World War II

Mobile anti-tank barriers, known as Cointet elements, formed the backbone of the Belgian KW line erected in 1939 to prevent a German invasion.

The Zwin region between Belgium and the Netherlands has had an eventful military past as a natural border since the Hundred Years' War broke loose. Even during World War I, the border region came back into focus.

The Western Scheldt, the gateway to the port of Antwerp, played an essential role during World War II. 

Although today, Vloethemveld is a 350-hectare nature reserve a stone's throw from Bruges, it was once home to a Belgian army ammunition depot and the nature area also hides other military secrets.

On the night of 18-19 January 1923, the Dutch East Indies (today's Indonesia) caught the first test signals from the Dutch broadcasting station Kootwijk, over 12,000 kilometres away. It was a miracle of technology—or was it?

New Year's Eve 1874. Over a railway viaduct hundreds of metres long near Wesel, Germany, a first train thunders over what will become the transnational railway line between Paris and Hamburg.

In 1939, construction of a 50-kilometre defence line between Koningshooikt and Wavre, known as the KW-Line, began on behalf of the Belgian army.

Bunker 'Ermitage Sud' was part of the Maginot Line, a series of fortifications erected by the French army along its border after the German attack during World War I.

Hardly anything remains of the Brommy Bridge over the Spree today. In 1945, the bridge was blown up by the German army to prevent the Red Army's advance.

To defend the nation against foreign attacks, a series of forts were built around Antwerp, Liège and Namur from the end of the nineteenth century. For example, the Defense Line of Antwerp consisted of sixteen larger strongholds in a wide circle around the city, including Fort Breendonk.