They saw action in their proper role during 1940 – 1941, most notably in the capture of the Belgian army fortress at the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael and the Battle for The Hague in May 1940, and during the Battle of Crete in May 1941.

The great Maginot Line was bypassed and battles that would have taken weeks of siege could now be avoided with the careful application of air power ( such as the German paratrooper capture of Fort Eben-Emael, Belgium, early in World War II ).

One of the earliest uses of shaped charges was by German glider-borne troops against the Belgian Fort Eben-Emael.

* Fort Eben-Emael

Enthusiasts within the British armed forces were inspired in the creation of airborne forces ( including the Parachute Regiment, Air Landing Regiments, and the Glider Pilot Regiment ) by the example of the German Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger, which had a major role in the invasions of Norway, and the Low Countries, particularly the attack on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium, and a pivotal, but costly role in the invasion of Crete.

Notably, the attack on Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium was conducted by Luftwaffe glider-deployed combat engineers.

* Fort de Tancrémont, a companion to Fort Eben-Emael, located just outside of the town

The German military was one of the pioneers of the use of airborne formations, conducting several successful airborne operations during the Battle of France in 1940, including the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael.

During the planning for the Sixth Army's operations, Reichenau seemed to display a lack of interest when the subject turned to the capture of the bridges at Maastricht, in the Netherlands, and Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium.

The Germans are the first to use military gliders in action in the Battle of Fort Eben-Emael when 41 DFS 230 gliders each carrying ten soldiers are launched behind Junkers Ju 52s.

He took an interest in the German airborne assault on the Fort Eben-Emael in Belgium in May 1940, which was assaulted and conquered at night from the sky by well equipped German paratroopers.

# REDIRECT Fort Eben-Emael

# REDIRECT Fort Eben-Emael

The skillful airborne seizure of Fort Eben-Emael permitted the early capture of Belgium and, alongside successful operations in Holland, was crucial for the speed of the German victories in 1940.

Map of the area between Belgium and the Netherlands near Fort Eben-Emael

A cupola in Fort Eben-Emael after penetration by a shaped charge

From north to south, the new forts were Eben-Emael, Fort d ' Aubin-Neufchâteau, Fort de Battice and Fort de Tancrémont.

Fort Eben-Emael was a greatly enlarged development of the original Belgian fortifications designed by General Henri Alexis Brialmont before World War I.

Fort Eben-Emael is now open for the public to visit.

While still military property, it is administered by the Association Fort Eben-Emael, which provides tours and activities.

* Fort Eben-Emael Official website

The Ninth Fort () is a stronghold in the northern part of Šilainiai elderate, Kaunas, Lithuania.

Also overlooking the Grand Harbour and Breakwater, the Lower Barrakka Gardens () offer views of Fort Ricasoli, Bighi Palace, Fort St Angelo and the creeks of Vittoriosa and Kalkara.

Fort Saint Elmo () stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula, dividing Marsamxett Harbour from the Grand Harbour.

Fort Detrick () is a U. S. Army Medical Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland, USA.

The western fifth of the county () is reserved for military training as part of the United States Army post of Fort Knox.

Fort Defiance () is a census-designated place ( CDP ) in Apache County, Arizona, United States.

Fort Bliss provides the largest contiguous tract () of virtually unrestricted airspace in the Continental United States.

Fort Duchesne () is a census-designated place ( CDP ) in Uintah County, Utah, United States.

The Humber Forts are two large fortifications in the mouth of the Humber estuary in northern England: Haile Sand Fort () and Bull Sand Fort ().

Air monitoring has shown significant increases in exceedances of hydrogen sulfide () both in the Fort McMurray area and near the oil sands upgraders.

* Tomen-y-mur Roman Fort ()

After passing through Augusta May 10, Dartmouth on May 15 (), a few days later he left Fort Prince George and Keowee () after not being able to procure a guide.

Rosetta gave its name to the Rosetta Stone () which was found by French soldiers at the nearby Fort Julien in 1799.

Fort Zeelandia () was a fortress built over ten years from 1624 – 1634 by the Dutch Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, in the town of Anping ( Tainan ) on the island of Formosa, present day Taiwan, during their 38-year rule over the western part of it.

Nothe Fort () is a fort in Weymouth, Dorset, England.

Traces of the medieval and Ottoman towns remain to this day, including a remnant of the old Ottoman fortress wall, known today as the " Turkish Wall " () or " Filibey's Fort " (), lying next to the Tvrđa access road.

Navan Fort, known in Old Irish as Emaın Macha () and in Modern Irish as Eamhain Mhacha (, is an ancient monument in County Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Passenger trains along the route originally terminated at LaSalle Street Station, but now run to Union Station, switching to the parallel former Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne and Chicago Railway ( Pennsylvania Railroad ) at a crossover in Whiting, Indiana () to get there.

Fort Orange () was the first permanent Dutch settlement in New Netherland and was on the site of the present-day city of Albany, New York.

Invermoriston ( Inbhir Mhoireastain in Gaelic ) () is a small village 7 miles north of Fort Augustus, Highland, Scotland.

* Fort of Nossa Senhora da Nazaré ()

* Fort of São Bento ()