Editing Fort Breendonk (section)

==Construction and military use==
[[File:Breendonk073.jpg|thumb|Modern aerial photograph of Fort Breendonk, from the north. The earth which originally covered the Fort's structure was removed by the prisoners under German supervision]]
Fort Breendonk was originally built by the [[Belgian Army]] in 1906–13 as part of the second ring of defenses of the [[National redoubt of Belgium|National Redoubt]] protecting the important port-city of [[Antwerp]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Breendonk Fort National Memorial|url=http://www.memorialmuseums.org/eng/denkmaeler/view/106/Nationale-Gedenkst%C3%A4tte-Fort-Breendonk|publisher=Places of remembrance in Europe|access-date=10 February 2012}}</ref> It was covered by a five-metre thick layer of soil for defense against bombings, a water-filled moat and measured {{convert|656|by|984|ft|m}}.{{sfn|USHMM Encyclopedia}} It saw military service after the [[German invasion of Belgium (1914)|German invasion of Belgium]] in [[World War I]]. The [[Siege of Antwerp (1914)|siege of Antwerp]] begun in September 1914 and Breendonk came under fire from German [[howitzer]]s out of range of its own guns on 1 October. However, the Germans successfully breached the Belgian line at [[Lier, Belgium|Lier]] and were able to capture the city without making an assault on Breendonk. The fort's garrison surrendered on 9 October 1914. Breendonk was used briefly in [[World War II]] but was already militarily obsolete. During the [[Battle of Belgium|German invasion of Belgium]] in May 1940, it served as the initial headquarters of the Belgian General Staff under [[Leopold III of Belgium|King Leopold III]] but was abandoned as the Germans advanced. The Belgian Army surrendered on 28 May 1940, beginning a [[German occupation of Belgium during World War II|period of German occupation]] which lasted until September 1944.