In Belgium as in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the question arose in the wake of Germany: where and how to protect the population if the war in Ukraine spills over into Western Europe. The answer is simple: if Belgium is riddled with bunkers dating from the two world wars, none are “up to standard” to offer real protection in the event of conflict, whether traditional or nuclear.
Flemish nationalist Theo Francken is concerned about this, while picking up on a declaration by former colonel Roger Housen according to which “we are already at war without knowing it”. Theo Francken – who covets the Defense portfolio in the still hypothetical next De Wever government – wonders: how is Belgium preparing for a possible conflict when Germany has launched a “bunker plan” and Sweden and Finland distribute brochures to civilians?
More than 600 bunkers – inoperable – on Belgian soil
Answer: according to Theo Francken, there are three bunkers in Antwerp and another in the Royal Park in Brussels. Located under the very select Cercle Gaulois, it could accommodate some of the parliamentarians of the Chamber and the Senate if its corridors were not completely blocked. It is in an absolutely deplorable state of disrepair. To this must be added two underground command centers, one of which located in West Flanders now serves as a museum. Finally, in the Walloon town of Glons (Bassenge, north of Liège), the Control and Reporting Center (CRC) has been closed since 2021.
The country actually has hundreds of bunkers, but the vast majority of them are out of service or reassigned to other missions. Belgium under the bombs, a post-war report by the Air Protection Commission mentions that more than 600 shelters were made functional from 1942 to 1944, allowing the (theoretical) protection of a million people. None are really operational anymore.
It has recently been necessary to add three more, since last spring a trio of reinforced concrete bunkers was discovered during work in the dune of Knokke-Heist, a resort on the Belgian coast. They were part of the Atlantic Wall, a structure intended to repel the Allied landings during World War II. They were built by the German army between 1942 and 1944 on the orders of the Führer who wanted to protect “Fortress Europe”.
The very beautiful and very vast fort of Eben-Emael
Finally, we must remember the existence of the very beautiful and very vast fort of Eben-Emael, a military defense work considered absolutely impregnable before the war, yet taken without a shot by the Germans, on May 10 and 11, 1940, in the first 30 hours of the war on the Western Front. Luftwaffe gliders had landed on the “lawn” which covers the enormous bunker. Commandos had broken out to mine the fort’s batteries. The elite troops then entered the breach, killing the Belgian defenders. Eben-Emael, this splendor of military genius, had fallen like a ripe fruit into their hands.
But all is not lost. “The tragedy of Eben-Emael means that today Wallonia has on its territory the only passive defense structure capable of accommodating a population prey to the risks of war. It is still the property of Defense. Originally, the fort was designed for a garrison of 1,200 to 1,300 men. As it has not had to suffer from repeated attacks, it is like new. The whole has oil central heating. Which works. Electromechanical ventilation constantly renews the air. The water is drawn directly from the water table by a system of pumps. The toilets are functional,” writes the French-speaking daily The evening. From there to imagine that thousands of people could take refuge there in the event of a Russian attack, there is obviously a margin. The place could quickly turn into a gigantic trap.
A major “resilience plan”
Belgium half-heartedly recognizes the need to protect its population in the face of the Russian threat. Brussels constitutes a prime target for an attack orchestrated from Moscow. The capital brings together a number of international, European and Atlantic institutions. “However, the intention is not to dig new bunkers all the time,” argues MP Theo Francken.
For now, the National Crisis Center is working on a major “resilience plan”. This risk analysis body is also the point of contact for critical infrastructures. “NATO, specifies its spokesperson, has assigned us seven objectives so that we are more resilient as members. For example, government services need to consider how to continue operating in the event of a power outage. How can we continue to guarantee the supply of food even in a crisis? Or where to take the population if we have to evacuate a city like Brussels or Antwerp, for example. »
The Center admits that the war in Ukraine has somewhat accelerated the implementation of its resilience plan. But there is no question of distributing to the population a brochure similar to the one circulated by the Swedish government. “It would cause panic and we do not want the population to rush for toilet paper as was the case during the coronavirus pandemic,” comments the spokesperson for the Crisis Center. The objective is to make Belgians more independent by teaching them how to put together an emergency kit or how to fight a fire in their house. “We will have to make a change in our culture at this level, but it will not happen overnight,” concludes the spokesperson.
