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August 1, 2025
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2 Feb 1939 Jahr - The German invasion of Belgium and Luxembourg

Beschreibung:

While the Battle of the Netherlands had begun, soon to follow would be the Battle of Belgium and Luxembourg.
On the same day, the German Luftwaffe launched an aerial attack on the Kingdom of Belgium while successfully launching bombing raids on many Belgian airfields.
The most vital attack from these bombings took place directly on Fort Eben-Emael.

This fortress was the greatest obstacle to the Wehrmacht and it was also the holding pin for the entire Belgian border defence so once it fell after over a day of fighting to the Fallschirmjager landings, who made a direct attack on the centre of the fortress.
The Belgian Government rightfully panicked.

The German Sixth Army began their attack into the Belgian heartland from the north. during this, the main German column pushed directly across the German-Belgian border towards the Ardennes forest.

By the 2nd of February, the British Expeditionary Force had entered Belgium while the German Armies continued advancing. At this point, the German forces had successfully reached the Dyle River in the Brabant province, Belgium.
Now... the German Army are barely an hour from the capital, Brussels.

The Netherlands is in dire too because the 2nd Dutch Armies had begun attempting to sweep out the German Army from Zeeland and South Holland and trying to protect Rotterdam and Den Haag but with limited success. The Dutch Military in northern Brabant collapsed which left the southern sector of 'fortress Holland' open for conquest - something the Germans pursued relentlessly.

In Belgium, the frontline began to fold under German pressure too. Battles on the Belgian plain had proven harder than expected for the Allied Powers to control because of the Belgian forces being thrown back continuously from their defences by overwhelming German pressure from better trained and equipped forces - who also had significantly better air cover.
Disappointed by the inability of the Belgians to hold back the German advance, the Allies effectively began to delay the actions while they were beginning to launch withdrawals.
After four days of conflict as the German armies finally advanced swiftly into the Belgian capital, Brussels.

King Leopold of Belgium remained on the front line to support and often lead his troops against the German advances but he too recognised the overwhelming odds the Belgians faced; declaring on the second day of the conflict to order the Belgian Armed Forces to stand firm in a final stand against the Germans, no matter how dire the situation may be.

Zugefügt zum Band der Zeit:

Datum:

2 Feb 1939 Jahr
Jetzt
~ 86 years ago