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I finally had the opportunity to visit what was once the strongest fortress in Europe, Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium near the German border. I featured the story of this fortress in my 2007 film,
Silent Wings - The American Glider Pilots of WWII![](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_vu1gqJpewDbM0g4t1h7d7_45V46-9NzOw_QvNqkUV3FaLZfYMkM3Xeeg7lpHx0TDEvj3OxKGKK1n52Hin_ibdskVWrFu_V4TY5Tq7HUG2-NJp23TUO-CgOJQ6eaRDcYLw8V6RfgBcpW10=s0-d)
. In May, 1940 Hitler devised a bold plan to land gliders on the top of this underground fort during WWII. These gliders carried infantry and the new one hundred pound hollow-charge bomb. The fort, considered impenetratable, was breached in 20 minutes. And the battle was over in a day. The seizing of this fort dealt a great psychological blow to the allies and German troops now had an open road to the French coast which they reached in 10 days.