Special Forces In World War 2 Podcast

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 zones are missed. And as the remaining aircraft descend toward the bridge, machine-gun fire rises from the trenches below.

The assault itself is seconds away. That is where part two begins.

For maps, photographs, original documents, and the full source base behind this series, visit www.worldwar2-sof.com.

#WorldWarII #SpecialForces #Fallschirmjäger #Airborne #AlbertCanal #Vroenhoven #FallGelb #SturmgruppeKoch #SturmgruppeBeton #BelgiumCampaign #1940 #MilitaryHistory #WWIIPodcast #GermanAirborne #UnternehmenDanzig #Paratroopers #FortEbenEmael #SpecialOperations #WWII #WarHistory #MilitaryPodcast #DFS230 #BunkerM #MaastrichtGateway #KölnOstheim

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On May 10th, 1940, at 05:20, ten German DFS 230 gliders descend over the Albert Canal in Belgium. Their objective: seize the steel bridge at Veldwezelt before Belgian engineers can detonate the demolition charges.

Within minutes, Fallschirmjäger of Sturmabteilung Koch are landing directly on the positions of the 2e Régiment de Carabiniers. Bunker N is assaulted. Trench systems north and south of the bridge erupt in close-quarters fighting. Demolition cables are cut. Communications fail. Conflicting reports paralyse Belgian command.

Throughout the morning and afternoon, Belgian forces launch counter-attacks from the Kip van Hees and from positions west of the canal. German parachute reinforcements attempt hazardous drops under fire. Luftwaffe dive-bombers intervene repeatedly. Infantry of II. Bataillon, Schützen-Regiment 33 advance to consolidate the bridgehead.

This episode reconstructs the battle for Veldwezelt sector by sector, minute by minute, one of the earliest precision airborne bridge seizures of the war, carried out four years before Pegasus Bridge.
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#WW2 #WorldWar2 #Fallschirmjäger #AlbertCanal #Airborne #FallGelb #MilitaryHistory #FortEbenEmael #Belgium1940
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Most of us know the story of Pegasus Bridge on June 6, 1944. We remember the British coup de main at the Caen Canal and the Orne. We remember the 9th Parachute Battalion at Merville.
But four years earlier, in the pre-dawn darkness of May 10, 1940, a similar operation unfolded over Belgium.
In this episode, we examine the German airborne assault on the steel bridge at Veldwezelt — one of three Albert Canal crossings targeted in Unternehmen Danzig. Carried in DFS 230 gliders and released from Junkers 52 aircraft, Fallschirmjäger of Sturmgruppe Stahl descend silently toward their objective.
Their mission is uncompromising: seize the bridge intact, neutralise Bunker N, cut the demolition cables, and establish a bridgehead before the Belgian defenders can react.
Opposing them are the men of the 6e Compagnie, elements of the 2e Régiment de Carabiniers and 18e Régiment de Ligne, and the Cyclistes Frontières tasked with guarding and demolishing the crossing if required.
We reconstruct the flight from Cologne, the tense hours before dawn, the confusion among the Belgian defenders, and the moment ten gliders land almost simultaneously near the bridge.
This is the story of surprise, timing, command decisions, and the opening minutes of a new kind of airborne warfare.
Before Pegasus Bridge… there was Veldwezelt.
#WorldWar2 #Fallschirmjäger #UnternehmenDanzig #AlbertCanal #FortEbenEmael #WW2History #AirborneForces #MilitaryHistory #WW2Podcast
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In the early hours of May 10th, 1940, while German gliders land on Fort Eben-Emael and Fallschirmjäger seize the Albert Canal bridges at Veldwezelt, Vroenhoven, and Kanne, another race begins just to the north.
This episode follows the Maastricht Gateway, the critical ground operation designed to reinforce the airborne bridgeheads. Sabotage teams infiltrate the city in civilian clothing. Sonderverband Hocke advances in disguised Dutch Marechaussee uniforms. Infanterie-Bataillon zur besonderen Verwendung 100 and 4. Panzer-Division race toward the Maas crossings. Behind them, follow-on armoured formations prepare to exploit any breakthrough.
What unfolds is a tense, minute-by-minute struggle for bridges, timing, and momentum. Street fighting erupts. Roadblocks are contested. Engineers prepare emergency crossings. And commanders on both sides make decisions that will shape the opening phase of Fall Gelb.
This is the story of deception, speed, resistance, and the brutal reality behind a coup de main that had to succeed.
#UnternehmenDanzig #Maastricht1940 #FallGelb #FortEbenEmael #AlbertCanal #WorldWar2History #SpecialForces #WW2Podcast
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In the early hours of May 10th, 1940, silent assault gliders land on the roof of Fort Eben-Emael. Within minutes, one of Europe’s most modern fortresses is neutralised, and the world witnesses a new form of warfare.
In this episode of The Special Forces in World War II Podcast, we tell the full story of the DFS 230, the German assault glider that makes these precision landings possible. From its origins in secret pre-war development, to its combat debut in Belgium, its mass deployment over Crete, and its legendary role in the Gran Sasso raid, the DFS 230 becomes one of the most unusual and effective airborne weapons of the Second World War.
We explore how the glider is built, how it is flown, and how it evolves under combat pressure. From braking parachutes and rocket-assisted landings to one-way supply missions on the eastern front, the dfs 230 proves both innovative and brutally expendable.
A story of daring engineering, airborne doctrine, and silent shock assault—across every major theatre of the war.
#SpecialForces #WorldWarII #WW2 #DFS230 #Luftwaffe #Fallschirmjäger #Airborne #GliderTroops #EbenEmael #OperationMerkur #GranSasso #MilitaryHistory #WarHistory #WW2Podcast
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