In 1938 as war clouds gathered the Belgians fitted the bridges across the R Meuse with demolition charges and electrical firing circuits. During a thunder storm on 31 8 39 lightning struck 2 bridges causing the demolition charges to explode. The support column of the Val-Benoit rail bridge was shattered as 2 trains, a type 81 freight locomotive and a passenger express train, were crossing the bridge. The express train just managed to stop before crashing into the river. Caualties totalled 12 killed, 6 missing and over 80 wounded. Another lightning strike detonated the demolition charges of the Ougree road bridge.
To avoid the premature detonation of bridge demolition charges in future
1) the Belgian army removed the electrical circuit detonators from the demolition charges of all mined bridges. This meant that only pyrotechnic detonators were to be used and these had to be fitted before the charge could be blown thereby creating a time delay between the order to blow the bridge and the charges explodingof up to 15 minutes.
2) Detailed instructions were given as to who could order the demolition to be fired and under what circumstances.
The order could be given by several people:
1) In all cases, directly by the Belgian HQ Staff or their liaison officer at Hasselt.
2) In the case of the Dutch/German border being violated, by the commanding
officer,1.Army Corps, General van der Veken.
3) In the case of a violation of the Belgian border, by the officer responsible for destroying the bridges, Major Jottrand, commander of Fort Eben Emael, and Captain Giddelo, commander of the Frontier Cyclists at Limburg.
The soldiers entrusted with the task of blowing the bridges at Kanne, Lanaye and Petit Lanaye were under the direct orders of the commander of Fort Eben Emael and nobody else.
The men responible for the bridges at Briegden, Veldwezelt and Vroenhoven were under the orders of the Frontier Cyclists’ commander at Lanaken.
4) By any NCO, squad commander or bunker commander near the bridges in the case of an unmistakeable threat by the enemy, except that an exchange of fire in the neighbourhood, or even the demolition of a neighbouring bridge*, did not amount to a direct threat.
At the Vroenhaven and Veldvezeldt bridges the fuzes for the explosive charges installed in the bridge structure were located between the inner and outer access doors of defensive bunkers M and N respectively.
In 1939 the electrical system was replaced by a pyrotechnical system as a result of the accidental destruction of the bridges at Ougrée and Val Benoit. Instead of a thirty second delay, detonation of the explosives would now occur ten to fifteen minutes after ignition. This would allow authorities to abort the destruction of a bridge if need be.
Thus the accident of 31 8 39 resulted in the introduction of measures that would slow down the process of demolishing a bridge and hence played a part in allowing the Germans to capture the bridges at Vroenhaven and Veldwezelt.
* this was included beause of the 31 8 39 accident.
The effects of an accident on the German capture of bridges May 1940
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