Bunker Belt Bruggenhoofd Gent – Support Line Bunker D22

Belgian bunker, part of the Ghent Bridgehead. This defensive position was constructed between 1934 and 1938, eight kilometres south of Ghent. Its construction was part of the fortification policy that Belgium pursued after the First World War.
The actual bridgehead consisted of two resistance nests – Betsberg and Muntekouter – and three strong points – Semmerzake, Eke and Astene.
The resistance nests and strong points were connected to each other by a curtain consisting of three defence lines.

There were 19 bunkers on the Wetteren territory, of which 8 have been demolished. Of the remaining ones, several are on private property or in the industrial zone.

D22 was a support line bunker along the Aalst-Ghent highway between D21 (240 m) and D23 (345 m). It was incorporated into the left side of the Kwatrecht railway viaduct.
Unique to this railway bridge was that grooves were provided in the bridge pillars so that it could be completely closed off with a kind of bulkhead beams like an airlock.
The bunker had one room with an access airlock. The loophole, hidden behind a metal hatch, was not built completely straight into the wall. It was slightly slanted so that it looked out completely onto the traffic coming from the direction of Aalst. The intention was to draw as little attention as possible to this bunker, incorporated into the left bridge post of this viaduct.
D22 was equipped for all types of machine gun positions that were provided over the other bunkers of the line. It had provisions for the installation of a Hotchkiss or Colt machine gun, but also for a Browning FM30 machine gun.
This support line bunker was very crucial on the line, it was in the middle of the fighting in May 1940. On the outside there are hardly any traces of this visible. Inside the walls were covered with a layer of soot and blackened by the fire. The entrance sluice must have been on fire, probably during the fighting on the evening of 20 May 1940.
The bunker and the viaduct are the property of the Belgian Railways.

Extensive information about this bunker belt can be found on the site Bunkergordel Bruggenhoofd Gent. It also contains photos, plans and technical data of the bunkers. A map shows the locations per municipality.

Do you have more information about this location? Inform us!

Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Marie-Christine Vinck