38. The German Attackers Shocked and Awed Eben-Emael’s Defenders
Utilizing aggressive shock tactics, in which flamethrowers featured prominently, the Germans paralyzed the defenders, who found themselves trapped in a fortress whose exits had been blocked. The Belgians were unable to effectively fight back against attackers who rained explosives down on them from above, followed by aggressive room clearing tactics with which the garrison was unfamiliar and against which it had not trained. The demoralized defenders were steadily pushed deep into the bowels of the fortress, and away from the guns commanding the roads and bridges leading into the Belgian heartland.