The Fortifications of the Meuse and their Defences by the Chasseurs Ardennais in May 1940

After spending many years exploring the banks of the Meuse and military archives, Franck Vernier returns with a unique study of the Belgian fortifications built along this river between the two world wars, as well as the battles fought by our valiant Ardennes Hunters during the first days of the invasion against elite German troops.

No sooner had the First World War ended than the Belgian Engineers began studying and implementing all the measures necessary to destroy the engineering structures spanning the Meuse from the French border to the small Limburg town of Maaseik. In the early 1930s, large anti-tank casemates were erected along the Meuse in Limburg. A few years later, the engineering structures from Bouvignes to Visé were equipped with shelters armed with 47 mm guns and a removable anti-tank obstacle consisting of Cointet barriers. In the midst of mobilisation, the construction of machine gun bunkers was undertaken between Namur and Liège to provide the backbone of the river's defence by the 2nd Division of Chasseurs Ardennais. During the winter of 1939-40, east of Huy, a bridgehead was created using anti-tank obstacles to gather the 1st Division of the Chasseurs Ardennais evacuating the Ardennes massif.