The Need for Organisational Resilience - Chapter 4

The Albert canal. On the left side of the canal, a casemate – Canal Sud (Obj. 38) − of Fort d'Ében-Émael is visible. (BArch, n.d.)

Fort d'Ében-Émael (see Map 4.1) is located along the Albert Canal at a strategically

important junction where it runs through a deep cutting at the German, Belgian, and Dutch

borders. It was the most heavily armed fort in the world at that time, with multiple 60mm,

75mm and 120mm guns, providing fire cover up to 17.5 km. Towering over the Albert Canal

– 900m long and 700m wide – it constituted a network of overground machine-gun and

artillery casemates and block houses, massive anti-tank ditches, and infantry defences. The

fort provided a 360-degree defence and worked jointly with the surrounding forts ( Position

Fortifiée de Liège I : Fort d'Aubin-Neufchâteau, Fort de Battice and Fort de Tancrémont.

Tancrémont, Aubin-Neufchâteau and Fort d'Ében-Émael) in ensuring supporting fire.

Colonel Albert Torreele, a Belgian Officer, commented upon visiting the fort in 1938:

An officer of the garrison of the fort led us to many of the outer defences and

showed what each was intended for. We went to the walls and looked over the

countless rows of barbed wire. He led us to the only door on the surface set deep

in concrete. It appeared like the heavy steel door of a bank vault. From here

[Cupola Nord] infantry in reserve would issue to repel any enemy fortunate enough

to get by the tough ground defences.

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