The Battle for the Leie
The Battle of the Lys is also referred to as the Leie Battle in Dutch/ Flemish, the Lys, or Leie is a river in Belgium.
During Fal Gelb, the Battle of the Low Countries, Germany attacked the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in one go from May 10, 1940. During the invasion of Belgium also referred to as “The 18 Day’s Campain”, the Germans quickly advanced with their Blitzkrieg tactics and on May 21 the front was already at the Scheldt in East Flanders, Belgium. French panzer troops had penetrated to Abbeville and the Belgian army entrenched itself behind the river Leie (Lys). Here the Belgians were able to fight its only real battle against the German army. Half a million Belgian Soldiers fought against 12 divisions of German soldiers from May 24 to May 28 in 1940. The Belgian army only lost a few kilometers during the battle and was able to significantly slow down the German army. The battle was one of the bloodiest of the Belgian campaign. During the battle, the Belgian army lost more than 40,000 soldiers in just 4 days, about half of the soldiers killed during the entire German invasion (80,000). The losses on the German side were considerable as well. The Belgian army had to capitulate on May 28.
The battle covered Operation Dynamo for the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force during the Battle of Dunkirk, who were quite angry because they lost their cover after the Belgian surrender.
The four-fronts bridge
The Vierfrontenburg, or Fou- Fronts Bridge was already on the front line during the First World War. During the battles for Oeselgem and the Lys, there was heavy fighting here and the Vierfrontenbrug and the two nearby bridges were destroyed. 52 Belgian soldiers lost their lives at the bridge. A commemorative stone next to the bridge refers to the battle in May 1940.
The Four-Fronts Bridge is named after the 4 wars in which the bridge was involved, in 1452 it was part of the Salt War during the Ghent Uprising, the Nine Years’ War 1688-1697, the First World War 1914-1918 and the Second World War 1939-1945.
The Tank Event
Just below the bridge is a field where a commemorative Tank Event was held in 2024. During this event, all kinds of vehicles from both sides come together and drive around to remind the spectators of the Second World War. It was the second time the event took place.
Visit
The Four-Fronts Bridge open is free to view, it is located on the public road and is still in use. Right next to the bridge is a building where impacts from the Second World War are still visible.
