National Redoubt of Belgium - Interbellum and Second World War

Interbellum and Second World War

In the First World War the vulnerability of the forts had become evident. The development of artillery went faster than the construction of resistant fortifications. The concept of forts had become redundant. After the First World War the forts were therefore no longer seen as a defence line, but the role of the forts would be in the form of infantry support.

Between the two world wars minor modifications were carried out to the forts. This involved:

• Rearmament, where parts of the old guns were replaced by the placement of light and heavy machine guns. The old gun turrets were replaced by so-called Abri élémentaires, half circular armored bunkers. Six of these were built per fort.
• Locally improving the armor with reinforced concrete,
• Placement of ventilation and installation of gas-tight rooms.

The forts also served as warehouses. Furthermore, the defence was strengthened by the anti-tank ditch, which ran from Berendrecht (at the former redoubt Berendrecht) to the Albert canal at Massenhoven. The anti-tank ditch runs in a circle around Antwerp at a distance of 15 km from Antwerp centre. The length is 33 km. The anti-tank ditch has 15 locks to regulate the water level. These locks were defended by bunkers. Of these thirteen were built, two of which have since been scrapped. The two remaining locks were defended by nearby forts or redoubts. The lock bunkers were armed with three 13.2 mm machine guns.

In the Second World War the forts played but a limited role. After the attack on Belgium, the Belgian army retreated on May 14 behind the Albert Canal to the defence line Koningshooikt-Waver. Because the Germans on May 13 broke the Maginot Line at Sedan, the army decided to withdraw further and abandon Antwerp and the Koningshooikt-Waver line. On May 16 and 17 several forts came into action primarily to cover the retreat of the army to the Westhoek.

The Germans maintained the fortifications well during World War II. Some were used as storage. Fort Breendonk was used a transit camp for deportation to Germany. In Fort Breendonk (ca. 300) executions were carried out. Currently, Fort Breendonk is a national memorial.