The bridges of Maastricht — the sacrifice of the Battles

After the capture intact of the Albert Canal bridges by German commandos, these crossings allowed the armour to pour into Belgium. To try to destroy them, the Allied command launched, on 12 May 1940, the RAF's Fairey Battle light bombers — slow, lightly armed and already obsolete aircraft — against the bridges of the Maastricht area, heavily defended by German anti-aircraft fire.

The crews knew the mission was all but suicidal: attacking, at low altitude, bridges bristling with anti-aircraft guns, without adequate fighter escort, meant exposing themselves to almost certain destruction. But the stakes — slowing the armoured advance — were judged vital.

The command and the crews could attack the bridges all the same, accepting appalling losses for a chance of destroying them. They could abandon a mission judged lost in advance, to preserve scarce aircraft and men. Or they could attempt an attack by night or at high altitude, less accurate but less deadly. The fate of the Belgian defence, and a sense of duty, weighed against the human cost.