Fortress Pannerden

• Article by Wilco Vermeer
• Published on November 14th, 2024

Surrender of Fort Pannerden

Near the village of Doornenburg, in an area previously known as West Pannerden, the former armored fortress Fort Pannerden is situated on a headland that splits the water originating from the Rhine river into the Waal river and the Pannerdensch Canal. Only two battles were waged for the fortress, during its entire history since its completion in 1871. The last time was in 2006, when squatters were expelled from the fort by riot police, assisted by the defense department. The first and only other time was on May 10th and 11th, 1940, when Germany invaded the Netherlands. In both cases, the siege of Fort Pannerden lasted about two days and there were no casualties. On May 10th, 1940, the German invader initially ignored the fortress, only to force it to surrender on May 11th at 19.30 hrs.