esta lacuna em Limburg permitia penetrar no centro da Bélgica sem dificuldades. Sem ter sido atendido, o general vaticinou, em 1887: "Vocês irão chorar lágrimas de sangue por não terem construído este forte”. De fato, em 1914, foi por ali que, em conformidade com o plano de von Schlieffen, modificado por von Moltke (plano conhecido por "porta giratória") que o exército do Kaiser penetrou na Bélgica e cruzou o Meuse. Foi para reparar esse erro que a construção do Forte d'Ében-Émael foi empreendida em 1932, vindo a ser concluída em 1935.
O novo forte, além de proteger contra um ataque oriundo do leste, também permitia o controlo das pontes sobre o canal Albert e três rotas provenientes do sul de Maastricht (o vale do Geer, a margem esquerda do rio Meuse, e a margem direita do Meuse).
Ficou guarnecido com 600 homens.
A captura do forte (1940)
No contexto da Segunda Guerra Mundial (1939-1945), e como parte da chamada Campanha dos 18 dias (maio de 1940), que culminou com a ocupação da Bélgica pela Alemanha Nazi, o forte foi assaltado e capturado por forças aerotransportadas da Wehrmacht de 10 a 11 de maio de 1940.
A campanha teve início quando uma força de assalto composta por cerca de 500 paraquedistas das Fallschirmjäger, transportados em planadores, deslocou-se com o objetivo de neutralizar o forte e capturar as pontes sobre o Canal Alberto, essenciais para a passagem da Wehrmacht para o coração da Bélgica.
Divididos em quatro grupos de assalto, um aterrou dentro do forte e fez uso de explosivos para neutralizar os sistemas de defesa e artilharia, numa operação-relâmpago de apenas 15 minutos; os demais grupos atacaram e asseguraram o controlo das três pontes do canal. Bem-sucedida em todos os seus objetivos táticos, a força ficou responsável pela defesa das pontes até à chegada do 18.º Exército Alemão, que posteriormente auxiliou os paraquedistas a efetuarem um segundo ataque ao forte, forçando a rendição do que restava das tropas belgas.
A batalha foi uma vitória estratégica para as forças alemãs, que desse modo puderam utilizar as pontes para evitarem uma série de pontos defensivos belgas ao longo da fronteira, abrindo caminho para o centro do país, rumo ao norte da França. A velocidade com que esta fortificação - uma das melhores do mundo à época - foi capturada foi um exemplo da eficiência da tática da Blitzkrieg.
O forte hoje
De propriedade do Exército da Bélgica, em nossos dias o forte foi requalificado como museu. Inaugurado a 18 de junho de 2009, pode ser visitado um fim-de-semana a cada mês. As instalações ao ar livre estão disponíveis gratuitamente. Vários vestígios da batalha são ainda visíveis, bem como as blindagens e determinadas armas. Foi construída uma sala especial sobre as assembleias romanas.
No início de 2009, conheceu um renovado interesse por parte do público, após a transmissão da série de televisão, “L'Empereur du goût”, em que algumas cenas foram filmadas no forte, evocando nesta ficção eventos que ocorreram em maio de 1940.
Características
Exemplar de arquitetura militar, acasamatado, de enquadramento rural, na margem oeste do canal Albert, que liga Liège ao porto de Anverse e que corta a montanha de Saint-Pierre pela Trincheira de Caster. Encontra-se 65 metros acima do canal, na montanha de Saint-Pierre, que separa os vales do Mosa e do Geer, a cerca de 10 quilómetros a sudoeste da cidade neerlandesa de Maastricht, e a cerca de 10 quilómetros a norte da cidade belga de Visé. As suas baterias tinham sob os seus fogos as pontes de Kanne, Vroenhoven e Veldwezelt, sobre o canal.
Este sistema de defesa assemelhava-se, em muitos aspetos, ao das obras defensivas erguidas na França para a Linha Maginot, embora incluísse alguns recursos especiais.
O forte apresenta planta no formato de um pentágono irregular, com uma área de 0,75 km², inspirada nas fortificações abaluartadas francesas dos séculos XVI e XVII. O seu núcleo central apresenta uma área de aproximadamente 0,45 km², o que era suficiente para considerá-lo, à época de sua construção, o de maiores dimensões jamais construído.
Armamento principal
− 1 torre rotativa (massa total de 450 toneladas), armada com 2 canhões de 120 mm.
− 2 torres (norte e sul) cada uma com 2 canhões de 75 mm.
− 2 casamatas a norte (denominadas “Maastricht 1” e “Maastricht 2”) e 2 casamatas a sul (nomeadas “Visé 1” e “Visé 2”), todas armadas com 3 canhões de 75 mm.
− 3 torres fictícias em metal, com as dimensões de uma torre com peças de 120 mm.
Essa artilharia tinha um alcance de 17,5 e 11 quilómetros. O exército belga não instalou armamento mais poderoso porque a neutralidade belga impunha que o território da Alemanha não estivesse ao alcance de canhões.
Armamento secundário
− Bloco I: entrada principal
− Bloco II
− Bloco IV
− Bloco V
− Bloco VI
− Canal Norte
− Canal Sul
− Abrigo de metralhadoras centro-norte
− Abrigo de metralhadoras centro-sul
− Bloco 01, no exterior do forte
O último bloco é ligado ao forte por um subterrâneo. Esses blocos de observação estavam equipados com projetores e canhões de 60 mm. Os postos de observação melhor equipados encontravam-se instalados em três destes blocos.
Defesa passiva
O forte era naturalmente defendido a leste pela trincheira de Caster. Complementarmente, a montanha de Saint-Pierre possui algumas escarpas inacessíveis. Muitos dispositivos, incluindo fossos, foram instalados para bloquear os ataques de tanques. A rede subterrânea estendia-se por mais de 3 quilómetros e uma altura de 40 metros. A ventilação dessa rede era equipada com filtros especiais, com base na experiência com gases de combate na Primeira Guerra Mundial (1914-1918).
Pontos fracos
O principal ponto fraco do forte era a sua cobertura. Essa vasta extensão plana, que hoje contém uma floresta e um campo de trigo, não era suficiente para defendê-lo: sem qualquer defesa anti-aérea ou obstáculo anti-carro, pouco arame farpado, e sem a proteção direta das casamatas contra ataques de infantaria. Este vasto espaço era utilizado como campo de futebol pelos soldados do forte, que haviam mesmo redigido uma petição para impedir que ele fosse minado.
Bibliografia
Jean Mabire, Les Paras du matin rouge, Presses de la Cité, 1987 (ISBN 2-258-008255).
Bartz, Karl, Quand le ciel était en feu (Als der himmel brannte), Corrêa, 1955.
Boguslaw Woloszanski, Opérations spéciales, Jourdan le Clercq Éditions, 2010, (ISBN 978-2-8746-6110-5)
- Fort of Ében-Émael
- Fort
- 1932 (AC)
- 1935 (AC)
- Belgium
-
Restored and Well Conserved
- +32 4 286 28 61
-
Historical military museum
- ,00 m2
-
Continent : Europe
Country : Belgium
State/Province: Liège
City: Bassenge
Rue du Fort 40,
4690 Eben-Emael, Bélgica - Lat: 50 -48' 7''N | Lon: 5 -41' 13''E
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