| Pioneer (Engineers) from the 151st Infantry Regiment cross the Meuse River in inflatable boats to reinforce glider troops assaulting Fort Ében-Émael. During the afternoon and night of the 10th, German troops of 51st Engineer Battalion made several attempts to cross the canal in assault boats, but each time was driven back by Belgian fire, especially from Eben Emael’s Casement No. 13. At last, late at night, the sappers got a party across the canal, linked up with Oberleutnant Rudolf Witzig’s (August 14, 1916 – October 3, 2001) glider force, and used demolition charges to finally silence No. 13. The fort’s garrison fell farther and farther back inside its tunnels, as the Germans dropped demolition charges and grenades into Belgian positions and sprayed small arms fire down the fort’s passageways. Now the Germans were beginning to send troops inside the fortress, grenading and tearing down the sandbag walls the Belgians had thrown up. The attackers were also working around to the west of the fortress, and German tank units were across the canal and closing in. German infantry had joined the paratroopers and the pioneers on top of Ében-Émael. This still from combat camera footage was used in Sieg im Westen (“Victory in the West”) a 1941 propaganda film directed by Svend Noldan (April 25, 1893 – May 1, 1978) and released by Oberkommando des Heeres, the Nazi German Army High Command. A documentary made from newsreel footage, it celebrated the Nazi victory in France. nlike many other German propaganda films, Sieg im Westen does not belittle the enemy, instead admitting that the French soldiers fought gallantly. The film did not give Hitler or the Nazi party a central role, thus ensuring its disfavor with Propaganda Minister Josef Goebbels (October 29, 1897 – May 1, 1945). | |
| Image Filename | wwii0399.jpg |
| Image Size | 221.26 KB |
| Image Dimensions | 1300 x 950 |
| Photographer | |
| Photographer Title | Kriegsberichter |
| Caption Author | Written or Adapted by Jason McDonald |
| Date Photographed | May 10, 1940 |
| Location | |
| City | Maastricht |
| State or Province | Limburg |
| Country | Belgium |
| Archive | Oberkommando des Heeres |
| Record Number | |
| Status | Caption ©2026 MFA Productions LLC Please Do Not Duplicate or Distribute Without Permission; Image in the Public Domain |
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