Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Beton, Part 1
About this episode
This episode covers the audacious airborne operation by German Fallschirmjäger targeting the Vroenhoven bridge during World War II.
On the night of May 9th, 1940, a group of specially trained German Fallschirmjäger board DFS 230 assault gliders at Köln-Ostheim airfield and prepare for one of the most audacious airborne operations of the Second World War. Their objective is the bridge at Vroenhoven on the Albert Canal in Belgium, a reinforced concrete crossing guarded by bunkers, casemates, infantry trenches, anti-tank guns, and prepared demolition charges. If those charges detonate, the momentum of the entire German offensive in the west could stall in its opening hours. In this first part of our coverage of Sturmgruppe Beton, we examine the Vroenhoven bridge and its formidable defensive system in detail, from Bunker M and the flanking casemates to the infantry positions of 18e Régiment de Ligne and the artillery of 20e Régiment d'Artillerie. We then follow the men of Sturmgruppe Beton through their final preparations, the silent pre-dawn launch from Köln-Ostheim, and the tense flight across western Germany and the Netherlands toward the Albert Canal. A tow rope snaps and Gruppe 2 is lost before the assault even begins. Anti-aircraft fire over Maastricht alerts the Belgian defenders. Gliders crash. Landing…
More episodes of Special Forces In World War 2 Podcast
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Granit, The Assault on Fort Eben Emael, Part 2
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Granit, The assault on Fort Eben Emael, Part 1
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Eisen, Part 2
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Eisen, Part 1
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Beton, Part 2
- Unternehmen Danzig, Sturmgruppe Stahl, Part 2
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Special Forces In World War 2 Podcast podcast page.