Witzig, Lieutenant

   (later Major)

   Witzig led a parachute engineer battalion which on the night of 10 May 1940 captured and destroyed Fort Eben Emael. This fort guarded the entry into Belgium and probably could only be captured by air. As the German Army prepared to advance into Belgium, Witzig was dropped onto the fort with a mere 78 men, took it by surprise, and with only six casualties blew up all the gun casements and armored cupolas with high intensity explosives and kept 1200 men in check until the German land forces arrived. Witzig, promoted major, also led his paratroop engineers in North Africa ambushing ANDERSON in his attack on Tunis in November 1942.