The Rampart, The Traffic Artery, and the Park; Designing for the city regions of Antwerp

2.1
De Stelling van Antwerpen
On the past and present of Antwerp's defence system during its
time as the country's National Redoubt
After Belgium’s independence from the United Kingdom of the Netherlands
with the Treaty of London in 1939, the newly installed government and army
command decided that it was unrealistic to defend the whole country in case
of an impending attack and therefore appointed Antwerp as its National
Redoubt; a fortified stronghold into which the army, the king, and the government
could retreat when war was upon them, and there wait for help from
foreign allies (Het Archief, 2016; Busschots, 2014). The main incentive for this
decision was the political unrest in France after the self-coup of Napoleon III in
1951, and the growing call for the annexation of Belgium (Verboven, 2018a).
Antwerp was chosen over cities like Ostend, Namur (Namen), and Brussels,
mainly due to three reasons: (1) Antwerp already was a fortress, building the
Redoubt in the other cities would have been more expensive; (2) Antwerp was
the financial capital of Belgium; and (3) Antwerp was conveniently located
along the Scheldt, meaning it could be supplied more easily, and was better
accessible for foreign allies (Nagels, 2012, p. 48). The strategic appointment
of Antwerp especially hinged on the latter, as the neutrality of Belgium was
assured by the five major powers at the time - Great Britain, Austria, France,
Prussia, and Russia – with the signing of the Treaty of London. Meaning that in
the event that Belgium’s neutrality was violated, one of these countries would
come to aid (Busschots, 2014; Nilesh, 2014; Duffy, 2009). 18
The concept of a National Redoubt has been widely used throughout
history, especially in the 19th and 20th century, and during both World Wars.
The strategy was, among others, used by the Germans, the Swiss, and the
Dutch. For the latter the National Redoubt was Amsterdam from roughly 1974
till 1920, after which it was extended to Fortress Holland (Vesting Holland);
an area roughly covering the present-day Randstad (Kruizinga, Moeyes, &
Klinkert, 2014, pp. 4-7). Opinions on the effectiveness of using a National
Redoubt are divided. Belgium saw its National Redoubt crumble quite quickly
in the First and Second World War, even with the arrival of Britain. The Netherlands
suffered the same fate during the Second World War, in which Fortress
Holland was taken in a matter of days. The reason for these failures is not entirely
clear, both of these Redoubts were designed with the same components;
fortification belts in low-lying terrain, relying heavily on inundations and water
barriers with a lifeline to large body of water for foreign aid. Switzerland’s
National Redoubt located in the Alps – heavily mountainous terrain – proved
18.
This promise was upheld by Great
Britain when Germany violated the
agreements of the Treaty in August
of 1914 by invading Belgium. Britain
subsequently declared war on Germany
on the 4th of August 1914 (Nilesh,
2014, p. 1012).
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