Fortress Aubin-Neufchâteau

Rue du Colonel d'Ardenne, 4608 Neufchateau (Dalhem)

Belgium Liège Neufchateau (Dalhem)

Fort Aubin-Neufchâteau was part of the “ La Position Fortifiée Liege,” the fortified defenses around the city of Liege.

La Position Fortifiée Liege consisted of four forts. The forts Tancrémont, Eben-Emael, Battice and Aubin-Neufchâteau. Fort Aubin-Neufchâteau was the smallest of these four. The fort housed a garrison of about 545 men led by Commander Captain Oscar d'Ardenne.

The fort whas equipped with;

2 gun turrets with a 75 mm cannon, Bloc 1 and Bloc 2
3 mortars of 81 mm in the casemates, all 3 in Bloc M
3 anti-tank guns of 47 mm, in casemates 1 and 2 and 1 in Block C2
7 machine-gun turrets to fire the dry moat, 2 in Block 1 and 2 in Block 2
2 turrets with a 47 mm anti-tank gun, Block C3
4 machine gun turrets for proximity defense, 1 in Block 3 and 2 in Block P

The fort had a series of bunkers in the sectors Les Margarins-Neufchâteau (MN) with 31 bunkers and Neufchâteau-Visé (NV) with 19 bunkers. The fixed observation bunkers, and thus equipped with a turret, in front of the fort were;

bunker MN 11 at Aubel known as OP281
bunker MN 18 at Saint-Jean-Sart known as O368
bunker NV 2 at Neufchâteau known as O369
bunker NV 5 at Bombaye known as OP296

In addition, the fort had an ordinary observation post at Sint-Martens-Voeren, O363.

Finally, there were field army mobile patrols that conducted observations. These are known as Détachement d'Observation et de Liaison (DLO). They also relayed intelligence to the Forts of the PLF. Of course, if conditions permitted in battle, patrols were also sent out from the Fortress on reconnaissance to gather intelligence.

The Fort of Aubin-Neufchâteau was attacked in the May days of 1940 by 4 infantry divisions, artillery shelling and aerial bombardment by Stukas. It was a siege in the classic manner. Attack upon attack until the enemy was exhausted or defeated. In all, the fort faced 23 attacks. Machine-gun turrets were constantly bombarded with flamethrowers making them increasingly unusable as well. The fort managed to hold out for 11 days until May 21, 1940. When the ammunition ran out and the artillery, due to constant use, deteriorated more and more through wear and tear, commander d'Ardenne and his officers of the fort decided to abandon the battle in order to avoid the complete destruction of the garrison.

At 5 p.m. on May 21, 1940, the fort surrendered. But not without d'Ardenne having negotiated that his men be given 24 hours of rest, that the wounded be taken care for, that the dead be given a dignified burial. Because of the fort's heroic resistance, these demands were met. As a special honor, Captain d'Ardenne was allowed to keep his officer's saber from Colonel Rünge.

Thus, the fort was not captured, but could no longer defend itself.

Comparing the battle for Fort Aubin-Neufchâteau with the battle for the nearby Fort Eben-Emael (about 15 km north), it is striking that the largest and strongest fort in Europe was knocked out within one day and surrendered a day later. The comparison shows that a coordinated airborne attack by special forces with a then new and secret weapon, the Holladung, the hollow charge, and a regular combined infantry, artillery and air attack took many times longer and cost many more soldiers their lives. A lesson the German army also learned from this afterwards.

Captain d'Ardenne survived the war in captivity. After the war, he attended the funeral of his friend and docter of the fort's garrison, Doctor Jules Goffin from the nearby village of 's Gravenvoeren, where he had a general practice. Doctor Goffin was a member of the resistance and was arrested by the Germans in 1942 and executed at Fort Rijnauwen on October 9, 1943. After the remains (Urn) were handed over to the Belgians after the war in 1948, Doctor Goffin's urn was carried on a bier on which lay the flag that had flown at the Aubin-Neufchteau fort. This was what Captain d'Ardenne had taken care of. He had kept the flag of the fort all this time.

The unyielding defense spared other forts and defensive lines and gave the Belgian army time to organize itself after this raid. The Belgians lost 7 soldiers, and 17 were wounded. German losses ranged from 500 to 2,000 men. Another source speaks of 3,000 to 5,000.

The traces of the attacks and hits are still visible in the photos of Bloc 3 (photos 1, 3,4 and 5). Although the fort was also used by the Germans during the war, the damage was not repaired. Even after the war, the damage was not repaired and the fort was withdrawn from active use. Forts were found to be totally obsolete as a means of defense due to the changed mode of warfare. Unfortunately, it then fell prey to dismantling in the 1960s. The Belgian Army decided to sell the fort's heavy cast iron parts as scrap metal. In later days, a number of volunteers took care of the fort, trying to save it from further decay.

It is still a military domain.