{"id":14888,"date":"2026-11-07T09:55:28","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T08:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/forts-liege-serie-armistice-2026\/"},"modified":"2026-11-07T09:57:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T08:57:34","slug":"forts-liege-serie-armistice-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/forts-liege-serie-armistice-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Four days to understand: Li\u00e8ge and its forts in the face of wars"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is a particular geography around Li\u00e8ge. Hills, valleys, villages. And sometimes, behind a discreet entrance or at the end of a road, a mass of concrete that seems no longer to belong to the landscape. These are the forts of Li\u00e8ge.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Fort
Historical photography, unknown author \u2014 public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

For many, they evoke school visits, memorial ceremonies or family stories. But their story goes far beyond that of military works. It recounts two world wars, the hopes placed in technology, the courage of men, strategic errors and the fate of a region located at the heart of the great European highways.<\/p>\n\n\n

When the forts were supposed to stop the invasion<\/h2>\n\n\n

At the end of the 19th century, Belgium strengthened the defense of Li\u00e8ge. Around the city, a first belt of twelve forts was built under the direction of General Henri Alexis Brialmont. Their mission: slow down an enemy army and protect the strategic axes of the region.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Fort
Photo: Guido Radig \u2014 Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

In August 1914, the fighting around Li\u00e8ge marked the first days of the German invasion. The fortifications held out, but the heavy artillery revealed the limitations of modern artillery during its construction. The Loncin fort became one of the most tragic symbols of this confrontation.<\/p>\n\n\n

Four episodes, four perspectives<\/h2>\n\n\n

Sunday, November 8, 8:30 a.m. \u2014 1914: Li\u00e8ge, the first line of resistance.<\/strong> The Brialmont belt, the battles of August 1914 and the tragedy of the Loncin fort.<\/p>\n\n\n

Monday, November 9, 8:30 a.m. \u2014 1940: Eben-Emael, the fortress taken by surprise.<\/strong> The German airborne assault of May 10, 1940 and the fall of a supposedly formidable fortification.<\/p>\n\n\n

Tuesday 10 November, 8:30 \u2014 Li\u00e8ge during the Second World War.<\/strong> The occupation, the resistance, the liberation and the final trials of the war in the Li\u00e8ge region.<\/p>\n\n\n

Wednesday, November 11, 8:30 a.m. \u2014 Cointe, the monument that bears the memory.<\/strong> The history of the Interalli\u00e9 Memorial, its symbolic significance and the place of remembrance in today\u2019s city.<\/p>\n\n\n

\"Carte
Map derived from MarcoLittel \u2014 Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 \/ GFDL.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n

A military story, but above all a human one<\/h2>\n\n\n

Forts are not just structures made of concrete and steel. They are also places where men waited, fought, suffered, and sometimes lost their lives. These are places whose families carried the memories long after the end of hostilities.<\/p>\n\n\n

Through this series, we will revisit historical events without seeking to transform them into a spectacle. The facts, the available testimonies, and the context will be at the center of the narratives. We will also discuss what these places have become and how they continue to transmit the memory of the two conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n

The first episode will be published tomorrow, Sunday 8 November, at 8:30 a.m. Four mornings to revisit a story that belongs to Li\u00e8ge, to Belgium and to Europe. Because behind every fortress lies a story. And behind every story lie lives that it is important not to forget.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From November 8 to 11 at 8:30 a.m., Li\u00e8ge 360 dedicates four episodes to the fortified city of Li\u00e8ge and to the memory of the two world wars.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","advanced_seo_description":"Du 8 au 11 novembre \u00e0 8h30, d\u00e9couvrez notre s\u00e9rie sur les forts de Li\u00e8ge, de 1914 \u00e0 1945, jusqu'au M\u00e9morial interalli\u00e9 de Cointe.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Quatre jours pour comprendre : Li\u00e8ge et ses forts face aux guerres | Li\u00e8ge 360","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_seo_schema_type":"article","_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[399],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-histoire-de-liege"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcSPnF-3S8","jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.liege360.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/11\/fort-loncin-1914-1.jpg?fit=495%2C323&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14896,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14888\/revisions\/14896"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.liege360.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}