Battle of Fort Eben-Emael

E203670

The Battle of Fort Eben-Emael was a pivotal early World War II engagement in May 1940 in which German airborne troops used innovative glider-borne assaults and shaped charges to neutralize a key Belgian fortress, enabling the rapid German advance into Western Europe.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Battle of Eben-Emael 1
Battle of Fort Eben-Emael canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf World War II battle
battle
belligerent Belgium
Nazi Germany
combatant Belgian Land Component
surface form: Belgian Army

Wehrmacht
surface form: German Wehrmacht
commander Walter Koch
conflictIn World War II
country Belgium
date 1940-05-10
defensiveStructure Fort Eben-Emael
endDate 1940-05-11
followedBy further German advances in Belgium
front Western Front
garrisonSurrenderedTo German forces
GermanCommander Walter Koch
historicalSignificance demonstrated effectiveness of airborne forces against fixed fortifications
undermined confidence in static defensive lines in Western Europe
involvedUnit Belgian fortress garrison
Fallschirmjäger division
surface form: German Fallschirmjäger

German airborne troops
German glider-borne assault teams
locatedNear Albert Canal
Liège
notableFor first large-scale airborne assault on a fortress
innovative use of gliders in combat
use of hollow-charge explosives against fortifications
operationName Fall Gelb (original variant)
surface form: Fall Gelb
outcome capture of Fort Eben-Emael by Germany
partOf Battle of France
surface form: Battle of Belgium

Invasion of the Low Countries
surface form: German invasion of Belgium

Western Front
surface form: Western Front of World War II
place Fort Eben-Emael
precededBy German planning for Fall Gelb
result German victory
strategicEffect contributed to German advance into Western Europe
enabled rapid German advance into Belgium
facilitated German crossing of the Albert Canal
neutralization of key Belgian fortress
theater European theatre of World War II
timeToNeutralizeMainGuns within first day of attack
usedTactic airborne assault
glider-borne assault
surprise attack
usedVehicle military glider
usedWeapon explosive charges
shaped charges

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Case Yellow notableEvent Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
Fallschirmjäger notableEngagement Battle of Fort Eben-Emael
this entity surface form: Battle of Eben-Emael