THE SILENT ATTACK: THE CAPTURE OF THE BELGIAN BRIDGES AT VELDWEZELT, VROENHOVEN AND KANNE BY GERMAN PARATROOPERS, 10 MAY 1940

These paratroopers were part of a larger detachment: the Sturmabteilung Koch, the elite of the Luftwaffe's airborne troops in 1940, whose mission was not only to seize Fort Eben-Emael, but also three vital and strategically crucial bridges over the Albert Canal: Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven and Kanne. The success of the German invasion of Belgium and France depended on the swift capture of these bridges.

It must be acknowledged that the assault on the Albert Canal bridges is barely known, if known at all. This remarkable military operation, which remains to this day the finest example of a surprise attack carried out with airborne troops, deserved a detailed analysis. The intensive training, secrecy, precision and speed, combined with the element of surprise, turned these men into lethal weapons, sowing chaos among the Belgian soldiers.

The aim of this work is to show clearly and in depth how the assault on these bridges was planned and executed — not only through a text based on documents, archives and testimonies, but also through a large number of photographs never previously published.

Every detail, from the creation of the assault battalion commanded by Walter Koch to the final attack, has been analysed drawing on the best available sources, as well as the recollections and testimonies of numerous Belgian soldiers and German paratroopers.

In addition to the historical account and the many original first-hand narratives, this definitive work is illustrated with more than 600 photographs and documents, and combat zone maps — making this historical study a unique documentary resource.

A definitive reference work on this attack for all military history enthusiasts! The gap in the historiography of the opening of the German Campaign in the West has at last been filled!